Candyman

Dir. Bernard Rose
Whilst researching her thesis on urban legends, student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) becomes intrigued by the legend of the ‘Candyman’ (Tony Todd) – the son of a slave who was brutally tortured and killed because he fell in love with the daughter of a white plantation owner. He is said to appear when his name is spoken five times into a mirror and he has a hook for a hand. Whilst carrying out her investigation, the sceptical Helen repeats his name and is subsequently plunged into a nightmare world where reality and fevered dreams become meshed together as she is stalked by the spectre of the Candyman and held responsible for a series of grisly murders. Could the legend be true or is Helen simply losing her mind? Can she clear her name before it’s too late and she becomes the latest victim of the formidable legend that is the Candyman?
Beginning with our protagonists discussing the power of legends and the subtext of folklore, Candyman opens with a familiar scenario. Babysitter waits until kids are asleep. She and her boyfriend make out. They play a variation of Bloody Mary in which they say the name Candyman into a mirror five times. They get fucked up. While we don’t see what happens to them, the dialogue spoken by the teller of this ‘urban legend’ paints a pretty vivid picture of death and insanity. And so begins a slow burning and gripping story, made all the more compelling because of believable characters, credible performances and a well written script, which focuses as much on real, natural threat and danger as much as it does on supernatural.

Early on in the film we hear the distressing tale of a woman who calls the police claiming the Candyman is coming for her through her bathroom wall. Her story is not believed by the operator and not long after, she is found dead, her body savagely mutilated. It turns out that someone did come through a gap in the wall behind her medicine cabinet connecting her apartment to the empty one next door, but it wasn't the Candyman. This story creates a vivid and disturbing scenario which then becomes even more disturbing because its source turns out to be a true story that became entangled with the myth of the Candyman. It also adds an extra layer of ambiguity to the story. Director Rose opts for an almost dream logic as the story unfolds and Helen’s fate mirrors that of the woman in the story – as her situation goes from bad to worse no one believes her – she protests her innocence and sanity to deaf ears. Could her stories of the Candyman have a basis in reality - if only to highlight her fractured mind? Virginia Madsen delivers an impeccable performance. Helen is strong, determined, resourceful and intelligent. Yet despite all of these characteristics, she is still believably flawed and fully fleshed. She is sceptical, dismissive and snobby, and she is dominated by her philandering partner, the sleazy Trevor (Xander Berkeley). Helen does not run from the danger, she runs towards it – even embraces it in an attempt to save herself. Alas, by the end of the film, the lingering ambiguity leaves an element of doubt as to the Candyman’s actual existence. Was he real? Or just a figure of Helen’s warped psyche? The idea of Helen returning from the grave as some kind of spectral avenger is an irresistible one.

His backstory sets him up as a tragic and vengeful anti-hero – something that sets him apart from most horror villains. He was a slave who fell in love with someone society said he couldn't (shouldn't) be with – the daughter of a white plantation owner. Something about Helen draws him to her and Rose frequently films Madsen’s eyes in ethereally lit close up shots to mirror a depiction of the Candyman’s lost love as represented in a striking mural that is revealed at the end of the film.

The film is full of arresting images including the shot of Helen climbing through a hole in the wall of a derelict apartment as the camera floats serenely back to reveal a huge mural of the Candyman; the hole in the wall, his screaming mouth.
A strange atmosphere presides over proceedings and entwines the gritty and destitute urban ghetto setting with a gorgeously dark and opulently gothic foreboding. This is enhanced by Philip Glass’s swirlingly hypnotic and melancholy score that becomes slightly more frenzied during scenes of suspense - it is never anything short of dramatic, and always teeters on the right side of overwrought melodrama. Glass has ‘constructed’ one of his most underrated scores for Candyman, and one that captures and sustains the sumptuously morbid romance unfolding within the story.

What’s more - I’ll bet you still wouldn’t stand in front of a mirror and say Candyman five times… I know I sure as hell wouldn’t!
Comments
WRT the mirror game, I've never been a believer in the supernatural--however, to this day you could not pay me to sit in front of a mirror in the dark and do the old "Bloody Mary" thing. For some reason the idea of it just fills me with dread. Sure, I know objectively that nothing would happen...but why fuck around with it, all the same? :)
It scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it with all its creepy imagery. And I think Cabrini-Green scared me more than Tony Todd!
I own/love the Glass score, it's one of my favorites.
Chris - I adore Philip Glass's work, particularly his compositions for Koyanisqqatsi and Powaqqatsi. APPARENTLY when he saw the finished cut of Candyman, he was disappointed. He felt that what was initially presented to him as a 'low budget independent project with creative integrity' had become a 'low budget Hollywood slasher flick'. Ouch.
Carl - Yup, I agree - this has 'Modern Gothic Masterpiece' and 'underappreciated' written all over it.
WriterME - Sounds like an interesting class - you teaching or sitting in on it? Speaking of blaxploitation and horror - I keep hearing good things about Sugar Hill - must check it out!
Thanks for your comments guys. :o)
will be teaching. I got some hours at the drama department, but usually use the term to incorporate theatre, TV and movies, depending on the topics I need to cover. The kiddies know about my research and interests and they like the horror streak there. :)
I have only seen "Candyman" once and I was truly blown away by it. It was a more evocative and rich than I had ever expected. You really captured that in your review.
Lovely :)
WriterME - Good luck with the class!
Christine - Thanks for dropping by - always a pleasure. Do you think you might rewatch Candyman again soon? I assure you it will be as evocative and rich as you remember it. Would like to hear your take on it.