I generally do not enjoy horror films, but I liked “Candyman” (2021).
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I was able to comprehend the director Nia DaCosta‘s cinematic aims from the jump. The dragging, upward tilted camera movement roaming through the streets of Chicago during the opening credits felt eerie, like the audience was introduced to a victim’s viewpoint who had been forcibly dragged against their will. The distortion was immediately uncomfortable, so that was 👏🏾 👏🏾 🧐. Sort of reminded me of the intro to “The Shining” (1980).
I appreciated the gentrification subplot for this sequel. It’s palpable and is a social issue that has cropped up in many surrealistic fantasy and dramedies from Black creatives recently, including Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You” and Issa Rae’s “Insecure.” The screenwriters—Academy Award winner Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfield, and DaCosta—did a great job tying it in with the folklore of the titular villain.
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I also enjoyed how if someone had not seen the original 1992 film, or perhaps had not seen it in a while (me!), then they did not necessarily need to go back to it before diving into this work. Using shadow puppet cutouts to re-engage with the myth of Candyman was perfect—it was playful and terrifying! Gave me a throwback to OG animation “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (1926) vibes.
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The cinematography was gorgeous. I’m not familiar with John Guleserian’s previous work, but there were shots in this film that I could hang in a gallery. He did a great job with exploring the gentrification sub-plot through a variety of shots:
🎥 Tony (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) Googling “Cabrini Green then and now” and printing pictures.
🎥 The trucking full body shots of Tony walking into the Cabrini-Green projects with new apartments developing in the background. Seeing him walk past new apartment signs as he journeyed to the old community was a nice touch too. 👌🏾👌🏾
🎥 Tony holding the printed photo of the church, which was grim and dark back in the day, followed by a shot of Tony lowering the photo to refocus on the same church painted white in the present day.
The contrasts were striking, and hit on the literal and socioeconomic “black” and “white” of the subplot. Beautiful work. 👌🏾🧐
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Colman Domingo’s character William Burke’s narrative symmetry was great too. He’s the first character the audience was introduced to as a kid carrying clothes into a basement laundromat in the old Cabrini-Green building. He’s the first person Tony sees when he travels to the community. He went on to own a laundromat in the area. He knows vivid details about the titular character. And then, and then, and then… 😏😏😏 It all worked!
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There wasn’t a wasted frame. I loved the use of reflections to catch perspective shifts, and that those shots were not always using mirrors.
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I loved the callback to this shot from the original film:
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The makeup and prosthetics work was incredible! There was a latticed honeycomb texture on Tony’s face that was disgustingly pulchritudinous during the scenes when he visited his mother. Yo! So damn good! 😩😱
Watching Tony’s eyes glaze over as he watched the news coverage of the art curator and his assistant’s deaths was crazy because I thought my eyes were deceiving me! But when he refocused and his eyes went back to normal, I gasped. Those finer details, the minutiae, matters. That same effect was used again during the final act of the film.
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The score was memorable and felt original. It was painful and beautiful, a standalone element. Definitely added flavor to the work. The interpolation of the “Candy Man” song from 1971’s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” was dope! Shouts to Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe— he did that! 🔥🔥🔥
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Also, shouts to the casting producer Claire Simon. This film really had a great ensemble. I would love to see almost everyone from this film in another.
Colman Domingo killin’. Teyonah Parris been killin’. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett pops up everywhere and I love it.
And Yahya.
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Well.
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He’s ummmm.
Well…
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😊😊😊
In all, I enjoyed this sequel. I look forward to seeing more of Nia DaCosta’s work. She has a great eye and I want to see her prosper.
And also, Yayha’s character’s name is Anthony “Tony” McCoy. I hope it’s an homage to the actor who played Candyman in the original film, Tony Todd. 🤞🏾 🤞🏾