Review of Candyman (1992) by Stuart K — 28 Apr 2014

Based upon Clive Barker's 1984 short story The Forbidden from his Books of Blood collection, adapted and directed here by Bernard Rose, (Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (1990), Immortal Beloved (1994) and Mr.

Nice (2010)), this is a good film adaptation of the story, with some effective, bloody scares. It's creepy when it wants to be, and it has a dark and mysterious tone too, with a lot of good moments.

In Chicago, graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) is researching a paper on urban legends, and she hears one about a local myth about The Candyman (Tony Todd), who is summoned by saying his name 5 times in the mirror, before killing the summoner.

Helen with her colleague Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons) research the site of a recent murder, linked to the Candyman myth. After being attacked by a local gang, the real Candyman appears to Helen, he wants her to prove that he really does exist.

So, the Candyman puts Helen in a horrific situation, where she's arrested for assault, then put in a psychiatric hospital for murder, which she can't remember. It might look a bit dated now, (it's a wonder no-one has tried to remake it), but it has some effective moments, and Rose keeps the tense mood up.

It has a darkly ironic twist in the tale at the end too. Plus, the original story was set in Birmingham, which makes you wonder what a Brummie version of Candyman would have been like.