Movie Review: Candyman (2021)

Synopsis: Chicago artist Anthony McCoy creates a visual display based on the Candyman legend. As Anthony begins an unhealthy obsession with the supernatural being and spirals downward, his artwork results in the Candyman starting a new killing spree.

Who's in it? The movie stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Vanessa Williams and Tony Todd.


Review: When it comes to horror films, my wife and I very rarely find a movie we disagree about. One of the exceptions to this is the original Candyman film from the 1990s, which she loves, and I honestly wasn't a fan of. So, when she insisted on watching this sequel over the weekend, I wasn't overly enthused. However, I did watch it with her last night and, after seeing it, we were once again in full agreement with each other - this movie was not very good.

I will start out by saying I do like what the filmmakers were trying to do - using a horror film to bring attention to the racism problem in America (at least I think that is what they were trying to do). The main problem is the overall execution left a lot to be desired.

I was trying to think of a nicer way to put this but the only way I can describe this movie is it was very boring (and my wife concurred). The film is only about 90 minutes in length but feels a lot longer because the plot is kind of slow paced and Candyman's (Todd) limited number of appearances just don't do enough to overcome it. 

Also not helping this movie is the same thing that hurts a lot of horror films, Candyman's victims kind of deserve what happens to them, whether it is racist cops or a group of somewhat snobbish college girls. When your main villain is more likable than the people he is trying to kill, the movie does tend to lose something, especially when the filmmakers go out of their way to portray the killer as a victim himself.

Final Opinion: Again, I'll give the filmmakers a few points for trying to use horror to start a conversation about racism. I just wish they would have made more of an effort to make the film a bit more exciting.

My Grade: C

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