Candyman
A strong remake/reimagining that stakes its place without ever really hitting the heights of other recent horror classics.
While there are few parallels between the original Candyman and this second iteration, the backdrop of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green Housing project remains constant. However, much of the surroundings of the city of Chicago have undergone gentrification and have been replaced with upmarket apartments, inhabited by equally stylish yuppies. Including our protagonist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen) a black artist and his girlfriend Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris) a curator and gallerist.
DaCosta contrives a unique retelling of the legend of Candyman to weave in the premise of the original film into this iteration with Anthony finding inspiration from the tale and seeking out the history of the neighbourhood. Having been artistically frustrated, Anthony feels strongly connected to the tales and is reinvigorated to create a piece titled “Say My Name” which invites viewers to invoke the Candyman by saying his name five times. The parallels of this request to say his name, to the current rallying cries is not lost on us and reaffirms Peele’s mastering in interlacing the black plight into his films.
Perhaps the most innovative elements of this film is the use of the shadow-puppet technique – the delicacy of these black on white paper silhouettes are expressive and used throughout the film as a method of historical recall. Unfortunately, the film loses some of its momentum towards the end with the conclusion providing little resolution to audiences and not quite executing on its horror genre, relying more on grotesque fear than genuine fear.
