'Candyman' Review: A Disjointed Script Anchors an Unsatisfying Horror Reboot
‘Candyman’ had all the potential of a fresh, updated horror classic, But director Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele squander their opportunity with a disjointed collaboration.
The horror genre has relied on two major components since its inception; original ideas and the ability to reinvent itself in incarnations that speak to the times in which they are made in. The successful properties are able to do this effortlessly, bringing legions of fans along any ride they are willing to dish out. We’ve seen this attempted with the recent entry in the Halloween franchise and even this year with Spiral from the Saw series. The former was considered more of a success than the latter but they still swung for the fences and landed with audiences for the most part. Which brings horror fans to the latest revival, Candyman. All of the ingredients are there for this to be the next great film from recently prolific writer/producer Jordan Peele and director Nia DaCosta and bring the iconic character into the modern world. Instead, audiences are given an uneven mess that could have been so much more.
This version of Candyman focuses on Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), a couple who just moved into a new apartment in the middle of downtown Chicago. Anthony is an up and coming artist and Brianna is an art gallery director who is able to get his first couple of project into the town’s art scene. With his work downplayed by many as not who he truly is, Anthony starts a new project, looking for new inspiration in the area in which he and his girlfriend moved into, Cabrini Green, the location of the original film. As he learns more about his new home, the more he learns about the legend of Candyman, and how he might mold from tall tale to a new form that will haunt and kill all in his path.
What would normal be a perfect run time of ninety-one minutes, the film merely scratches the surface of the world DaCosta and Peele are trying to invite audiences into. With storylines for most characters set up and never paid off, it makes one wonder if there is a longer cut of this film out there, one that wraps up Brianna’s own family tragedy, and brings more light to the supporting characters portrayed by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo. One that takes its time exploring the trauma Anthony is facing throughout the film, and the effects that spirit of Candyman bestows on him mentally and physically. Time should have also been given to the new wrinkles added to the backstory of Candyman himself, and the idea of reincarnation and passing down this legend from generation to generation, while also tying it back to the original film. Instead, the film just leaves too much fruit on the vein, which is a shame because the potential is there for something that could be great.
This is no fault to the technical aspects of the film that shine thanks to DaCosta’s direction, which is slick and tactical. She, alongside her cinematographer John Guleserian and her editor Catrin Hedström, really elevate the moments of tension when the slasher elements of the film occur. Candyman’s polished yet dark aesthetic makes each slashing more terrifying than the last. And after her work on a small indie and now this, DaCosta’s visual eye is growing with each project she makes, proving she is some to keep an eye out with whatever film she does next.
Beyond how the film looks, the problems with the script are just too many, with logic, tone, and messaging being something that just cannot be overlooked. It’s clear that there must have been some difference in the way this movie was written because this mostly feels like an idea either DaCosta, Peele, or his collaborator Win Rosenfeld has and never fully brought it all the way home. Peele, who with his Oscar winning script for ‘Get Out’ and massively acclaimed follow-up ‘Us’, showed how to bring relevant social, political messages to a big screen horror film and have them make sense, mean something, bring on conversations we will have long after the film is over. With DaCosta’s last film ‘Little Woods’, she was able to prove she can tackle any hard subject matter and make something touching that you also end up caring for the characters in the end. But instead, we are given a jumbled misstep in the writer’s room that shows the skeleton of where they wanted to go with this new version of Candyman, but don’t exactly execute it in a way that both entertains and enlightens.
2021’s Candyman is tragically, somewhat of a disappointment. Perhaps expectations on this one were too high given the talent behind it, or the excellent marketing campaign that went into it. Though it is a visual appealing and beautiful film to view, ultimately, the logic and structure of the film starts to fall apart the more and more viewers think about it. There is seemingly an opportunity where a different writer or director could come back to the property, years down the road and give their singular, fresh vision and once again do the lore justice, but until that time, the world of cinema has this; a Candyman that like the titled monster, stings its victims.