Candyman Review
Written by: MistressOf Horror
Candyman is a movie based on Clive Barker's short story The Forbidden. It's in the fifth volume of his Books of Blood.
I have to say when it comes to this movie director Bernard Rose has done a damn good job. There are many differences between Barker's version and Rose's movie, but this movie can stand on its own.
Helen Rose is studying urban myths, which is a fantastic set-up in itself. Our heroine is researching legends which are "obviously" untrue. She's also played by Virginia Madsen,who plays the role not only as beautiful-but smart. She does a fantastic job playing a truly believable character
Tony Todd was an interesting choice to portray Candyman - he's a big, imposing black man, but he has an air of class and dignity instead of being just a stereotyped hook-handed ugly boy. You can believe in this mythological figure... That's the whole point. He lives and breathes as a real evil deity.
Helen begins her own hands-on research into the story of this mysterious killer. She learns that Candyman , a black man in a fashionably long coat who can be summoned by repeating his name five times into a mirror, was once the victim of a terrible crime and has been seeking his own form of justice ever since. His ashes are scattered at Cabrini Green, the Chicago housing project where much of the action takes place.
Mr. Rose, very partial to secret gateways into the netherworld, also gives Candyman a surprisingly soft touch. His gambits run toward "sweets to the sweet" and "be my victim," and his taste runs toward Helen once she begins stirring up the memory of his past, through a series of suspensefully staged investigative episodes. Helen goes from the halls of her university to a lunatic asylum .
"Candyman" is set up as an elaborate campfire story. More than once, it is said that what someone witnessed turned his or her hair white from shock. The film also has its share of novel touches, from the cute young student who dotes too much on Helen's husband (Xander Berkeley) to the fellow academics who view Candyman's crimes as a form of urban folklore. There is also an offbeat resolution to the tale, one that suggests there will soon be a new Candyperson in town.
The story's unusually high interest in social issues is furthered by the contrast between Helen's genteel condominium (which turns out to have a secret history as public housing) and the rougher atmosphere of Cabrini Green. At the latter, Vanessa Williams appears effectively as a young mother fighting to raise her baby against impossible obstacles, some of which emanate from the great beyond.
A visual treat ( we seen Helen walking through an abandoned housing project where Candyman supposedly lives and it full of macabre grafitti.. a mural of candymans mouth as a door way will always stand out in my memory.. a romantic tinge and sorrowful backstory. all played against a wonderful and haunting music score.
Candyman is a respectful adaptation of The Forbidden,I highly recommend this movie to any who have not seen it.