Candyman 2021 released on Friday August The 27th 2021. This film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; Teyonah Parris; Nathan Stewart-Jarrett; Colman Domingo; and Tony Todd. The film is a sequel to the 1992 film by the same name.
The film starts out introducing us to character that we will meet again later on in the film. However at this time this character lives at Cabrini Green which is the same place from the 1992 films and I nthe present day of this film. This kid gets scared to death and then we start following another character by the name of Anthony who is a painter. He is working on doing paintings for a show and stumbles upon the legend of the Candyman. Of course this legen is a little different from the Tony Todd character from 1992 but all in all the same.
However this story tried its best it wasnt a very good story. The mystery and everything that the first one provided this one didn’t do as well at. It also changed the “Candyman” characters legend. Even though it’s a sequel film. I really didn’t like that at all.
Like before in 1992 we see a character who is doing some investigation for their work and they stumble upon the Candyman legend. Anthony was the same. He was working on getting some paintings completed and decided that he needed to be inspired and went out in search of that inspiration around the Cabrini Green area. Once he found more than what he was bargaining for we bring in a supported cast of characters ones that really don’t last long.
The characters are just fodder at this point. The few that did matter to the story were just used terribly. I feel like the only character that had decent writing was Anthony but it was a copy and paste of Virginia Madsens Helen Lyle character. I just think they could have went a different route with the characters in this film they weren’t just interesting at
CGI and Effects:
CGI filled films are the normal no one uses original effects anymore. However when you’re doing a movie about a guy who appears in a reflective surface CGI is where it’s at. The effects were the best part of the film. Having the character in the mirror appear turned in the opposite direction was one of the coolest parts and I am glad it was not overlooked. There was really only a couple of death scenes that you actually see in the film and they were both bad. The effects on them could have been way better! That is the biggest complaint I have you don’t don’t get to witness the murders because the camera cuts away. It may sound strange to you guys but I dont go to horror movies to see a person is gonna get got and then it cuts to a different scene.
The film was directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Jordan Peele. Again nothing against Peele or DaCosta they have done great things in their careers but this is not one of them. The movie was a jumbled mess from start to finish and at times felt like a carbon copy of the original. Honestly the only difference is the main character in the film is a man rather than a woman. I feel this film had a lot of hype and could have been terrifying but that wasn’t the case. I hope DaCosta and Peele have a better film when they work together next. I also hope that DaCosta brings her A game with the Marvel movie she is getting ready to direct because if it isn’t any better than this she won’t last.
Final Thoughts
Candyman is a film about a supernatural event that takes place after someone says the name “Candyman” five times in a mirror or reflective surface. This film did not feel like a horror film to me. It felt like a supernatural mystery or a thriller/suspense film. The first film was a horror film. The next two after that were horror films. This movie being the fourth of this franchise was a huge let down. It wasn’t even a film that you could get remotely interested in. Some movies you can just enjoy when they’re not very good but this one you couldn’t at all.
I really hope there’s another film to revitalize this franchise because for me this one did not do that. It could have all of the actors and characters were there. It could have been a really good film. The things I liked was the small elements of the first film, the legend of Helen Lyle being told and how the main character discovers the truth about his past in connection to the 1992 movie. There’s just so much that I hated that the few things that were good couldn’t save the movie.
My final score overall is 63%
