Warning: This article contains spoilers for Candyman.
The new Candyman movie, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele, has finally made it into theaters more than a year after its original 2020 release date was delayed to accommodate the pandemic. After all this build-up, it didn’t disappoint. Although it largely functions as a reboot of the franchise, the new Candyman is a direct sequel to the 1992 original adapted from a Clive Barker story.
Sequels and reboots to classic horror movies can be a tricky business, but fortunately, 2021’s Candyman is a lot closer to 2018’s Halloween than 2007’s Halloween. It’s both a successful reboot modernizing the mythology and a satisfying sequel continuing a familiar story.
8 It Doesn’t Just Rehash The Plot Of The Original
In the hands of lesser storytellers, a Candyman reboot could simply rehash the plot of the original, with a different grad student writing a different thesis about the urban legend of Candyman and running afoul of him during her research in the Cabrini-Green projects.
But Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele, and the entire production team have examined the Candyman story through a different lens, incorporating gentrification and the art scene. In the first movie, Helen risked becoming a victim of the Candyman; in the sequel, Anthony risks becoming the Candyman himself. The 2021 movie tackles the same subject, but tells a story of its own.
7 It Updates The Social Commentary
Bernard Rose’s original 1992 Candyman movie based on Clive Barker’s work is noted as one of the most racially conscious horror movies ever made. Its Black villain is revealed to be the son of a slave who was murdered by a lynch mob, while the Cabrini-Green projects offer a visual metaphor for the marginalization of Black communities. Just as fans expected when Jordan Peele, the pioneer of the modern “social thriller,” signed on to write and produce it, the new Candyman sequel leans heavily into the social commentary.
The 2021 sequel updated that social commentary for the modern day. The new movie has scenes of vicious police brutality against innocent Black people to reflect the shocking events that inspired the Black Lives Matter movement. It also sheds a light on the impact of gentrification.
6 Anthony And Brianna Are As Compelling And Likable As Helen Lyle
Tony Todd stole the show as the titular villain in Candyman, but a huge part of what makes it such a timeless horror gem is that Virginia Madsen gives a likable enough turn as the protagonist Helen Lyle that the audience roots for her and wants her to live. So many horror movies have uninteresting protagonists that the audience can’t bring themselves to care about.
Fortunately, the lead characters of the new Candyman movie – Anthony and Brianna, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris – are just as compelling and likable as Helen. Both actors share terrific chemistry in the roles and their characters have relatable flaws: Anthony’s talent is fading and Brianna is a workaholic. It makes them easy to root for.
5 It Ignores The Other Two Sequels
2021’s Candyman isn’t the first sequel to Candyman, but it is the first one that wasn’t instantly rejected by the original movie’s fans. Both 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and 1999’s Candyman: Day of the Dead were panned by critics and disregarded by fans.
Both movies significantly altered the Candyman’s backstory and lore, but DaCosta’s movie ignores both previous sequels and instead directly follows up the original, like 2018’s Halloween. As a result, the new movie isn’t burdened with any of the plot points or characters that disappointed fans in the other Candyman sequels and just focuses on the legacy of the first movie.
4 The Candyman Lore Is Significantly Expanded
The original Candyman movie revealed that the titular villain, played by Tony Todd, was the son of a slave named Daniel Robitaille who was killed by a lynch mob for engaging in an interracial relationship with a white woman.
The new movie reveals that Robitaille is one of many incarnations of the Candyman, all of whom have similarly been victims of racial violence. In addition to expanding the scope of the villain’s threat, these changes to the lore built on the story’s sociopolitical themes.
3 It’s Filled With Unforgettable Death Scenes
While the U.S.P. of the Candyman franchise might be its social commentary, these are ultimately slasher movies and the audience expects some horrifying death scenes. Thankfully, the new movie has those in spades. The new Candyman movie has even more terrifying kills than the first one.
One death scene that stands out in particular is art critic Finley Stephens, whose cut throat is smeared across the window of her apartment in an eerie unbroken long take that shows her oblivious neighbors sitting in their own apartments, none the wiser.
2 The Twist About Anthony’s Backstory Provides A Direct Link To The Original
For the most part, the new Candyman movie has the spirit of a reboot, as it focuses on a new character’s connection to the Candyman. However, a well-placed plot twist reveals Anthony to be a grown-up version of the baby from the first movie. Helen was framed for the baby’s abduction after the Candyman took her, and she ended up sacrificing herself to save him.
Revealing that Anthony, who has unfortunately doomed himself to become the new Candyman, is actually the baby that Helen saved in the first movie, both directly links the sequel to its predecessor and adds a tragic bent to the first movie’s happy ending.
1 Nia DaCosta Has Just As Much Visual Flair As Bernard Rose
One of the most notable things about the first Candyman movie was the breathtaking visual style that director Bernard Rose brought to the table. Nia DaCosta constructed the new Candyman movie with her own directorial style – a more cerebral, lyrical form of filmmaking – but she has just as much visual flair as her predecessor.
From blood-drenched murders to sinister dream sequences to characters stumbling through dark hallways with nothing but the flashlight on their cell phones, DaCosta’s Candyman is filled with unforgettable visuals.
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