Review of Candyman (2021) by Bhappenstance — 16 Oct 2021

Amazed by how awful this new version is, especially with the pedigree of talent involved. Multiple, conflicting backstories confuse Candyman as a character, who is stripped of his seductive qualities, and is simply a specter of menace.

(Which is *fine*, but nowhere near as interesting as the original character.) There's no reason to root for either of the two protagonists -- one an ill-defined art dealer, the other an ill-defined artist.

Neither has any clear sense of desire or motivation. With no one to root for, the narrative is a vacuum in which lots of stuff happens, and a lot of social justice tropes are trotted out for the sake of establishing Contemporary Relevance (TM), but nothing about the plot lands or feels meaningful.

As a villain, Candyman poses the same threat as innumerable other movie villains, which is a massive shame given how compelling and empathetic the character once was. There is some stellar shadow-puppetry, and the cinematography is passably slick, but the aesthetics can't make up for the boring, nonsensical plot, which includes a "twist" so dumb that I gave up twenty minutes before the movie ended.