Candyman, written and directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele, is not a remake of the classic 1992 movie but instead a continuation of the story in the present day. Walking into the film, I was not expecting this and was delighted to see the concept of Candyman being developed further for a modern audience.
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Led by solid performances by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, and Colman Domingo, Candyman is a figure who appears and kills you if you say his name five times in front of a mirror. Although Candyman did have its flaws, it is an enjoyable horror film banking on the nostalgia of the original with some new surprises within.
Ever since the release of Get Out, it is as though horror films have been set to a new standard. Will it be as thematically timely as Jordan Peele’s recent releases? Candyman takes on the idea of brutality against black people and the unfortunate reality of culture/stories being destroyed through gentrification.
Although these themes are evident and often heavy-handed, Candyman is scripted in a way that mirrors older 80s and 90s horror films. There is not too much depth of the characters or plotline in its short 90-minute runtime, but it reminds me of older horror films, where simple plots and more surface-level development worked for our enjoyment. To some who are expecting modern horror films to live up to great recent films, this may disappoint, but I think looking at the movie without comparison will delight older horror fans and fans of the classics.
Candyman struck my interest the most because it is not only ABOUT the legend of Candyman, a figure who manifests himself into individuals every twenty years or so, but the film mirrors that of a legend in its script. As stated before, the plotline is pretty bare-boned, the same way a story is told when around the campfire with friends. Everything is neatly given to the audience similarly, but sometimes you just want to sit back and listen to a scary story, right?
One thing that I would have liked to see, however, is a slower and deeper descent into the character of Candyman by the chosen character. It would have been intriguing to see the character’s psychological state being examined more like a slow burn than all at once. This would have been amped by the tension and suspense in the film.
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However, for this to be done the film would have had to be longer, which in some cases, I wish it was. However, if you’re looking for a story to give you goosebumps and you are a fan of the original, Candyman is a fun entry into the 2021 horror genre.
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