Sweets to the Sweet

With a new "Candyman" installment tentatively slated for this fall, Bernard Rose's original haunting love story deserves a rewatch

Stories of the extraordinary and supernatural have long been a staple of the human experience. Based on particular eras, they've gone by several monikers; fables, folk tales, myths, tall tales and, more modernly, urban legends. They can be used for every purpose; from uplifting the spirit, to terrifying listeners and quite honestly, there's something delicious about doing the latter. Thus, stories like "Candyman" are born. Sequels were produced, turning the character into a cheesy B-movie villain, but the original had the most to say. It dared to reach beyond the grasp of its genre and, despite its flaws, ended up being one of the more memorable films that bridged the gap between 80's slashers and 1996's "Scream". Adults from a certain generation still won't trifle with the idea of summoning Candyman, despite the fact he's based on a fictional story within a fictional story. Be it superstition or rather just a precaution, it speaks to the film's influence.

Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) is a graduate student who's researching urban legends and becomes intrigued when she learns of the eponymous boogeyman; a hook-handed phantasm whose shadow looms large over the Cabrini-Green housing projects. She believes its residents use the ghost story as a way to rationalize the crime surrounding them. She carelessly invokes the Candyman, reciting his name five times in the mirror. As the film progresses, her skepticism quickly turns into fear as the seemingly ficticious killer infiltrates her reality. The film also stars future "Eve's Bayou" and "Harriet" director Kasi Lemmons, Vanessa E. Williams and Xander Berkley.

"Candyman" is essentially an elevated slasher. It's infused with pointed themes like classism and racism, examining their consequences through real-life and fictional horrors. This includes the film's setting and how Candyman came to be. The character itself was given so much mythos and that, in large part, is thanks to Tony Todd himself. At 6'5" and with his distinct baritone voice, he developed the character's rich backstory and took inspiration from such classics as "The Phantom of the Opera". His suave nature belies his ghoulishness, in turn separating him from cinematic eye sores like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. In the care of a less talented writer-director, it could have easily been a cheap cash-in overflowing with ugly stereotypes. Based on fellow Englishman Clive Barker's short "The Forbidden", Rose's decision to move the story from Liverpool to Chicago was a shrewd one. The city lives and breathes as its own character, ripe with commentaries and critiques while still possessing a certain mystique. Further cementing it as a slasher with some panche, acclaimed composer Philip Glass provides a darkly beautiful score, which is thematically fitting. Some of the storytelling gets a bit murky (especially towards the climax), but overall, the film manages to stand above its peers in many ways and remains chilling 28 years later. So, say his name, if you dare. B+