- Shelbi R. Ankiewicz
Candyman returns after 22 years
A classic horror film series known as “Candyman” debuted its latest movie on Friday, Aug. 27.
This was a great film. It is categorized as horror, but it is not the jump scare, blood, and gore type of horror; it is psychological and dark, which I enjoy. It will be the perfect movie to watch next month when Halloween comes closer.
The movie starts by featuring a couple. Anthony is an aspiring artist whereas his girlfriend is an established art connoisseur. After hearing a ghost story, Anthony digs deeper into the history of the story and comes to learn the folk tale of “Candyman.”
Through discovering more about Candyman, Anthony learns of his own history and discovers that his history and the story intertwine, and probably more than he would have liked them to.
I had never seen a “Candyman” film prior to this movie, so I had to do some research after the showing. This film incorporates references from the first three “Candyman” films and ties them all together to provide a final explanation for unanswered questions in the previous films.
So not only did the film provide useful information for those who have seen the movies, but it was also highly intriguing because multiple generations were depicted throughout the movie. It was based in the modern-day, but it gave a backstory so everyone could understand what was happening even if they did not watch the first three films. That is what I did, and now I want to watch the first few to understand even more about this film series.
“Candyman” is purely fictional, but there are some things in the film that could be loosely traced to history. There have been multiple occurrences of men being accused of Candyman in the 70s and 80s because they traced Halloween candy with something that killed children. And, where the film takes place, Cabrini Green, Illinois, is an actual public housing project.
If you like horror, history, or good films, make sure to put “Candyman” on your list.
