Candyman (2021) Movie Review

 by Karl W.

    I'm a bit weary when it comes to horror movie remakes and sequels. Blame it on me having grown up in the time where sequels for a lot of popular horror movies from the 70s and 80s started popping up ad nauseam, a lot of which were also pretty terrible as well. Still, that's not new, remakes and sequels have been a thing since the dawn of time, but I feel like there needs to be a reason for a new movie to be made, rather than to make the same movie over again (see forgettable to terrible sequels like the 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street or the 2015 Poltergeist for examples of that). However, a special exception came when I heard about the remake for Candyman in late 2019, produced by Jordan Peele and directed by up and coming director Nia DeCosta. Candyman from 1992 was a cult-classic horror movie that honestly holds up on its own today. It was a fantastic movie that took place in the shut down housing project of Cabrini Green that tackled themes of gentrification and racial disparity that felt more grounded than the slasher movies of the 80s. I was open for a modern retelling of the story, especially after two sequels from the mid to late 90s that were mediocre at best. Also, with Jordan Peele's recent successes with black-centric horror movies like "Get Out" and "Us", it could help paint the film from the black perspective, where the 1992 movie was very much from the white outsider looking in. It was one of my most anticipated movies in 2020...but then the pandemic hit, 

    Well...I'm honestly conflicted with this movie, and that's disappointing to say, considering what this movie could've been with horror movies on the rise and with the pedigree that other Jordan Peele-produced horror movies. It's not a bad movie, as there are plenty of elements about it that work...but there are also issues with the overall construction with this movie that need to be addressed. 

    Candyman follows Anthony McCoy, an artist in Chicago who was made aware of the mythos of the Candyman after being made aware of the old tale of Helen Lyle, the protagonist of the first movie who is now remembered as a killer after the events of the first film. However, the more Anthony explores the cases in the long lost Cabrini Green, he is made aware of the Candyman mythos by a man named William Burke, who witnessed the death of an innocent black man at the hands of the police in the 70s, and when you say Candyman five times in the mirror, then he will come and kill you. The film gives an interesting new twist to the Candyman mythos in that it isn't just one figure, but instead a title of different black people across the ages who were the victims of racial injustice and violence, usually the victim of the racist white residents who would murder them in cruel ways. It does also benefit from the more modern update, as we explore a gentrified Cabrini Green residency and exploring Anthony's place in a world that views his art favorably...but doesn't necessarily care for him.

    Now, I hear a lot of people say the themes of this movie is heavy-handed, even going as far as to say that Candyman has become "woke" (which, I mean, the first movie had themes of racial disparity and racial violence as well, so that argument is rather mute). Really, the problem isn't with the themes of this movie, most of which I thought were good themes for a movie like this. The problem is that these themes are approached with the subtlety of a sledgehammer through a pane of glass. The writing of this movie is messy, possibly the consequence of there being three different writers in this movie, and boy you can tell. There are some themes that are pretty subtle and worth digging into, particularly when it comes to black art and the overall theme of gentrification. However, plenty of other themes are just straight up said by the characters of the movie that just bring you out of it (not quite as bad as the Black Christmas remake in 2019, but just barely touching that line). A good, thought-provoking movie shouldn't feel the need to speak down to the audience like that. The messy writing also affects the movie as a whole, where plotlines are introduced but rarely followed up, including a plotline involving the father of one of the main characters that was never resolved in the end. It all reaches it's worst part with the ending, which seems to rush to a conclusion that felt unearned, especially with characters acting extremely cartoonish and exaggerated for no reason. 

    Honestly, the more I think about this movie and how it tries to convey its themes into the story, the more it falls apart. There are seeds of a great modern update to Candyman especially in today's modern climate, yet the execution was just...off. It's an overall shorter movie than the original Candyman, but it tries to cram in so much more that it becomes hard to digest. That's not to say this movie is bad either. The acting overall is solid, especially from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony and Teyonah Parris as Brianna, who both play off each other well and do a lot of heavy lifting in their respective scenes as well. It also has some of the best cinematography I've seen in a modern horror movie. The scenes with the titular Candyman especially are worth mentioning as the film uses mirrors and different shots to convey his presence and the gruesome kills in this movie. I'd say overall this movie is better than the sequels in the late 90s (both of which were wildly forgotten for...pretty good reason), but I feel like this movie needed another rewrite and maybe even a slightly longer runtime to truly stand out as a great movie, or even on par with the original. In the end, Candyman (2021) has some solid moments and some great themes let down by a marred execution and rather dismal writing. Still, it's a sweet enough treat to try out at least once.

6/10 (Decent)