Item: Candyman
Rating: 7
Author: Lance Vlcek

Last Updated on October 14, 2022

PLOT: An artist living in the gentrified area that was once the Cabrini-Green housing projects makes the fatal mistake of saying a particular legend’s name fives times in the mirror. What follows is a trail of dead bodies and a descent into madness.

LOWDOWN: Set in present-day Cabrini Green, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a struggling artist who lives with his well-off girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris), who co-runs an art gallery herself. After exploring the remnants of Cabrini for inspiration, Anthony befriends a local by the name of William Burke (Colman Domingo). The latter tells him the tale of a corrupt Chicago police department and a ghost figure that has been the cause of much of that area’s suffering. Of course, Anthony says the name which alters the course of his life and everyone around him.

The original 1992 movie has always held a special place in my horror-obsessed heart. Cabrini was a force in my news cycle back on Fox 32, and you could see part of the high rises from my doctor’s office in River North as a kid. Maybe it’s because I had no boundaries for horror movies at a young age, but Candyman messed this eight-year-old up. I fell in love with its dreamlike atmosphere and poetic sadness, wrapped in a real-life location. Add a brilliant and surprisingly kind performance from Tony Todd as the mythical killer, and you have a true horror classic that transcends time. So how does this spiritual sequel hold up with the original being held in such high regard? Pretty decent. Like always, mild spoilers are ahead if you are of the sensitive type.

“Candyman ain’t a he. Candyman is the whole damn hive” is a line by laundromat owner William Burke, which sets up exactly how Candyman 2021 will operate in the world where Daniel Robitaille exists yet isn’t the focus here. Also, I’ll be referring to it as “Candyman 2021″ for clarity. To be clear and temper expectations, Tony Todd has such a brief cameo that it may have just been a quick re-shoot added in to fend off any eventual fallout from fans. This movie isn’t about Robitaille but Sherman Fields (Michael Hargrove), a Cabrini resident falsely accused of giving kids candy hidden with razorblades and who’s murdered by the Chicago P.D. because of it. The point of the hive is that the legend is one of constant change. A different victim becomes the ghost for a different era, and it’s Fields who comes for and disrupts the life of Anthony McCoy. The idea of a constantly changing villain is something I can get behind. Listen, I’d prefer Todd to take the role of Candyman, but it’s been twenty-two years since he last wore the hook, and it seems like the idea of him taking the lead once again is slim to none at this point. So how do you continue in this world without a full-on reboot? The hive.

Like the original, Anthony sees his life go to hell after saying the name and finds that wherever he goes, death follows. Unlike Virginia Madsen’s Helen Lyle, who was straight-up framed, Anthony is more of a suspect since he isn’t directly implemented but seems to be always in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see, Anthony is changing from the inside, his hand is rotting, and his sanity cracking. He’s becoming the new ghost story that will keep the legend alive. Yahya gives a stoic yet delicate approach to the character. I appreciate that he wasn’t tough or even confident, but a dorky artist that gets way in over his head while trying to learn the history of Cabrini. The original version dealt with a dark romance between captor and victim, while DaCosta’s movie deals with the cycle of trauma in the community. Having Brianna Cartwright see the man she loves fade away is a nice touch that flips the script on Xander Berkeley’s Trevor Lyle being a creep and a cheat. There’s love here but one of eventual loss.

Casting-wise, this impressed me. Not only did Yahya knock it out of the park, but the side characters do a surprising amount of heavy lifting, with a few stealing the show. Grady (Kyle Kaminsky) acts as the reasonable partner to Troy Cartwright (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett). Both a funny and witty team, Their snappy banter and comedic moments feel natural and earned. Colman Domingo’s Burke acts as the storyteller informing Anthony of the entire history of Candyman and his many incarnations. Burke has such a gruff and passionate voice I kind of wish he acted as the narrator as well. Anne-Marie McCoy (Vanessa Williams) was the one character that nearly stopped the damn movie with a heartfelt third-act cameo. She’s the one proper link to the original that isn’t just a campfire tale. A career-defining performance with little dialogue, she sells the fear and failure in life perfectly.

Nia DaCosta brings a sharp and distinct style to Candyman 2021that impressed me. The original had an ethereal vibe with its clear and wide scope, while the 2021 version is a lot moodier, more colorful with many tight, personal shots. She transitions a few of the early scenes with an upside-down view of the skyline fading into a deep fog, and it amazingly sets the tone and feel of what’s to come. Though the directing is impressive and imaginative, my biggest complaint is the writing and its inconsistencies. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but this ain’t as clever or poignant as it thinks it is.

Candyman 2021 acts as more of a stylish thriller than a fever dream, and though I don’t want a rehash of Bernard Rose’s classic, I’m a bit disappointed that this goes for such a straightforward horror approach. Not once was I unsettled or even slightly on edge. Was I entertained? For sure, but I missed the sense of impending doom that was deeply embedded in the 1992 movie. I’m not going to pretend that there isn’t some nostalgia in my critique, and I couldn’t guarantee that Rose’s movie would creep me out today if I didn’t grow watching it, but the slasher angle just didn’t hit home the same way. The ending is where this will divide fans. Candyman 2021 has a strong message that some may argue is too blunt and heavy-handed (at times it is), but that’s the point of this spiritual sequel. It may work for many of you, but for me, the last twenty minutes are clunky at best and silly at worst. This may have worked better by just cutting ties all together from its 1992 counterpart because I felt like this tried too hard and failed to find its own voice. Tony Todd should either be the antagonist or not. No half measures.

GORE: We get a few decent hookings and the now expected CGI blood splatter. Candyman 2021 doesn’t embrace its bloody past but doesn’t neglect it either.

BOTTOM LINE: Nia DaCosta enters this world and quickly makes it her own. The casting was spot on, with Yahya proving once again that he can lead with ease, along with a supporting cast that proved to be just as strong and capable. Candyman 2021 loses points, though, with inconsistent writing that goes from engaging to awkward throughout the third act. The ending trips over its feet and falls flat on its face. This sets up that the legend is ever-changing, and the next incarnation can be a different story, so even if this didn’t nail the ending, it sets up future movies in a cool enough way that I didn’t walk out upset. Enough works that I’ll say Candyman 2021 was a good movie with some solid moments, even if it doesn’t hold a candle to the original or the underrated sequel.

Candyman Haunts Theaters This Friday, August 27th, 2021