Candyman, 2021
This is a supernatural slasher movie under the direction of Nia DaCosta with the writer Jordan Peele, DaCosta and Win Rosenfeld. This movie is the direct sequel of the 1992 movie of similar title while ignoring some happenings of the sequel, while the fourth movie of the Candyman series was from the short story of “The Forbidden”.
Cast Lists
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II performed as Anthony McCoy, the visual artist who became obsessed with the legends of Candyman.
Colman Domingo performed as “Billy” William Burke, the Cabrini-Green dweller who told Anthony about the legends of Candyman.
Michael Hargrove performed as Sherman Fields, the hook-handed guy that was killed by the racist police officials in 1977 right after being falsely blamed for putting razor blades in candies.
Teyonah Parris performed as “Bri” Brianna Cartwright, the art gallery director and Anthony’s girlfriend.
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett performed as Troy Cartwright, Grady Greenberg’s boyfriend and Brianna’s brother.
Vanessa Williams performed as Anne-Marie McCoy, the estranged mother of Anthony, who believed in Candyman’s legend while staying in the Cabrini-Green.
Kyle Kaminsky performed as Grady Greenberg, the boyfriend of Troy
Rebecca Spence performed as Finley Stephens, the art critic
Christiana Clark performed as Danielle Harrington
Carl Clemons-Hopkins performed as Jameson
Rodney Jones III performed as young Billy
Pam Jones performed as Devlin Sharpe
Breanna Lind performed as Annika
Cedric Mays performed as Gil Cartwright
Heidi Grace Engerman performed as Haley Gulick
Torrey Hanson performed as Jack Hyde
Hannah Love Jones performed as young Brianna
Brian King performed as Clive Privler, the art dealer
Nancy Pender performed as the TV News Anchor
Miriam Moss as Jerrica Cooper, the girlfriend of Clive
Virginia Madsen performed as Helen Lyle (archive and voice image), the graduate student that had been able to defeat Candyman after giving up herself years ago.
Tony Todd performed as Daniel Robitaille, the vengeful spirit that was killed as an outcome of the interracial love affair when in the 19th century era. He now emerges when somebody called him through says his name in five times when facing a mirror.
Narrative
In the year 1977, at Cabrini-Green home project in Chicago, a police officer look for Sherman Fields, the homeless man with the hook for the hand known to give candies to the local children. He had been suspected of placing the razor blade in the part of candy, which ended up in white girl hands during Halloween. Later on, the young boy was approached by the Fields while doing a laundry in the apartment building. Afraid of his presence, this kid screams, making the police officer to come down then beat Fields into death. After two weeks, Sherman was posthumously confirmed as innocent after even more reports of the razor blades in candies.
In year 2019, Anthony McCoy, the visual artists dwell in Chicago with his lover, Brianna Cartwright, the art gallery director. In search for that creative spark, Anthony went to Cabrini–Green plan after hearing an urban legend about Helen Lyle through Troy, Brianna’s brother. Troy claimed that Helen kidnapped the baby and went to killing spree just before immolating herself. William Burke, the Laundromat owner met Anthony, who introduced him to the Candyman’s story, and revealed that he was a young boy who saw Sherman Fields being bitten to death by a policeman. Burke implied that when someone said “Candyman” five times in a mirror, the spirit of Sherman will appear and will kill the summoner. After that evening, Anthony summoned Candyman over the objections of Brianna.
Inspired by whatever Burke had told him, Anthony made an elaborated art piece from the legend of Candyman entitled “Say My Name” for display in the art exhibit of Brianna with Clive Privler, her co-worker. But, the piece is highly ignored by the general public and disparaged by the critic of arts Finley Stephens, madding Anthony who drunkenly stormed-off from an exhibit. Later that evening, Clive and Jerrica, his girlfriend were brutally murdered by a Candyman, who had been summoned by that latter, then, Anthony begins compulsively imaging gruesome portraits of not known individuals. Anthony became even more obsessed with that Candyman, much to the chagrin of Brianna who was reminded of her father, the obsessive artist that performed suicide during her being a kid.
Writer’s Notion
The impression that the director wants to impart is that an angry lady that has all the right to be angry, is seen here, however, this again is not a horror film because this is actually a movie about racial inequality and social injustice.
Once we get that past with the political stuff, there’s actually a horror movie that is attempting on breaking out, sadly not a really good one. The movie is not that scary at all, the truth is that, it’s totally dull and the greatest thing to say is that, Candyman is mercifully short. The final scene is adorable, but it is nowhere near enough in saving the negative side of the movie. The main casts here give a mediocre performance and there is a bit to nothing special in this movie and it also failed as a psychological and a horror movie. It also somehow lacked the atmosphere that a Clive Barker terrifying film has, sad to say the movie is not for seasoned horror movie fans.
