Bernard Rose’s 1992 Clive Barker adaptation Candyman (watch it HERE) is considered to be one of the best horror movies of the last few decades, and it spawned a franchise that consists of the 1995 sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, the 1999 sequel Candyman: Day of the Dead, and a 2021 follow-up that was simply called Candyman. None of them were made with the involvement of Rose – and if he had been tasked with making a sequel, the franchise would have gone off in a very different direction. One that would have drawn inspiration from a different Barker story, The Midnight Meat Train. And you can find out all about Rose’s idea for Candyman 2: The Midnight Meat Train (which would have featured the ghost of Jack the Ripper) by checking out the new episode of WTF Happened to This Unmade Horror Movie, embedded above!
Written and directed by Rose, Candyman was based on a short story by Clive Barker that was called The Forbidden. The film has the following synopsis: Skeptical graduate student Helen Lyle befriends Anne-Marie McCoy while researching superstitions in a housing project on Chicago’s Near North Side. From Anne-Marie, Helen learns about the Candyman, a knife-wielding figure of urban legend that some of her neighbors believe to be responsible for a recent murder. After a mysterious man matching the Candyman’s description begins stalking her, Helen comes to fear that the legend may be all too real.
Would you have liked to have seen a Midnight Meat Train-inspired Candyman sequel? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
The WTF Happened to This Unmade Horror Movie series (formerly known as The Horror Movie That Almost Was) focuses on the various horror projects that could never seem to get things off the ground, be it for budgetary concerns, creative differences, or just an ever evolving Hollywood landscape. We dive into every aspect and see just how close these films had come to cameras rolling.
This episode was Written, Narrated, and Edited by Tyler Nichols, Produced by John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Unmade Horror Movie can be seen at the bottom of this article. To see more, and to check out our other video series, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!