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Candyman (2021) Review

by Murray September 6, 2021

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Candyman (2021) Review

Boring, and it completely missed what made the original film work so well.

Candyman (2021) Review

Boring, and it completely missed what made the original film work so well.

The original Candyman from 1992 gets considered a classic by many fans of the horror genre. Currently, we seem incapable of creating anything new. In defense of the creators of this film. I will say that going the route of a direct sequel to the first film was a wise choice. It is one of the few intelligent choices made with this film.

The highlight of this entire movie would have to be the cast. I’m surprised it’s pulled off, considering this film has almost zero character development. It has little bits and pieces that get thrown at you through the film, but they go nowhere. It seems they had many ideas for this film, and instead of trying to develop any of them to their fullest, they crammed them all in.

You have a flashback in the life of the character Brianna (Played by Teyona Parris). The flashback shows a tragedy she lived through, and that is about all it does. It plays no part in the development of her character or the story. With or without the scene, you have the same movie. Instead of showing the effects of this tragedy, a large part of the film gets spent defining race issues such as gentrification. There is nothing wrong with this other than its execution.

The original Candyman touched on these subjects and managed to weave them into the story. Here the movie comes to a screeching halt so the characters can spell out the issues for the audience. It was heavy-handed, the ending especially so. I expected to see Keenan Ivory Wayans stick his head in the scene and yell “message.”

I found the character of Candyman to be laughable in this film. Tony Todd played the original character. He came off fascinating and terrifying. Here we get an older man who looks beaten and bloody. Instead of getting scared, I wanted to call him an ambulance.

You can only see him in mirrors in this film, and it felt pretty hokey to me. Scenes where Candyman peeked around the doorway while people looked at the mirror, didn’t work. It reminded me of poltergeist three at times, and that is not a good thing. The first film had mystery. You weren’t sure if Candyman was real. Right out of the gate, they make it obvious Candyman is real. That may have been the intention in this film. Aspects of the story allude to this being the case. I found it took away an element from the original movie that worked.

I found the film boring, and it completely missed what made the original film work so well. The message seemed more important than the story, and because of this, I found it to be a poorly written movie. If you’re a fan of the original film, I would tell you to pass on this one. If not, I would again recommend you see something else.