In Candyman, Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is an artist looking for inspiration. He moves into an upscale apartment in the now gentrified Cabrini Green (Yes, this is a REAL place with a sad history) with his girlfriend, Brianna (Teyonah Parris). Once he hears the legend of 'The Candyman', Anthony is hooked and decides to design his next project around the urban legend.
Anthony's display sparks interest, re-awakening and spreading the myth, inevitably leading to a new string of grisly murders. As he delves deeper into the roots of 'Candyman', Anthony finds his sanity unraveling. It begins to look like he might have a strange connection to 'Candyman', a connection that could directly alter his future.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays the lead character of Anthony and is incredible. He nails the role. Anthony is very likable, but also kind of dumb (he is DIRECTLY responsible for the urban legend spreading like wildfire. That said, Helen was kind of dumb too). Y.A.M II really sells Anthony's descent into madness (although it's a bit hard to pinpoint what started it). Anthony is given a rich and satisfying backstory that makes his arc here all the more tragic and sad. It also raises questions on fate and free will (think Hereditary).
Teyonah Parris (who could previously be seen as Monica Rambeau in Wandavision) is fantastic as Brianna, girlfriend to Anthony. She witnesses first hand Anthony's battle with sanity, and it deeply affects her. Parris sells the hell out of her role, and her relationship with Anthony is believable. Both her and Y.A.M II work off each other very well, and they share a great deal of chemistry. You root for them as a couple.
As for supporting players, Colman Domingo appears in less than a handful of scenes as William Burke, a laundromat owner who first tells the story of Sherman's Candyman to Anthony. Burke is a friendly, affable guy and Domingo manages to make an impression. Vanessa Williams reprises her role of Anne-Marie McCoy, and is very memorable in her one scene.
In Candyman 2021, 'Candyman' is a figure with many faces, each one that of an innocent black man killed. The face he wears this time is that of Sherman Fields (Michael Hargrove), a weird hook-handed man who would give sweets to kids. When a candy is found with a razor blade in it, Sherman is blamed and beaten to death by a squad of cops. It is Sherman who continually haunts Anthony throughout the film, and it is Sherman who wreaks bloody vengeance on those unwise enough to utter "Candyman" five times.
The expanded lore is pretty cool, and appreciated. There are only two issues. One is that Michael Hargrove is ok as our 'Candyman' for this go-round, but he can't match up to the magnificence or strong presence that Tony Todd provided. The second issue is it's heavily implied that there are many 'Candymen' (or many faces 'the Candyman' can wear), yet we only get to see two in the film. It's hard not to wonder what other 'Candymen' exist out there, and the choice not to show a few more iterations is disappointing ( We get some brief glimpses, but that's it. Maybe that's where future sequels will come in?).
Candyman 2021 is a horror film with a few things to say about gentrification, ghettos, police brutality, coping through mythologizing/story-telling, and much more (It's incredibly "woke", and most of what it has to say you might have heard before). The messages are great, but they are delivered with blunt force. It's not quite as bad as Black Christmas 2019 was with it's aggressive messaging, but it's close. Regardless of your views on the messages and their execution, one thing no one can argue is how well made the final product is.
While Candyman 2021 was written by three people (Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, and Nia DaCosta. The script falls flat in some moments), Nia DaCosta directs and this is clearly HER vision and HER film. This is only DaCosta’s 2nd feature film, but her directing is sharp and efficient. The biggest twist is that it will be Nia DaCosta's name on everyone's lips after the credits roll.
John Gulserian is in charge of cinematography, and in his hands Candyman is always a gorgeous thing to watch (one example: the extended inverted city-scape opening credits). Catrin Hedstrom edits and impresses (Some of the edits cut like a knife). Robert Aiki and Aubrey Lowe craft the score for Candyman, and it's equal parts haunting and beautiful (for example: The update to Helen’s Theme, called “Music Box”, is beautiful). Manuel Cinema (a Chicago-based performance collective) crafts the shadow puppetry used throughout to tell crucial bits of history. Every sequence featuring the puppetry is masterful, jaw-dropping, and exquisite.
The slaughters in Candyman 2021 are brutal, bloody, and gory. They manage to be some of the more memorable kills in recent memory thanks to superb staging, editing, and camerawork (the choice to leave some of the bloodshed off screen is an effective one). Despite how competently Candyman tackles most of it's elements, it doesn't nail everything. Some of the CGI work isn't the best (one particular effect near the end comes to mind), the storytelling can be a bit muddied at times, some of the supporting characters don't add much, and the third act/ ending isn’t as strong as what came before.
Candyman 2021 is a Legacy-quel (pronounced Lega-sequel). It's incredibly respectful and reverent to the first film while building upon and expanding it's lore. You don't have to have seen the original Candyman to appreciate and enjoy this continuation/reboot, but doing so will make this viewing experience all the more impactful and meaningful.
Candyman 2021 is a thoughtful, smart, and scary horror film that dares to deconstruct the Candyman urban legend, delving deep to the roots of why people continue to re-tell it and maybe why they continue to re-tell any urban legend. It continues the story of the first film, building upon it and daring to be it's own thing at the same time. Not only are the film's technical aspects impressive, the story it tells is satisfying and fun, the scares and kills are noteworthy, and it's messages are worth hearing. Candyman 2021 easily emerges as another strong, memorable, socially-conscious horror offering that is well worth your time and money. There is a very good chance it could end up becoming a new classic.
4.5 STARS
