Candyman (1992) MOVIE REACTION! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- This is our First Patreon Poll Movie Reaction! This month our awesome Patrons have voted for us to watch the 1992 Candyman! Another adaptation from Clive Barkers (Hellraiser) book The Forbidden!
Thank you to all our Patrons who suggested this movie, we liked it a lot!
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#CandyMan (1992)
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can you guys react to a psychological thriller anime movie? it’s called perfect blue directed by satoshi kon, it’s literally a masterpiece and was way ahead of its time.
The new movie coming is a direct sequel to the 1992 original. The baby in this movie is the main character in the new movie and his mother is back as well
The Fuckin Jump Scares!😂😂😂😂😂
You guys should react to the Fly sequel of the one with Jeff Goldblum
I love this movie and Tony Todd is a legend! I do love the forbidden love aspect which is so sad and made me feel more for the characters and feel for Candyman and the pain he experiences.. the message is powerful and makes me happy to be living in a time that we can love who we want!
Fun fact: Tony Todd bargained in his contract to get $1,000 for every bee sting he got during filming. He apparently made $23,000 from having been stung 23 times lol
Was just about to post this. :)
Plus a regular salary? That's pretty damn good. I never knew that. Dead Meat usually mentions stuff like that, but I don't remember him saying anything about that.
@@BrokenGodEnt James did mention it!
Wasn't the actress who played Helen allergic to bees as well? They had an ambulance and emergency first aiders on stand-by though the whole scene.
Awesome fun fact!
Candyman deserves to be a much bigger horror icon than he is.
Well he's getting remade this year so he's pretty big
I agree
@@spaceinvader8791 it supposed to be good. Also it's a sequel to the original.
None of the sequels capture what this film did nor will the new film.
It's a 90s classic to my mind
A few interesting facts for you, since you guys asked - the original story was set in Liverpool and Candyman was white. It was the writer/director (first time writing a script too), Bernard Rose, who moved it to Chicago after being inspired by the story of the murder of Ruthie May McCoy in the projects in 1987 - a killer crawled through her bathroom cabinet (exact same setup) and no one came to help her as she screamed. The original was about class divisions in the north of England but it transposed perfectly to the US racial divides, and the Cabrini Green projects.
Clive Barker's inspiration was a real person who was nicknamed Purple Aki (you can google him), who was a real urban legend around Liverpool and Manchester in the 80s. In fact the real guy is still alive today. It was the idea of a community created figure (an early meme essentially) coming to life on its own that sparked the idea. In the movie, Daniel Robitaille, was a good man unjustly murdered for love but the living ghost created is the sum of all the division and prejudice that killed him; it therefore harms the community that sustains it, keeping them trapped in fear of him.
Crucial to understanding the film's ending is that, the legend of Candyman is 100% created by the belief of the community only, his 'congregation'. That's why his lair looks like an urban cathedral, with graffiti telling his story (instead of stained glass windows) and why the soundtrack is largely church choral music. So when the community see the burning bees fly out, and believe that Helen has given her life to save the baby and destroy him, this belief turns her into an urban legend instead. The mother becomes her high priestess. By erasing his legend with her own, Helen does destroy Candyman. BUT the same division and hate still exist, and of course the urban legend of Helen just becomes the same thing in the end... destructive.
I am going to print this analysis and hang it on my goddamn wall!
@@GreetingsFromBlackwoodFarm Ha, thanks! I found this film so interesting, I went on a spree years ago trying to learn everything about it.
The sequels walked the 'Helen destroyed him' ending back (2 has a great score again, even if it largely misses the point, and 3 is pure trash), but I'm quietly hopeful for Candyman 2021. Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele are some intelligent film makers and anyone is going to do it justice, it's them. I'm only sad that Philip Glass isn't back to do the score again.
@@marsmartin I’m sad Phillip Glass isn’t part of the new film either, however, if the theme music in all of the previews are a taste of what’s in the movie, we have nothing to worry about. I love the new takes on the original scores, and I love the revamped “Say My Name” blended in with the revamped “It Was Always You, Helen” theme. Also love the other version in the puppet teaser; sounds so soft, subtle, but tense.
This movie is my most highly anticipated flick aside from Scream 5. Can’t wait!
@@Smoovey Yeah, this movie probably has the most haunting film score I’ve ever heard. It was a big part of what made the movie so horrifying and affecting when I first saw it. And it was all done with just a piano, a pipe organ, and a choir. Phillip Glass really knows how to do a lot with a little- that’s a minimalist composer for you.
Candyman was based on purple aki?? First time I’ve heard that. I’ve seen purple aki around once or twice, he lives fairly local, not in Liverpool any more.
My brother and I watched this at the theater when it came out. He was in the rest room after the show and said candyman five times while looking in the mirror and screamed like a little girl when a guy walked out of one of the stalls because he thought he was alone.
🤣
I bet that guy did that on purpose lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sorry about that but when you have to go
I always see it as a cautionary tale about trying to 'observe' or 'study' poverty. Candyman comes in a direct representation of a deep-rooted problem that has left these people frightened and mortified. Helen's never someone who's interested in the community beyond her thesis, leading to her ultimate demise.
Especially in the extremely poverty-stricken (and now demolished) neighborhood of Cabrini Green in Chicago; in the 80s and 90s, that was a VERY bad area, and the city leaders just let it fester.
Yeah, like I majored in anthropology and 1) that field started from people tearing up historic cites just looking for riches, meanwhile destroying walls of scriptures and sections of tombs, etc; 2) sometimes for immersion studies it felt like people wanted to humanize and understand groups and how they developed into their current circumstances, but many times people wanted a juicy story and things to be rougher and more "interesting" just to pass on stories, no care for opening up anyone to help or change or what caused the circumstances before hand, especially if they were far removed from it and treating other people like an experiment more or less.
It's all very conflicting. If she came in with more heartfelt intent would it have made a difference? And I've seen some people bring up that she does a very tropey thing in saving the one baby and being a martyr, but in the long run what does that do beyond that one baby, versus all those killed around her and all those still living in that area and other babies?
"Exploitative" is the word they were looking for.
It's basically horror cultural appropriation
@Zap Rowsdower That completely misses the point of this movie. Theres an actually good movie analysis by another viewer named Martine a few comments up. Read it and get rid of this b.s. from your outlook. It's wrong and dulls what you put out as a human if this comment is any indication.
"It was you all along Helen" can be interpreted in a couple of ways. On first viewing, I took it to mean that Helen might be the reincarnation of the woman Candyman loved. But... it could be a message from Helen's subconscious telling her that there is no Candyman and she herself was the lone killer. I love the ambiguity.
But why would she kill Bernadette though?
@@BalletBullet1 Because she lost her mind and believed Candyman was real. She disassociated.
I’m still evenly divided. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, dunno if Candyman was real, or she was just crazy. Kinda what makes it great.
And Tony Todd is The Man! Love him.
@@BalletBullet1 Because she was schizophrenic
Fantastic synopsis, I never thought of it like that.
Tony deserved a career like Denzel. Loved when he popped up in the Final Destination movies.
Easily one of my favorite voices in cinema history. He just sounds so good!
to get the odd look in helen's eyes when she interacts with candyman, the director hypnotised her
Candyman's backstory is probably one of the most tragic in cinematic history.
It doesn't justify killing other innocent people. He lost all sympathy at that point.
@@EmilyGloeggler7984 his backstory serve thé point that racisme is horrible WE CAN'T feel sympathie for him but we can understand it
Idk man, Frank from Hellraiser was always more sad to me. Slept with his brothers fiancee, wanted devious pleasures, convinced someone to kill multiple times, then kills his own brother....
....... And totally gets sent to Hell for it, I mean come on, whats a guy gotta do to get into Heaven these days
"Most tragic in cinematic history" ?
I reckon you haven't seen many movies mate^^
@@stevetoth7136 not do any of those things
Fun fact: Candyman was shot on location and many of the extras were people who lived in the complex or surrounding areas.
The gang people in the film were actually gang members
It was shot in Cabrini Green, Chicago. Cabrini-Green has been renovated since, and looks a bit better now compared to when they filmed.
@@adamh6281 I believe they actually had to pay the gang members to let them shoot the movie there too
@@partywithflop2374 I believe you are right, and some of the movies property got destroyed in the area if I'm not mistaken
@@adamh6281 I think that’s what lead them to paying them off honestly
It’s about how media prays off of the lower class to get their stories and perpetuates the negativity and stereotypes that hinder those communities from growing. Genius film, lots more going on than just jump scares and horrific visuals. The subtext of Barkers work is what makes him such a great genre writer.
Are you a writer as well?
underrated movie this, somehow. the mood, the philip glass score, the socio-economic themes, and tony todd's performance - so good.
RED EYE (2005) FULL MOVIE - Rachel McAdams what movie name I remember that
@Ty The Great oh shit you said "lmao", I guess you win
@Ty The Great you had no counterpoint in the first place. You had a counter opinion with no reasoning behind it. The OP gave points to back their view in their original comment. You didn't. So you lose.
I met Tony Todd at a scifi con. He was one of those sweet shy guys. Also just physically big. I unfortunately dont have the item he signed anymore, just a picture of the item he signed.
If you want to see a grown man cry get him to watch a star trek episode called the visitor. tony todd owned that entire episode.
"Its not too old." We are in 2021. Its almost 30 years :D
its almost 30 years... ._.
I am old... where has the time gone...?
When it first released I was only a day off being a month old.
Clive Barker is an amazing writer. I got to do a photo op with him once a long time ago at a convention and he was the sweetest man. He held my hands and told me how happy he was to meet me and then after the pic was taken he made sure the camera guy got a good pic and didn’t let me leave until he knew the picture was good lol I adore him ❤️
He low key scares me. I don't think I could meet him.
One of the greatest horror films ever made. A true masterpiece. The story, the narrative, the music, the atmosphere, the concept and the commentary on the social function of myths and storytelling, and how societies deal with the horrors of life by turning it into a tale. The line "I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom". I just love it. It's a very serious, cultural movie. It's based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden".
@Ty The Great you don’t like it? Explain yourself, bro
I remember that they hypnotised Virgina Madsen for this film in certain scenes. Bernard Rose also directed a small independent horror film called 'Paperhouse'. Candyman is a clever combination of urban legends and social inequality. Like Freddy Krueger he seems to be created because of the tales/dreams of the community - like a socially created nightmare/infection. Terrific movie!
Very well put. Your right; It is as if Candyman echoes on through thier fears; he feed's from it.
Love "Paperhouse" never understood it as a child. Maybe ill rewatch it.
I remember Paperhouse, bit confusing, but still liked it lol
Candyman is so underrated imo.. Great choice as always!
All the credit goes to our Patreon members for choosing this one for us 😊
I absolutely adore this movie! A modern day horror fairytale. So beautifully crafted. I love how tragic Candyman's story is. It's like poetry. I remember this coming out when I were a kid and I loved it then, still love it now. I think the new one is meant to be a sequel rather than a remake.
I first watched this when I was about 12 and didn’t dare look in to a mirror for a solid week afterwards lol.
Still waiting for your CHILD'S PLAY reaction, and another Clive Barker film you should react to is Nightbreed.
I don't know if anyone mention it, but the actress who played Helene was actually hypnotized during the scene where she first encounter Candyman. Its why her eyes become red and teary because the director had a word he would use to put her under. She finally got fed up and told him not to do it again.
He wasn't always evil he was a normal man once he was in love with a white woman and they didn't like that and they tortured him and let the bees kill him and he returned as a vengeful ghost say his name five times and you are well I was going to say screwed but in this case I'll go with hooked.
He was also a famous painter and the girl he fell in love with, her father heard about his artwork and asked him to paint a portrait of his daughter. That's how they fell in love and she became pregnant with his baby. They chase him out of town and into a big field, tied him to a tree, sawed off his right hand with a rusty saw. They found a beehive nearby and smashed it. They stole the honeycomb and smeared the honey all over his body. That's when they gave him the name "Candyman," they chanted it five times and said "sweet to the sweet," that's when the bees came and stung him and that's how he earned the name Candyman and came back as a vengeful spirit with so much anger in his expression on his face , but in his eyes, he was just sad.
Actually the entity that defined himself as Candyman was not The original Man that they killed and burned it was what was created out of his story it’s not his ghost or anything that’s way too simple in a sense there’s nothing really supernatural in that regards about this movie
This was a MUST in all of our Elementary slumber parties. We love Candyman
Fun fact this is a direct prequel to Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie
you mad lad!
@@Re88eN tidak
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Candy man is honestly my favorite piece of work from Clive barker, definitely recommend reading his short stories book that includes the candy man story, dude was an amazing writer.
Same
When Candyman popped behind Dr Burke, and Tom called out for Shaun had to be the most wholesome adorable moment in this video! Tom was not okay. Lmao!
Such an underrated horror classic. Tony Todd was great as Candyman as a tragic anti hero villain. To me its not a horror film but a story of income inequality, class division and skin colour prejudice obviously. Almost like a doomed love story between two people of different races, a subject still controversial to this day...
It's actually really cool because I live in Chicago and that's where this was shot and takes place. The first Child's Play also takes place in Chicago. You can still see some of the filming locations for both films! Candyman is a classic! The remake is a soft reboot/sequel, I guess.
Direct sequel to this film, main character is the baby from the first one. Todd is reprising his role in some form as well
Philps Glass: Helen's theme is so amazing, almost haunting.
And used in Legends of Tomorrow last year.
I always read this film as a discussion on the power of myth, how it's created and sustained, and how mythology is a way to reach immortality. Candyman lived as a boogeyman that hid in the whispers and was called to action when someone threatened the continued propogation of that myth. When Helen 'found and caught' Candyman, she threatens to dispel the mythology and the very survival of the folk figure himself. Candyman wanted to incorporate her into his own mythology, as a gesture of love and an offering of immortality.
Yes, and in that way, it's a precursor to Wes Craven's New Nightmare (in which Freddy Krueger fights for his own relevance as a modern mythological figure), which itself is a precursor to Scream. The 1990s were fond of reflecting on the cultural significance of horror storytelling.
This movie is the only reason why I get chills when I watch Final Destination😂
Love this movie! Saw it in the cinema as a teenager. The quality is so many notches above typical horror movies.
Brilliant film that is so much more than an effective gory horror flick. From what I've seen and read the new Candyman isn't a remake but rather a continuation which explores relevant contemporary social themes. Can't wait.
One of the most underrated film ever.
RED EYE (2005) FULL MOVIE - Rachel McAdams what movie name
The new Candyman will be coming out later this year, hopefully. It's not a remake, it's a sequel to the original.
I sure hope it’s better than the frist one
@@randomreviews4278 the original is a masterpiece, I really don't think any sequel or remake could be as good as the original, let alone better. And the trailer already sucks, it feels reductive, like any other teen slasher movie, which Candyman isn't.
@@NocturneSoul I hated the frist one the sequels are better in my opinion
@@randomreviews4278 I liked farewell to the flesh better than this one.
@@horrornutt finally someone agrees with me
Candyman is basically a literal manifestation of myth and legend. Thats why Clive Barker put so many urban myths into the movie. Originally the story took place in an English town, and Candyman was white, so it wasnt really about racial problems.
But then again, going with the idea of Candyman, Candyman can be anything people fear and put into myth. This is why he wrote on the wall "It was always you Helen", because Helen was the main driver of the myth of Candyman in the movie. So I hope that explains the movie better for you all. It really is a work of deep brilliance.
The scariest moment for me. In this movie... was the moment they showed Helen strapped to the gurney screaming “Murderer”.. it was then I realized at that young an age , what mental illness must be like for so many.
One of the accidently sexy horror movies
That's a neat category^^
But what else would be in this category?
Maybe the shitty Mummy reboot that made the moronic decision, to make the titular mummy sexy^^
@@arsenelupin9697 Species?
@@BrianSmithNow Nah, that was intentionally sexy^^
Oh definitely intentional. Hellraiser, too.
Yeah that voice alone made this movie more sexual than intended
I love how the film starts with cheap jump scares and decends into real jawdropping horror. I think it's a way of putting the audience in a similar state as Helen starts in: it seems like familiar story with no real teeth, no real danger, just familiar tropes and a few frights. But then it quite abruptly puts us into one of the most horrid moments in cinema, and it keeps going.
y'all should watch Re-animator from 1985
The first one is actually rather good. The sequels turned him into more of a traditional slasher villain. But the first movie is this interesting gothic horror romance. Underrated in my opinion.
I love your reaction to hearing Candy Man voice for the first time. Candyman has most uneasy realistic and sinister voice of any horror monster.
When he goes out the window you can see the wire 🤣
The new Candyman movie is a direct sequel to this one.
No it's not, it's a reboot lmao
Spaceinvader it’s a sequel. It follows on from the baby as he is now an adult and Cabrini Green has changed.
You’re correct, despite what someone else said. The main character in the new movie is the baby who survives and the same actress plays his mother in the new movie. IMDB for source.
@@spaceinvader8791 It's about the baby Helen saves at the end, and his fascination with Cabrini Green and Candyman. I don't know how more direct a sequel could be.
Yup
Tony Todd certainly has 1 of those voices that is not only creepy but is just as equally hypnotising!!
I appreciate your reactions and reviews more and more. You're goodness in bad times. Don't stop.
So freaking excited for the new one (continuation/reboot not really a remake)...if it ever gets released.
This one has alot of social commentary about poverty and race...much deeper and important than it is given credit for.
Great reaction video guys. *you 2 are the best jumpers on RUclips lol.
I remember going to see this in the cinema when it came out. They had a huge cardboard standee poster of a reflective ornamental mirror in the foyer of the cinema for people to say Candyman into 😂
Also, he does say Helen 5 times in the mirror at the end before she appears. 😎
I was JUST binging all your reactions and was disappointed to not see a Candyman reaction! So incredibly happy to see you two exploring so many classics! Keep it up!
Saw this with my sister 10 years after it's release on Showtime and I had to sleep with the lights on!
Her husband does say "Helen" five times. He says it four times, then turns off the light and says it one last time.
Tony Todd actually had real bees in his mouth during that scene. He should've been given more roles, such a great actor.
Unfortunately, at the present time, I can’t be a patron on Patreon, so for anyone that is, PLEASE vote for Apocalypse Now😂. I heard them mention it in the intro and it would be such a good film for them to watch.
Candyman is such an underrated horror film, so glad you got around to viewing it!
No matter what film he is in I always think there's the candyman!
Hellraiser and Candyman have always been my top horror favorites. I met Tony Todd a few years back at a horror con. Such a nice guy. I made a joke with him while he was signing an autograph for me and told him that I didn't feel like Hollywood was keeping him busy enough these days and offered him a job reading me bedtime stories every night in exchange for home cooked meals lol. He laughed and said he was in. When he came around the table to take a photo with me, he leaned down and started whispering a story in my ear in his Candyman voice and I got chills, my foot started thumping, and I couldn't stop laughing 😂. One of the best con guests I've ever met.
There is a betrayal story that was not shown, but felt - until the middle of the film. At the beginning of the movie, Helen catches clues of her husband's betrayal. From here we understand that Helen's whole world is about to crumble.
But Helen doesn't dwell on this clue she has gotten; because she has full confidence in herself. We can see this sense of trust in various parts of the movie. Helen reveals that trust in her conversation with the little boy she is friends with in the suburbs.
In another place, she shows courage by saying taboo words in front of the mirror, or she can venture into a very dangerous neighborhood, into snare holes and take pictures with her friend Bernadette.
Yet Helen's self-confidence is about to collapse. The marriage that he thought was based on solid foundations was actually finished. Her relationship with her husband is tainted by betrayal, but Helen doesn't know this… She senses it, but she can't condemn it… Helen's self-confidence, like her disbelief in urban legends and fairy tales, is superficial. The facts are about to show his ugly face. Helen feels this too, but can't accept it. She still thinks she can live with false confidence.
However, it will soon be revealed that what she thinks is true. Her lies and what She thinks is a lie (fairy tale) is real. All this will haunt Helen in a nightmare. Helen sinks into a schizoid hell of fantasy. In fact, she creates this hell herself. In a sense, it is also heaven, as this place releases anger and frustration. Helen can kill thanks to her nightmares. Behind the screen is Helen, and she is the one who hides in the shade and spreads terror. The movie shows us this over and over again.
The pain of being deceived led to suspicious dementia and personality split in Helen.
Returning to the story of the film: We can say that this is a story of betrayal, more precisely, the projection / expression of the split in the personality of a woman who thinks she has been betrayed.
The concept of projection is one of the important symbols of the film… As Helen projects the slides she took at the crime scene on the wall, she sees the monster haunting her right there.
Helen denies that the beast is herself:
That does seem like a really good explanation theory in the plot, I mean if you think about it all those scene do add up.
Plus the message that Candyman wrote “It was always you Helen” implies that whether he was referring to that Helen was both the reincarnation of his lover in the past and that she somehow had this supernatural schizophrenic ability that made her finally snap at the reality of what’s happening around her.
@@Katiecutiepie166 yeah, most important line: It was allways you Helen :)
This movie deserved more credit then it received Tony Todd is an amazing actor and created a real menacing character in the vein of Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers and Jason Voorhees. I love the aspect of it being the horrors of humans and what we do in both racial and social stands
If you like Clive Barker films, Nightbreed is worth watching
Some fun facts; the scare where Candyman’s arm comes through the mirror wasn’t planned. Virginia was actually scared. Tony Todd didn’t want to do it, because he knew it would scare her, but Bernard Rose got him to do it anyway and he apologized profusely later.
Virginia was also SUPER allergic to bees, so they made a special Queen bee pheromone to keep the bees in a certain place on her body and placate them so they wouldn’t sting her (EMTs were on set, of course). They built a bee apiary on top of the studio so they could use bees who were less than 12 hours old since they don’t have fully developed stingers.
Oh, and when she first sees him and weeps? She was under hypnosis. They used that a LOT in this film for each time she sees him, because Bernard Rose thought screaming didn’t fit this film.
This is my #1 favorite horror film, so mythic. The soundtrack is by Philip Glass which raises it an extra level. It starts out with an investigation of an urban myth then Helen follows the trail down the rabbit hole so far that she becomes a myth herself.
You're right about the disparity between races, the film shows that in how the same plans were used for different apartment complexes and how the black women at college were doing the cleaning.
Tony Todd OWNS this rile for me and mine. Criminal this film is not far far far more beloved. Nice to see you two young men, reach back to see the classics for YOURSELVES. Greatness has no expiration date
I love this movie but after all these years I am still gutted it wasn't set in Liverpool like the original story
Fun Fact: When he had the bees in his mouth, Tony Todd was given 10 Grand for every bee sting he received.
Candyman scared me more than pretty much anything when I was a kid. Imagine watching this film at like age 10 haha. Today I like it a lot but I have a lot of complicated feelings about how well it has and hasn't aged. I would give about a 7.2, far below Hellraiser.
I'd like to note that the director of the remake is Nia DaCosta.
What I find interesting I’m pretty sure most people seem to noticed is how much symbolism there is in Candyman, whether be urban legend or fact, the haunting but beautiful music, or even the type of people around Helen to her husband and colleagues at the university to the characters she met at Cabrini Green.
But one symbol stood out for me the most and that is an eye symbol. If you look back at the movie you can see that symbol. Like in the poster with the eye and the bee, and in most parts of the movie. One of the examples like when Helen listened to Candyman’s story the camera pans into her face and you noticed a light across her eyes as if she was actually almost seeing the tale right before her. Another example would be with some parts of the movie it flashes a few seconds showing that graffiti portrait of Candyman and his eyes feeling like they have Helen in some trance. And when he appears Helen was put in a hypnotic trance, which yes the actress who plays Helen was also hypnotized during those scenes. And the ending with that portrait of Helen on the wall the camera zooms in to her eyes until the screen fades black and credits played.
Now I know it’s probably just me theorizing but that symbol of eyes show up a few times in the movie. I’m pretty sure everyone has their own theory.
Either way both Clive Barker and Bernard Rose are geniuses behind their work.
When I saw first saw this, I had watched it on the same night as a workmate. The next day at work he started talking about a movie he watched and we discovered we had seen the same movie. He could also do the candyman voice perfectly and kept sneaking up behind me and doing the voice. Thanks Tony for scaring me nearly to death that whole day!
Candyman was the first horror movie I ever watched. I was 6-years-old and I slept with my mom for months afterwards. I can't remember any horror movie eliciting such a feeling of dread as this movie. The idea of waking up covered in blood with a knife in your hand, not knowing if you've done something horrific, is so utterly terrifying to me. Any movie I've seen since that uses that kind of narrative uncertainty hits all my anxiety buttons.
The Forbidden is a short story published in Volume Five of The Books of Blood, In The Flesh. As far as the meaning goes, it's about legends, urban or otherwise, and their power to shape and influence the communities they stem from. It's about the importance of stories, not just in understanding where we come from, but who we are and where we're going.
Probably one of my favorite Virginia Madsen performances (also "Sideways"). Helen is so stubborn, determined and only slightly aware of her privilege, it leads to her downfall and a rebirth as an urban legend herself.
What ive read up candyman is based on a case that happened in the projects in the 80s or 90s; a women called the police twice about someone trying to get in through her mirror... they ignored her and the fella eventually broke into her apartment through the mirror and murdered her.
Tom's rendition of Sammy Davis Jr's Candyman is what truly makes this worth it. When I was young this movie scared the bejeesus out of me. I was a big Virginia Madsen fan as well.
Love both your humour and facial expressions so hilarious. Thank you for the awesome reviews :) XOXO
My first black horror character love his voice...HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH MY PEOPLE..
Candyman is essentially putting Helen through the ordeal he went through where the community he thought he could trust and who he thought would believe him suddenly turned on him and ultimately destroyed him.
I like that this movie isn't just a typical slasher where a killer goes around killing dumb teens, it has a compeling narrative and the killer is complex character , he is not killing just for the sake of killing.Tony Todd has a intimidating presence and amazing voice.
Another fun fact: anytime Helen (Virginia Madsen) was in a scene with Candyman (Tony Todd), the director had her hypnotized.
I love characters like Candyman and Pinhead more than Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. I don't know if it's the way they toy with their victims, how different and graphic they go about killing or just something about intelligent villains that you still can't really reason with. Maybe it's just because they where never as popular because Freddy Krueger is smart and creative with his kills and I'd rather watch a Hellraiser or a Candyman movie over a Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Maybe I just like Clive Barker characters? With that in mind you guys should watch Nightbreed.
Gosh I love the look of the Candyman. That silhouette and period costume makes him look like a classic Universal monster.
Some more trivia. The scene involving the kid being attacked in the public restroom was a legit urban legend in Liverpool, as told to young Clive Barker by his grandmother, of all people. One of those bogeyman warnings for children not to go anywhere alone.
You guys need to do Tremors (1990). Kevin Bacon is awesome!
A couple of trivia notes that may have already been mentioned in the comments; for the dreamy performance while under Candyman's spell the director, Bernard Rose, placed actress Virginia Madsen into an hypnotic trance; the music is by contemporary opera composer Philip Glass (who has also scored a few other films, notably 'The Hours', 'Notes on a Scandal' and 'Mishima') who also composed some new cues for the sequel 'Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh' which explores the Candyman origin myth in New Orleans.
The Philip Glass score is beyond perfect.
He apparently took it on because he loved the Clive Barker short story (up to that point he was mostly known for scoring dramas and art films) - but was disappointed with the movie,and didn't approve of the amount of gore.
Nonetheless,it was recently voted 3rd best horror movie score of all time; and Glass admits that it's earned him a lot of money in royalty fees :)
Dead Meat made a video for this movie that covers a LOT of the background and the symbolism and the cultural themes the movie touched upon. One of the better ways to get some of those answers you're looking for.
I was born in 1981. I remember my dad rented this vhs tape when it came out...watched it in the house alone while my parents were at a dinner party. Absolutely gave me nightmares.only movie that ever truly disturbed me as a kid.
INT. Movie Theater (1992)
Candyman (surround sound): "He-len..."
Lady in audience: "Uh-uhhhhhh." 😯
Probably my favourite 90s horror film. Not a slasher but a gothic horror, or more accurately a modern gothic horror. Think of the original Frankenstein. A monster, a maiden, a dark castle, an angry mob, psychological fear and, perhaps most importantly, a romantic story. All the elements are there in Candyman too.
The fact that the bee scene is real makes it even more disturbing. But also more amazing.
My friend and I got a ticket to a screening for this movie from a radio station right before it was released, we were in high school and weren't into horror at that time. I remember thinking it was just a 'weird slasher' movie and neither of us really liked it. As time has gone on, now a fan of horror, I have rewatched this with fresh eyes and see a story of lost love, unjust death and the racial tones and have really grown to appreciate the story being told.
As others have stated already, the new Candyman coming out is a sequel and the main character will be the grownup version of the baby that played a central role in this movie. And honestly, knowing that that baby is almost 30 years old now makes me (13 at the time of this movie and now age over 40) feel REALLY DAMN OLD lol
So excited you guys have reacted to this. ♥️ Your reactions are everythinggggg.
All of those bees are 100% real, including the ones in his mouth, he got stung several times, Tony Todd actually negotiated a bonus of $1000 for every sting during the bee scene
Clive Barker's universe is my favourite when it comes to horror movies, it always reminds me of Lovecraft in a way..
Cabrini Green may be gone but Candyman will go on forever. Candyman. Candyman. Candyman. Ca.. nah, you must be fucking joking.
Also noteworthy (to me)...the woman that played Helen's friend, Bernadette, also had a small part in the previous year's Silence of the Lambs. Her name is Kasi Lemmons. She was in 2 of the greatest "horror" films of the 90s.
Great 90s slasher classic, great story and soundtrack.
I remember seeing this back in the day on Cable tv like HBO or something. The ending scared me to death so much i had trouble sleeping at night.
This movie is a masterpiece in so many ways. From the acting to the score and the iconic performance by THE Tony Todd. Growing up having watched this movie it was one of the most frightening things. Imagine being a kid and seeing this movie. It has stayed with me all these years and I still get chills in certain parts. The message was also very strong and its beyond JUST a horror movie. Ive also never and will never say his name 5 times in the mirror. THATS how shook this movie made me lol
Cabrini-Green Homes was built over a 20 year span. It became notorious during the 1980s when the crack epidemic hit and became a symbol of the problems with public housing in the US. Part of the thinking at the time was that by putting people of a similar socio-economic status in one location, they would have better access to social services (food assistance, rent assistance, healthcare, etc.). In reality, this process made things worse by concentrating societal problems.
At one point, drug dealers at C-G busted out walls between apartments so that lookouts could track cops' movement better. Residents were naturally terrified to live there.