Candyman (2021)

Before seeing the new Candyman, I was going through a list in my head of modern horror remakes, and struggling enormously to think of one that had anything to say that was of any interest. Or indeed an original so bad that it deserved a redo. Nia DaCosta's Candyman has plenty to say, but Bernard Rose's original isn't even close to being bad enough to warrant a complete redo. Which makes DaCosta's decision to make this more of a sequel very sensible (she ignores the two nineties sequels, neither of which I've seen). Let's start with the good stuff. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony, the artist who conjures Candyman through his art and obsession with the myth is terrific; he continues to flourish after his excellent turn in the Watchmen TV series. DaCosta clearly has an eye, the film is thoughtfully made and it's clear that she's invested in the project, along with executive producer Jordan Peele. There is a message they want to get across, and it's applied subtly and effectively for a while, before becoming more pronounced and finally spilling over in the final act, to the point where it completely took me out of the film. It's a shame because the message(s) they attempt to demonstrate are important ones; and Jordan Peele has grasped the balance of subtlety and effectiveness in this manner before with Get Out (2017) and Us (2019). Candyman is beautifully shot by John Guleserian, and the score by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe is fantastic, but the film itself is desperately dull. Despite its best intentions, I didn't find it remotely chilling or engaging, and that was my main problem; you can have all the best intentions in the world but if the final product doesn't draw you in at all, the other issues stick out a whole lot more than they might have otherwise. It's almost too polished; while the original's backdrop was a gnarly and dank project block, this ones' is flashy art exhibitions and expensive apartments, taking away the jagged edged DIY aesthetic of the 1992 version, and eventually handing you its message on a plate instead of weaving it into the subtext. It will be interesting to see DaCosta's next move (I haven't seen her directorial debut Little Woods [2018]) because there is clearly talent here, I just don't know how much of the story is hers, and it doesn't help that she's already pigeonholed somewhat by an original product. However there have been plenty of excellent reviews for Candyman, so there's clearly those that disagree. 3.8/10