Candyman (1992) | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

This was a re-watch that I was looking forward to. I'd only seen the film once before this watch, so many years ago that I couldn't remember it, and even the 2021 sequel doesn't stick in my mind, so I felt like I was going into this one fresh-ish.

I really like this movie.

Not enough horror movies make use of urban legends, and it's such an easy topic to create a scary movie out of. This one does a really good job of creating a myth around a figure, and actually making it scary, before we really get into the story.

It moves slowly, but you become so invested in the story that you don't even notice, or really care.

You become so wrapped up in the legend of Candyman, and the writing does a really great job of creating it in a way that gives the whole story a tense and creepy undertone without us having to see him, or even knowing if the legend is really true.

But they also do a great job of making the story powerful. The scene where we are told the story of what happened to Candyman, hearing the sounds while all we can see is Helen's eyes, is so intense and powerful, and immediately reminded me of the similar scene in Sinners. Both scenes used sound to put so much strength behind words without images in an amazing way.

The image of Candyman is iconic before we get to meet him. The portrait on the wall that we keep coming back to is incredibly effective.

But that becomes even more iconic when we see him for the first time. The design, the outfit, the voice, everything about him is so well done, particularly in his first appearance.

All the actors are so great. Virginia Madsen created such a great main character in Helen. She's the one we follow, the one we're interested in, and her performance is so great!

But of course, Tony Todd steals the show. This was far from his first role, but this is probably the one that made him iconic, and the performance speaks for itself. One of the most iconic villains/anti-heroes in horror history.

I kind of wish the film had gone deeper into the idea of Helen being the true evil. If we could have kept Candyman hidden for longer and subverted expectations a bit, it might have been a really interesting turn.

The story is less interesting when it becomes more about Helen and less about Candyman, but you're still completely engaged.

The ending was great, and really unexpected. One of the best things about horror movies is how varied the endings can be - you can't really assume they'll end happily. This one did a great job of subverting expectations.

So overall, I had such a great time with this film. It's the best bucket list movie I've watched in a while and one I'd definitely recommend! Now I need to re-watch the sequel!