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(1992)
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(1992) |
Chicago graduate story student Helen Lyle and her partner, Bernadette Walsh, are completing a thesis on local urban legends, a thesis that brings a mythical figure named Candyman to their attention. Reputed to be a vicious supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, Candyman is said to inhabit a Chicago housing project. When Helen investigates, she discovers Candyman is more than just a myth--and is somehow insparately connected to her.
Subgenres: postmodern, racial commentary
Director: Bernard Rose
Starring: Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd
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Astounding, intelligent, horrifying, mesmerizing. Forget Scream and Urban Legend (especially Urban Legend)--this is the only postmodern horror film that takes is subject seriously and does it with a lot of class. Virginia Madsen provides a strong, complex lead, her supporting cast is never less than convincing, and Tony Todd is menacing, brutal, and even erotic as Candyman. Excellent director Bernard Rose--aided by a wonderful score by Philip Glass--even manages to give the tale a strongly apocalyptic feel. An overlooked film I can only hope will be someday recognized as the classic it is. (Jun 28, 1999/Mar 11, 2000) | ||||||
Based on a Liverpudlian urban legend and first put into story form in Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden," in the book In the Flesh. The original story was set in Liverpool.
Followed by two sequels: Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman: Day of the Dead.
