Candyman (1992)

With a trip to the cinema to see the new version/sequel/re-imagining of Candyman planned, I thought it an appropriate time to finally sit down and watch Bernard Rose's original. A story transplanted from its original source location of Liverpool to the projects of Chicago, Candyman's focal point is Helen (Virginia Madsen), a budding journalist and grad student from the local university, who wants to write her thesis on the local legend of the Candyman, a seemingly mythical figure with a hook for a hand who slaughters (supposedly) innocent people when summoned. Helen mentions early on that she doesn't want to pigeonhole the black community with a story of a monster living amongst a supposedly crime filled location, she wants the truth of the Candyman; and it's a journey that leads her to apparent insanity by the films' conclusion. The story of Candyman's origins that Helen is told during the film is laced with injustice, something that clearly speaks louder today in a social media world and can be heard by more people. It's certainly a focus that Nia DaCosta's reboot addresses but it's difficult to accurately identify the true nature of the originals' aims almost twenty years on; applying social and historical context is not as easy as just claiming a film is discussing something that it very easily may not have been twenty years ago.

Rose's Candyman plays like a scratchy slasher, without ever fully becoming one; the story of Helen is one we become engaged in and follow with interest for two thirds of the film. Candyman runs out of steam dramatically in its final third, Helen's repeated visions/reality clash one too many times for us to keep caring or indeed on the edge of our seats. It's gory without being remotely scary but it's not a bad film at all. There are plenty of interesting ideas and Tony Todd is excellent as the iconic villain of the piece, it's just a shame it can't hold its own to the conclusion. 6.0/10