The Stream: A bit too preachy and not scary enough, comparatively.

The Big Screen: A couple jumps scares, solid acting and artwork.

The Final Bill: Good continuation of a franchise but didn’t deliver on the past horror-hype.

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Nia DaCosta
Writers: Jordan Peele (screenplay by), Win Rosenfeld (screenplay by) Nia DaCosta (screenplay by)
Stars: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: R (Bloody, Adult language, scary situations)
Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes (sit through the credits they are short and have a nice depiction)
Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), BRON Studios
Platform: Released in theaters August 27, 2021

Long awaited and overdue, this week we have before you a name that must not be repeated more than 4 times. This weekend brought us the updated version and some could say sequel to, Candyman (2021). Disclaimer, I’m crazy but I’m not stupid. This name will not be uttered 5 times and nor am I looking into any reflective surfaces or eating honey while writing this review. With that said, C-man is what the producers are calling a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the horror classic Candyman (1992) that returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.” Let’s see what they caught in their hook this time.

Now, if you know then you really know, C-man has been haunting us for nearly 30 years. There are people today that won’t say the name, watch the movies, or be in the dark with a mirror because of the original film, followed by some other scary-but-not-as-great sequels. Here, the most major knock to the film is a lack of originality in the scares. They gave us the classic slasher, thriller, suspense but it lacked pizazz. Maybe because I’m an adult and I may no longer be completely traumatized by the franchise’s namesake, but I wasn’t shook. Now, there will be some kids and pre-teens, and teens even, who may see this flick and get the goosebumps like we did back in the day, but I doubt it. Fortunately, and unfortunately, scary films over the last decade or more have moved on from fear to gore. We are in a trend now – thanks to Jordan Peele – of getting horror films that are overtly social commentary and this movie falls straight into that category. We get some of the gore and blood. We get some of the tension of who’s lurking and chasing me. Even more so, we get that gentrification is coming/here visual horrors. While it’s not bad, it’s a bit too preachy in this movie to be scary. I think the film could’ve benefitted from more of the Get Out commentary through its visuals in order to add to the creepiness. This issue is also just present in the story of C-man itself. It’s not necessarily a problem but it just seems that the writers just got too heavily focused on connecting the movie to a message rather than scaring the audience. A slight miss but not off-putting.

Other than that, Candyman has a very good cast lead by Alpha man, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, and Colman Domingo. Each actor has scenes that stand out and show their range. I look forward to more films with them in it. Lastly, the movie set and scenery is just great. There are contrast and contradictions that show the idea of gentrification. The beauty of art and the meticulous placement of set design. Give me these apartments in Cabrini Green any day… without the haunting.

Nevertheless, Candyman while a bit underwhelming in the fright category still delivers a solid performance. Will we talk about it like some have since 1992? Doubtful but this does keep a trend of solid productions by Jordan Peele, MonkeyPaw and Bron Studios. I look forward to more work from Nia DaCosta but Can….. Not happening. The flick gets a bowl of popcorn. Go see this movie in the daylight for a matinee price and make sure you check it out when it comes to streaming services in the comfort of your own dark home!