1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Candyman

#888- Candyman (1992)
Starring: Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley
Directed by: Bernard Rose


Plot Summary: Graduate student Helen Lyle is conducting research for a thesis on urban legends when she stumbles across numerous reports of a local legend known as the Candyman. The legend tells of a man with a hook for a hand who appears when someone says his name five times in front of a mirror, and he kills the person who summons him. Convinced that he's only a myth, Helen jokingly attempts to summon the Candyman in her mirror and then continues on with her research. Trying to find connections to the Candyman tale, Helen points her attention to the Cabrini-Green housing projects, where she stumbles upon rituals and shrines for the Candyman. After trying to prove to so many people that Candyman is just a legend, the Candyman appears to Helen and tells her he must prove his existence.


Of all the horror subgenres, my absolute favorite is the slasher film. There are the classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Scream that are well-received in pop culture and stand atop the horror icons. But then there are some of the goofier slasher movies, like Leprechaun, Child's Pay, and our movie of the day: Candyman, that have achieved cult followings among horror fans. I will say I was very surprised to see a film like this on here, and not the original Friday the 13th (admittedly, the first Friday film didn't have Jason Voorhies as the killer), so I wanted to see what was so special about Candyman to make the list.

The main protagonist of the film is Helen Lyle, played by Virginia Madsen. Helen's not the most engaging of horror heroines, but she's not completely useless. She's a grad student doing research on urban legends, but honestly, her methods and motivations for investigation violate a lot of logistics and she ends up putting herself and those around her in danger because of it. Half the movie involves her proving Candyman is real, and the second half is her proving that she is not an insane serial killer. I honestly feel like some of the unlikeable qualities of Helen are made through Virginia Madsen's portrayal. She doesn't have a lot of depth and range in a lot of what's going on. Maybe if someone like Sigourney Weaver or Linda Hamilton was playing Helen, she could have a tougher quality to her, but I guess the best thing Madsen can do is play a victim role in Helen.

The iconic role of Candyman is played by Tony Todd (whom modern horror fans might know as the Mortician in the Final Destination franchise) and he is absolutely creepy. It's a combination of his voice and the way he appears out of nowhere. Add a hook for a hand, the power to fly, a fascination for theatrics and bees, and the fact that no one except Helen can see him and you have the makings of a memorable horror villain. Even more effective is the concept that Candyman becomes more empathetic as more of his motivations come to light. Even if he's doing these diabolical things, we understand why and can actually feel sorry for him.

By the end of this film, I wasn't sure if I was watching a slasher film or a psychological thriller. While it has the body count and gore of a slasher flick, Candyman also contains a lot of mystery and questions of morality and mentality that you would find in a psych thriller. I absolutely found the concept of the psychology of urban legends fascinating, but I'm not sure that makes the film deserving to be on the list. Nor do I find the studying of Candyman's cult all that frightening either. The only scene of horror that absolutely work is when Candyman gives Helen a kiss that is full of bumblebees. It's definitely gruesome to imagine and the effects still hold up very well.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I'm not sure if it's because of the Candyman's reputation as an iconic slasher villain, but I was expecting a bit more out of Candyman. It's definitely a different type of horror film than I imagined, and for that, I say it's at least worth a weekend rental if you like scary movies.

Candyman and movie images are copyrighted by TriStar Pictures