Candyman (1992) Review

Tagline: We dare you to say his name five times!

Candyman (1992) Review

 

In the north side of Chicago, the urban legend of “Candyman” is well-known. The son of a slave and a talented artist from the 1800’s, he was tortured and murdered for having an affair with a white woman. His hand was sawn off, a rusty hook was put in its place, and he was stung to death by bees before being cremated. The legend goes: if you say his name five times in a mirror, he’ll come for you and kill you with that rusty hook. University student Helen Lyle doesn’t believe it’s true, of course, so when she starts delving into the local history for her thesis on urban legends and folklore, she says it five times in a mirror, and sure enough, the legend comes alive, pulling her into a dark spiral of murder and insanity.

Candyman is based on a story from the mind of Clive Barker, but writer/director Bernard Rose took the source material and made it his own. The way it focuses on the power of storytelling and myth is quite effective. It’s intriguing to follow Helen as she probes all these people about the Candyman legend and explores places where people were murdered. The setting is scary not just because of the way it’s haunted by Candyman’s victims and Candyman himself, and not just because of the way it looks, with everything run down and covered in graffiti, but the neighborhood itself is full of dangerous, desperate people. Even before the supernatural horror begins, Helen is in danger.

We don’t even see Candyman for the first time until almost 45 minutes in, but he is a formidable presence. Tony Todd does an incredible job with only a handful of lines and a few overall minutes of screen time. Virginia Madsen is also a terrific lead. She isn’t like a typical female character in a slasher flick, she’s tough but also vulnerable, smart, and sympathetic. A big part of her drama aside from Candyman is her husband Trevor, which adds a lot to the story and contributes to a horrific but satisfying conclusion. There aren’t too many jump scares or cheap fake outs throughout, nor is it overly gory, there’s an effective building of tension, and an almost old-school sense of terror, thanks to elements like the epic music, the seductive qualities of Candyman, and the striking visuals.   

Candyman is one of the best original horror films of the 1990’s, and it’s no wonder the character has remained so popular for so long. Two sequels followed, Farewell to the Flesh and Day of the Dead, neither of which I’ve seen all the way through, but then the series followed the horror franchise trend of the past few years by disregarding the sequels in favour of a direct sequel with the same title as the original. Check out my review for the newest Candyman tomorrow!