Review of Candyman (1992) by Melvin W — 30 Aug 2012

Candyman: They will say that I have shed innocent blood. What's blood for, if not for shedding? .

"We Dare You To Say His Name Five Times!".

I've seen Candyman two times now. The first time I was a much younger person and didn't see the many flaws that do exist within this urban legend horror film. On a second viewing, I still enjoyed it, but there were some huge flaws I just couldn't get over.

This is a movie that is sort of hard to judge. It's simultaneously laughable, but well made. It's simultaneously stupid, but genius. There's a lot of great stuff going on in the movie, but there's also an equal amount of terrible stuff going on as well. The film had the potential to be nearly a top tier horror film, but unfortunately it isn't. It will always be regarded as a classic and that's fair, but it will never and should never be called a great film.

We've all heard about Bloody Mary and saying her name in the mirror. Well, this is the same thing, but with a son of a slave called Candyman. If you say his name five times in a mirror, he appears behind you and... well, you know what happens. On another note, I loved the South Park parody of this, in which they used Biggie Smalls as the guy who appears when his name is said in the mirror. The movie follows a woman who's working on a thesis regarding urban legends. She stumbles upon some stuff on Candyman and her work takes her into dangerous and terrifying situations. .

Far from perfect, far from awful; this movie just happens to be a well known, but plainly average horror film. The movie certainly has its moments. There are scenes that work extremely well. The music is creepy and awesome, and overall the film as a whole is a lot of fun. I think most people could agree with me though, that it just all doesn't come together as well as we would hope.