"The pain, I can assure you, will be exquisite."

I've looked at so much of my art, and thought "i wish i had no reason to make this". I realized part of why I connected so much with Candyman, when Tony Todd said during one of the bonus features "I wish that Candyman didn't have to exist". His face after saying this, I think will stick with me more than a lot of the acting in the 2021 movie. That grotesque pain, knowing it shouldn't exist but must and will continue to. That is what defines these movies for me.

"quote"

1992

Helen's character displays a role that White folk, specifically White women in academic/professional spaces, play in our real world social instituions. Labeled, correctly, as an outsider to Cabrini-Green Helen doesn't have any connection to the lived experiences of residents in the area. Having an outsider, White, upper-middle class, etc. live in the same home (but different location) as the "insiders" of Cabrini-Green shows us literally while Helen may seem disconnected to this story about race and systematic oppression she is, infact, a key player. Helen only has to interact with race when she pleases. The only reason she's even motivated to understand the pain of her neighbors is because she wants to profit off of it. Her profit is not material, yet, but intellectual. Her curiousity drives her, not empathy nor care for others, and this is repeated back to us over and over again throught the movie. The 2021 movie has a character with a similar drive played through the part of an art critic. The major plot point of Helen becoming the next "Candyman" or a legend alongside Candyman, is absolutely bonkers. It competely muddles the impact of the story and turns Daniel Robitaille into a character seemingly only motivated by his desire for a White woman. Which could be an interesting motivation, if it wasn't his only one and had some clear/intentional influence by actual social stereotypes (like how White Supramacy has impacted beauty standards for instance).

"Candyman ain't a 'he,' Candyman is the whole damn hive."

2021

The opening of this movie is tragically lame. We start our reentry to this world (after the title credits) by immeditally meeting our villian, an iteration of Candyman we never learn much about or spend much time with. His backstory fits in perfectly with the themeing, a Black man brutally beaten for a crime he did not commit; it clearly repeats the pattern that is Candyman. However, as the main force of the killing in this movie I would have loved to get a much more intentional depiction of Sherman Fields. Whether a moment that highlights his personality before (more about how he was a Candyman before he died) or of his motivations after his posthumonus return (what does Sherman specifically want?). Without some meaningful one-on-one time with this character he just became lackluster and slipped into the background of the plot while still being the main thing killing people and pushing the plot along. Who is Sherman Williams besides a rumor?

The paper animations telling the legend of Candyman were beautiful. McCoy's name being spoken five times before he offically picks up the mantel, the opening credits being reversed, the visual call backs to the original movie, and obviously the cameos. These are just a few of the small detials and, or inclusions from the previous movie that expanded on the lore of Candyman. Modern sequels or remakes usually rely heavily on the audiences knowledge of the previous film and like to just point and say "wow this like other movie, please like this movie because look see we make reference to other movie". So seeing Vanessa Williams was such a pleasant suprise and how her character wrapped perfectly into the story was refreshing. These inclusions, cameos, references, etc. didn't overstay their welcome and feel like they were actually meaningful.

The disregarding of Helen being the next 'Candyman' felt right, the mantle should be taken up by someone who knows the experience of being Black in America. Helen does have an important role in the story, but she isn't the one who can best tell it.

The way the lore was expanded on in this movie...

Tell Everyone

Thank you for reading!

Candyman will defintely be added to my haunted house genre collection, and I'll be doing a post all about what exactly I mean by a haunted house so stay tunned!