Candyman

Candyman
1992- TriStar
Directed By Bernard Rose



SYNOPSIS

A college grad student (Virginia Madsen) is doing her thesis on urban legends. She learns of one called the Candyman who has a hook for a hand and appears when you say his name 5 times into the mirror who plagues a housing project on the south side of Chicago. When she goes to research she discovers the Candyman (Tony Todd) is no legend... he's real! Soon, people she cares about turn up dead... and she's accused!



MY THOUGHTS

For years I'd put off watching Candyman, thinking it fell into the same cheesy, lame slasher-movie crowd of the era. But unlike most horror films of the late 80's early 90's, Candyman is actually disturbing and creepy.... and good.

Candyman has an intelligence that many horror films at the time seemingly forgot. There's more than just hacking and slashing, there's some psychology in the mix. The film toys with the idea that Helen Lyle is crazy or that the Candyman is just some guy impersonating the legend. This adds depth to what could have been a flat story and adds some intrigue to the plot and keeps the audience guessing. The film contains ample gore, but that's not the main focus of the horror, it's more cerebral.

The horror genre isn't known for great acting performances but Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd deliver. Todd is unsettling every time he's on screen, ideal for a villain.

The film is based off of a story by horror master Clive Barker, who's also responsible for the equally creepy Hellraiser.

Candyman is one of the better horror films of the 1990's and is definitely worth a look.