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Another good classic horror film. Don't listen to that Roger Ebert wannabe Jacques as he tends to provide the exact same negative review for each film he reviews. He just tells you how Cliche and unoriginal every horror film is,(except for saw 3 which is just amazing in his pov) no shit you retard it is a fucking horror movie not Citizen Kane.
Posted By: Bostic101 at 6:16pm, September 13, 2009
A good classic. Not my tupe of horror film but i still like to watch it once in a great while.
Posted By: riotsquid1408 at 10:40pm, August 31, 2009
crazy and awesome
Posted By: unkordinated at 12:36am, August 31, 2009
Wow what a great horror film. Virginia Madsen is just amazing in the movie and the dark look and feel of the film really grab yous and takes you hold. Also great ending and good gore. Definately a must see.
when i first watched this movie a few years ago i thought it was pretty boring. however, i was recently going through my collection and found this and decided to give it another shot. it's much better than i remembered it being. i particularly love the scene with the baby and the god when she first encounters the real candyman. good story and tony todd delivers a great performance.
Candyman is one of the best written horror movies of all time. Amazing dialog! This Movie is a true masterpiece! Virginia Madsen gives a spectacular performance as a college student doing a thesis on urban legends, Candyman in particular. "You say his name five times in the mirror and he'll apear behind you breathing down your neck" Bernard Rose did an incredible job making this movie come to life. Tony Todd gives a chilling performance as candyman, his deep voice and huge stature add to the increadible dialog which is what truely makes this movie speacial!
The only thing that this movie could have done without is the end scene where Virginia comes back and kills trevor. Otherwise a great movie expierience.
i rememmber opening night for this movie my mom took me i was only 5 years old it scared the shit out of me its is a true horror classic to bad part one is the only good one the rest sucked
Candyman Candyman Candyman Candyman CANDYMAN! AAAAHHH!!!!...shit didn't work,oh well this movie is awesome nonetheless Tony Todd is great as always and the gore and overall theme of this movie is just pure sweet bloody goodness that any and all horror fans should see this movie
Clive Barker is a genius. He takes something ordinary and simple, and twists it to such an extent that it becomes frightening. Helen Lyle is a representation of a typical and very REAL American woman, who doesn't believe in monsters and ghosts, but is absorbed by the urban legends of Chicago. I could relate to her on so many levels. The Candyman himself, is not in the least bit terrifying, but he is mesmerizing beyond belief. His haunts are what truly gave this film an air of menace and dread. Everything is beautifully and gothicly filmed and photographed. There is nothing scarier than a derelict old building that's falling apart. Who knows what lurks in its shadows?
A horror film that's actually scary, and relevant. The inner-city gangland setting was perfect for the early 1990s, when the reports of gangs, serial killers, and random acts of violence dominated the news.
There was a sort of panic in the air, much like there was after 9/11 with terrorism. A common tale of terror amongst suburban housewives revolved around a "large black man" brutally attacking a middle-class white woman.
No one can say that violence wasn't a major issue plaguing urban America, but the fear of said violence took on an almost hysterical quality, and rather than help those trapped in urban ghettos, the commonly accepted thing to do was simply to fear them and avoid them. Unfortunately, this sometimes led to innocent black men being incarcerated and even sent to death when no other culprit could be fingered in a violent crime. This is nothing new, but the issue was really coming to a head in the early 90s.
Candyman is simultaneously the manifestation of these exaggerated fears, the very real violence that plagued the ghettos, and the terror and frustration felt by struggling inner-city residents those who were persecuted and feared rather than helped. He is also the victim of violence brought on by racism. In death, he has become the very essence of violence and terror. The residents of Cabrini Green are both his victims and caretakers. They fear him, but every act of fear and violence only serve to empower him. When the fearless Helen stumbles upon the grounds of Cabrini, Candyman sets out to use Helen to ensure that his legacy lives on forever.
Social commentary aside, Candyman is a great movie. It's well-written, acted, and directed. The score is haunting, and the imagery disturbing. Furthermore, the plot is still fresh to this day. In that regard, Candyman really stands the test of time.
However, the film is not without its flaws. Some of the dialogue is cheesy, the ending is a bit off the mark, and one little boy actor is so unconvincing at times that it nearly derails the scenes he is in.
All in all, I'd highly recommend Candyman. It's very enjoyable as a cheap flick, but equally rewarding for those who enjoy peeling off the layers of a rich subtext.
(note: This film is not directed by Clive Barker. It is loosely based off of a short story he wrote. Strangely, for all his talent, Barker's own story is no match for the movie.)
Candyman is one movie I've always put off watching. It was so well known as a kid that I didn't want to spoil my own visions of what the Candyman was. Then I went into HMV, caught the Special Edition and shoved it into the drive. And boy, am I glad I watched it. The film was very impressive, from the solid storyline to the credible acting. Todd was great as the serial killer and Madsen played her part well. It was refreshing to see a horror movie where the heroinne is not just there to survive the killer, but gets tortured by him too. I can't wait to watch it again, and just hope that the next two movies (and the remake) are just as good, although I very much doubt it!
great music, great cast, but the story could have been writen a little better though
Posted By: HarryWarden at 2:47pm, January 18, 2009
One of the few movies that have ever actually scared me, and with one of the scariest villains at that. Bernard Rose and Clive Barker have created a superb film, with the eeriness of the ghetto, and the now gonme housing project Cabrini Green. everything about this film is right.
Believe me, I know it’s hard to look past nostalgia. But sometimes we all have to grow up and accept that not everything we loved as a kid was actually worthy of our love. For example, let’s say you grew up with a certain stuffed animal, and then you turn 13 and you know it’s time to detach yourself from it, but you can’t. I know from experience that’s how a lot of horror fans are with old slasher films. They watched Candyman when they were 5-years-old, and to this day their biased minds find it greater than anything any new horror film could possibly conceive. They overlook the fact that by today’s standards, Candyman is pure cheese. I’m not writing this review for those people. There is nothing whatsoever I can say here that would even slightly change your opinion. I’m writing this highly negative review for the open-minded horror fans out there, who have yet to see this so-called “classic”.
First and foremost, as I said, Candyman is pure, unabashed cheese horror. The first time you see the actual Candyman himself, you’ll probably laugh out loud and roll around on the floor like I did. Putting a man in an oversized fur coat with a cheap plastic hook sticking out one end isn’t exactly terrifying stuff, I’m sorry to say. Coming from a horror fan who has actually matured with the times, this is about as scary to me as a walrus with a toy chainsaw. Put simply, the only reason this film is so bad is because it’s so cheesy, yet it takes itself as seriously as if it’s dealing with something that isn’t straight out of a children’s cartoon. Don’t get me wrong, I very much appreciate the serious tone, but it’s downright stupid in this context. It’s a film about killer medicine cabinets, folks, not the real-life Holocaust or something.
The story is about as generic and uncreative as a horror movie can get. It’s a play on the old Bloody Marry myth, and the plot direction takes the same path that has been rehashed countless times in films just like it before. Woman reporter—already a horror cliché and I haven’t even gotten through three words of the synopsis—is investigating a murder, she discovers a myth, she researches it, the myth comes to haunt her. Oh man, how original. Do not tell me Candyman started these clichés, because it didn’t. This exact plot has been used in everything from 60s horror films to episodes of 80s cartoons. There is nothing creative here. The ending is a rip-off of an old Twilight Zone episode. The movie is so generic and unoriginal, I have nothing more to say about it. Other than it’s also boring to the point of nausea.
I was never a Clive Baker fan for this exact reason. He’s so obsessed with over-the-top, cheesy villains and cliché situations, I find almost everything he’s written nearly unreadable. I know this will anger his fans, but, sorry, if there is anyone who I blame for the cheese-horror outbreak, it’s him. And Candyman is the single most typical work he’s ever done.
Is there a single positive thing I can say here? No. I can at least cut some cheese-horror films slack for at least having some creativity (Sleepaway Camp for example), but I can’t even do that here. In other words, Candyman is a bland, generic slasher with a laughable villain and unoriginal premise. And I’ve written this exact review so many times I might as well just save it, change the movie title, and repost it for every 80s and 90s slasher film out there, because no matter how much faith I have there may be at least one slasher that isn’t bad, they almost all are. And what’s even sadder is that they’re almost all acclaimed. Am I really the only one who looks past nostalgia anymore?
Awesome movie. One of Clive Barker's best. Tony Todd's role is iconic. And the most shocking part of the film is that Virginia Madsen actually has a really nice rack.
Highly recommended. Loved it when I was younger , it just doesnt seem very scary now but the story is what makes this one. Clive Barker is a legend. Watch this along side Hellraiser and Nightbreed.
Not as good as the story it's based on but still a great movie!! I love it and everything about it!! I love Tony Todd but he'll always be WORF'S brother to me!! If you like gore and head trips you can never go wrong with CLIVE BARKER ex NIGHT BREED HELLRAISER!! The only thing I didn't like about CANDYMAN is Virginia Madsen she's just a Sharon Stone wanna be who couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag!!! But all that aside I give CANDYMAN 10 out of 10!!!
It is one of the movies that makes you want to watch a good horror film. i mean it is a lil slow but it has one of the story lines that is just crazy creative.
