There are, generally, two types of horror movies.
There slasher movies, and then there are the kinds of movies that deal with far out,
spiritual killers like ghosts, banshees and myths.
Candyman is a perfect example of the latter.
Form the demented mind of Clive Barker, one of
America’s greatest horror writers and the creator of the Hellraiser movies,
comes the Candyman, the son of a rich former slave who, because he was such a great
artist, was commissioned to paint the portrait of a rich land owners daughter. Because the
the Candyman is played by Tony Todd (Night of the Living Dead) she fell madly in
love with him and became pregnant. This didn’t go over well with her father so he
paid a bunch of 19th century thugs to kill Candyman. They then striped him, cut
off his right hand, and tossed him into a bee hive, the Candyman was then stung to death.
We fast forward to present day Chicago where that
entire story has become a sort of urban myth. If you look in the mirror and say his name 5
times the Candyman will appear and kill you with the hook that has replaced his right
hand.
Studying this and other myths is Helen Lyle, a
graduate student for the University of Illinois. She, unfortunately, makes the mistake of
not believing in the Candyman and causing others of Cabreeny Green (the slum in which the
Candyman holds the population in a grip of fear) to not believe in him. This causes the
Candyman to get extremely pissed, so he kills Helen’s best friend and frames her for
it, saying that he will keep killing in her name until she believes in him.
The Candyman, and his concept, are perhaps the most
original villains to appear in horror in a long time. Instead of just being a simple ghost
this ghost seams to be powered by others fear of him, and by the constant retelling of his
acts via urban myths.
As the Candyman, Tony Todd manages to be creepy and
not fall into the trap of utter campy, silliness the most horror villains fall into (re:A
Nightmare on Elm Street). No crappy wise cracks or "Candy" puns here, just
some really creepy dialogue courtesy of screenwriter Bernard Rose.
What’s more, Virginia Madsen actually does
something. Let me explain: No matter what type of horror movie your in you will inevitably
meat up with a woman who basically just sits around and screams as all the wired and
horrible stuff happens around her. As Helen Lyle, Virginia actually does something that
most horror heroines never do: She acts! And does it well. She manages to generate some
real pathos for her character. Something even fewer horror heroines manage to do.
While it isn’t Scream (what is right?) Candyman
could easyily be the Scream of its sub-genre, it has all the ingredients:
characters you care about, a tightly written story, and a villain that will give you
nightmares.
RATING(OUT OF A
POSSIBLE FIVE)
A TRUE SCARRY MOVIE
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