Sundaymail Editor
Tinashe Kusema
Film Review
Pièce de résistance!
This is how the French best describe the body of work that is “Candyman”, Jordan Peele’s latest offering and addition to the horror movie genre.
“Get Out” is arguably the film he will forever be remembered for, given it introduced the Americans to the horror genre, but in “Candyman” the 42-year-old appears to have outdone himself.
“Candyman” is like a Marvel movie on steroids.
A sequel to the 1992 cult classic, the film picks up twenty years after the events of the first movie.
Here, a promising young visual artist, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), looks to have hit some sort of dry patch and is in desperate need of inspiration.
When his would-be brother-in-law Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarret) narrates an urban legend of the Candyman during a routine family dinner, McCoy decides to visit the source of the story, Cabrini-Green housing projects, hoping to spark his creative juices.
After some investigations, McCoy develops an art display based on the Candyman’s legend and showcases it at his girlfriend’s gallery.
However, it turns out the Candyman story is anything but an urban legend.
Soon, people start dying when they call out the name “Candyman” five times in front of a mirror as per legend.
Peele and company could have simply repeated the plotline of the 1992 movie, modernise it with the latest computer-generated imagery (CGI) and pass it of as a soft or outright reboot.
However, he decided not to be lazy.
Peele, who co-wrote and produced the film, took the plot and added some layers to it.
This, in my opinion, was a stroke of genius, the first of many wise decisions.
According to the new story, Candyman is a name given to those unjustly killed, with at least five individuals taking up the moniker over time.
The moniker traces as far back as 1892.
There are a lot of racial undertones throughout the movie, some related to police brutality, and this will likely appeal to many minority races in the United States.
While not the most original idea, the commentary is light and in no way dominates the movie’s overall plot or alienates other countries.
Rookie director Nia DaCosta also deserves special mention for her effort in the masterpiece.
Her youth and creativity ideas shine bright throughout the movie.
Unlike the gore and brutality of the first movie, the deaths in the film are light and mostly viewed through reflections on mirrors or from a distance.
This adds a supernatural element to the tale compared to the movie where Tony Todd’s Daniel Robataille was an actual physical presence and did most of the killing.
DaCosta’s handling of McCoy’s gradual transformation into the actual Candyman is another thing of marvel.
While Abdul-Mateen does a great job in carrying most of the action and emotional beats, the entire cast plays their roles well.
The depiction of the arts community treads on the thin line between humour and satire.
It would be a sheer waste space to name each and every character and actor, but special mention to Virginia Madsen (Helen Lyle), Kasi Lemmons (Bernadette Walsh) and Colman Domingo as William Burke.
Burke offers us a link between the past and present, as he is one of the few who has actually seen the Candyman and lived to tell the story.
This makes him one of the most important characters in the movie.
I could reveal the other character who connects with the past, but that would be a major spoiler.
Online Reporter