Candyman is the latest installment of this series. It contains a lot of effective suspense, blood-soaked moments, and even some social commentary that might be a little too on the nose, but that doesn’t detract from the experience.
This sequel stays true to the premise but does update it in an attempt to be somewhat more socially relevant. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Anthony, an artist living with his girlfriend (Tenoyah Parris) in Chicago who is artistically challenged to come up with a new idea until he hears about the urban legend known as Candyman.
The Candyman’s story provides him with the artistic inspiration he needs and it showcases the backstory of the Candyman’s evil deeds through ominous animation sequences that add a sense of weight and creativity to what the Candyman has done before and hints at darker things to come.
Soon Candyman’s story gets out and people all around begin saying his name in front of a mirror five times before being killed in bloody fashions.
The artist’s girlfriend doesn’t believe in Candyman and that’s one area where the movie doesn’t succeed by giving us a tired old cliché of the characters not believing in the supernatural entity until it’s too late.
Director Nia DaCosta who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jordan Peele of Get Out and Us fame is terrific by simply not giving us gory scene after gory scene. Instead, she builds the tension and gives the movie enough time to establish the characters and set up events so we know what to expect, then she lets the gorefest begin.
The movie’s only weakness is its social commentary which to me seemed ham-fisted and while some may find it intriguing, I just thought the movie could’ve given us much more interesting ideas if it didn’t try to be so self-consciously socially relevant.
Still, I do recommend it largely for its eerie atmosphere, fantastic direction and script from DaCosta, and chilling performances that carry it from beginning to end.
This spiritual sequel proves that horror movies don’t have to be dumb to be scary.
Grade: B+
(Rated R for bloody horror violence, and language including some sexual references.)
