Candyman (2021)

[Eric Atreides]

Discuss

[Vanilla]

Well acted, well shot, movie looked great. But leave the politics out. Damn. 
 

disappointing. 
 
6/10

[excel1]

This sucked, over woke nonsense good lord, nobody liked it 

[Cmasterclay]

Ah yes, leave the politics out of a Candyman movie.

[BadOlCatSylvester]

I definitely agree that the movie should have been longer. Would have given the themes more time to resonate.

 

Still, this was generally pretty good. The artsy feel that made the original stand out is very much alive here, which I appreciate in a kinda-remake like this. I really liked Burke's actor in particular. He should definitely get more work after this.

 

It'll be interesting to see what direction this director takes The Marvels in.

[ddddeeee]

The pan out from the critic's apartment....

 

The more I think back on this, the more I like it. I loved how it expanded on the mythology of the first, made it its own, but never took away from the first movie. Given how much talk there is these days about legacy sequels being glorified remakes, this really hit the sweet spot imo.

 

I thought the decision to cut away from most of the deaths but let us hear the grisly sounds was really effective.

 

Helen's theme! People have complained about the lack of Glass in the movie, but it played in the only time it was really appropriate.

 

Vanessa Williams' scene hit me pretty hard.

 

End credits were stunning.

 

Gonna need to see it again.

[Rorschach]

I'm genuinely confounded by what I just watched here. While the first half is mostly just okay, though very well-directed with some interesting visual filmmaking throughout, the second half just completely veers off the narrative rails that were already pretty thin, to begin with. The third act in particular is maddeningly unsatisfying in the absolute worst way possible – it's the kind of ending that makes you go "That's it? That's really all you had to offer? What was the point of everything I just watched here?" 

 

So many different plot threads and character arcs are built up in the first half of the film that never gets any meaningful pay-off in a way that feels low-key insulting. The ones that stick out to me are Anthony's descent into madness and his crumbling relationship with Brianna which feel especially rushed, underdeveloped, and barely given any dramatic weight, outside of the, admittedly, effective body horror that occurs to his character that got the trypophobe in me on edge. Teyonah Parris probably gives the only worthwhile good performance here, even though her character, along with everyone else, is all greatly let down by an extremely confused script. 

 

So yeah, needless to say, this was an extreme letdown for me, given how much I really enjoyed the original 90s film and all the talent involved with this new iteration. There could've been something really special here, which makes it all the more frustrating how much the ending just completely face-plants on the ground. 

 

A complete disappointment.

 

1.5/5

[Krissykins]

The opening credits being shot from the ground looking up, where in the original they were a birds eye view from up above, such a nice touch. 
 

I could have done with more of the iconic Helen’s Theme. It’s scarier than I think the creators here realise. It’s beautifully directed, but I’m not sure Nia has a strong hand on horror, because I got the impression the toilet scene was added later to include some more deaths/threat. 
 

As already mentioned above, that pan out from the critics apartment was amazing. As was the scene in the critics hallway. I enjoyed Candyman appearing in the background in mirrors, really effective. The score was full of dread and I thought all of the leads were great. However, the couple who die in the museum were not and their dialogue was dreadful “must go faster, must go faster”, really? Refreshing to have a non-parody, realistic gay couple in a black lead film. 

 

I wish it was scarier, that’s my main complaint. And I don’t mean jump scares, the original is still terrifying without many of those. The ending was so, so satisfying and I didn’t see the twist coming. Everyone else did, but my jaw dropped and I’m glad it did, because it was my favourite moment in the film. Vanessa Williams’ scene was impeccable. 
 

4/5 

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

Posted in a different thread but I’ll copy 

 

The main themes of film are gentrification and reclaiming Black art/history from appropriation. Even a Black artist (Anthony) is capable and guilty of exploiting Black history/trauma for gain. (They say his name during news reports of kills). And so is Colman. He wants Candyman myth to remain relevant because he was forgotten in gentrified neighborhood. (Why he wants Candyman remembered beyond supporting the film’s thesis is very vague… because his sister was murdered? Because the innocent man at beginning wasn’t Candyman who scared him??). 
 

But the entire 3rd act is a mess of rushed pacing and misplaced dialogue. It just comes off politically contradictory. Candyman has killed Black lives…. Why is he being made into a BLM icon? Why? He will simply kill whoever summons him regardless of race. It was just that lots of white people summoned him in this. Colman will torture a Black man to achieve this? 

 

The whole film is just poorly realized. The flashbacks of her dad are superfluous, the white critics are correct about Anthony’s art and also film (“literal”, “didactic”). The main relationship between the couple isn’t fully detailed with depth or emotional weight. The kills being from different perspectives are interesting but just that… distant. They’re not cathartic or happen at expense of characters we invest in. The stakes overall aren’t properly defined. 

[TMP]

Really poorly written and devoid of any actual scares, but Yahya was great

[MOVIEGUY]

I'm also in the negative camp on this. Some noticeably bad, clunky dialogue spelling out the themes. Not scary at all and any attempts at building a creepy mood didn't work (almost all the kills fell completely flat). They're trying to make Candyman a symbol of black vengeance, or some sort of coping mechanism, but he kills black people... and black children. Maybe that was just the crazy dude's perspective, but it seemed to be somewhat shared by the filmmakers. Plenty of others have said but the ending is a dud. I haven't seen the original (been meaning to) so it felt like I was missing something big there. Just felt like a missed opportunity. Only things that I liked were the cinematography, and the lead actor's performance as he descends into madness was pretty good. Oh and the opening credits were cool. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by MOVIEGUY

[FilmFincher]

Overall I had a good time.

 

The cinematography is incredible. The shots of the building in the opening credits are entrancing, I was immediately pulled in. The framing heavily emphasises architecture and the landscape of Chicago, which is heavily woven into the themes of the film. Visually everything is tied together so well, the shadow of the police office at the end to represent the shadow puppets, it's just so intimately thought out and constructed. Sound design was also fantastic, stronger than most of the blockbusters this year. 

 

It's suitably gory but not necessarily scary or creepy, the first film leans more on psychological thriller whereas this one felt it was trying to be a bit more of a slasher but was also too busy being artsy to relay any sense of threat; beautiful to watch it unfold but not unnerving. Much heavier focus on supernatural elements as well, whereas the first is more tangible. 

 

The themes and plot worked for me, its suitable for a film like this to directly open a dialogue about race and the linkage of urban myths to the history of racial injustice. I thought it was a really interesting expansion of the Candyman lore and it lets the film do it's own thing while also being a sequel.

 

That's also where my contention lies. I really appreciate the film doing it's own thing; focusing on a different Candyman, Anthony not having the same mental break Helen has etc. But my heart can't deny I would have loved more focus on Helen and Tony Todd Candyman. I also think the film struggles to connect you emotionally to it's characters. Everybody is fantastic, there's some stellar performances in here, especially Vanessa Williams. But it's pretty clear what path Anthony is on very early and you don't really get any moment of empathy after that like we do with Helen. It's just waiting for the inevitable, much more akin to Jack in The Shining but there's also not enough emphasis on the supporting characters to carry the rest of the film. Brianna is nearly there but she gets saddled with a backstory that serves a irrelevant thematic link but doesn't do much outside of that.  There's also some really sweaty dialogue, the two art exhibit people, oof, that was tough to listen to.

 

Pacing is also strange. The sense of escalation isn't really felt, so I was surprised when we hit the final act, it's almost like we were missing one step. The kills almost felt studio mandated in their placement. A real sense of 'we've gotta spice things up now'. 

 

I did love the final act though, everything clicked for me and I went 'oh that's what this film is about'. This is what it's all been leading to. Left me on a real high but also wanting more. 

 

7.5/10

[baumer]

Well, I won't write anything to detailed, but I found this to be hot garbage.

 

Nothing remotely scary about it, this was supposed to be a horror movie.

Not much gore.  

Didn't buy Jameson's descent into madness.

Anthony's mental breakdown moved way too quickly for me.

The end was neat, but the film could have used another 20 minutes to let it breathe.

Hated so many characters in here.  The brother, the art critic, the gallery owner and so on. In fact, I'm not sure there were any likable characters in this movie.

When this film pays homage to original or extends the story, it's kind of interesting, but the lack of suspense, scares, gore, likable characters, and bad pacing and short run time make this one overly forgettable.

 

3/10

[Chicago]

Does Biggie Smalls make an appearance in this?

[Napoleon]

This movie is excellent. Third act was a bit confusing, but overall what a great experience. Wasn't a fan of the original, but I love how this one connects and pays homage to it. 

[filmlover]

I liked this, but it certainly has its flaws. Comes across as if it wants to be both a thriller/drama with social commentary and a gory slasher, and ends up never fully committing to either. Weak conclusion too. But it's certainly well-made technically (loved the use of the shadow puppets) and well-acted (including another strong performance from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), making this a worthy revival. B

[Morieris]

On 9/2/2021 at 10:06 AM, baumer said:

Anthony's mental breakdown moved way too quickly for me.

 

That's my issue with it. The shorter runtime really didn't help with that regard.  The idea of the ending is clever and well acted, but that's about all the praise I have.

[charlie Jatinder]

Idk if there was some deeper meaning or something, but MEH.