Candyman (1992)

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Candyman was probably one of the last films to put new blood in what was, at the time, the dying slasher sub genre. I like the movie’s urban, gritty setting. More-so, I like the way the movie blurs the lines between fantasy and reality in terms of urban legends. The deaths are very gruesome. The character of Candyman does start off as a legend, and slowly becomes a reality. Tony Todd delivers a career defining performance. His slow, calculating delivery adds an eeriness that probably would have only been pulled off by Tony Todd at the time the movie came out. To this day, Candyman has become both a pop culture icon and a real urban legend, much like Bloody Mary. The only trouble with this is that I didn’t find Candyman scary at all. Virginia Madsen did pretty good in the movie, too. The twist ending was something I admittedly liked, though the direct-to-video sequels ret-conned this. While I liked Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen, I didn’t care too much for the rest of the cast. I think the movie had a good story, but I don’t think the direction was always at its strongest. 

8 / 10