Reading my review of the original Candyman was painful. My 21-year-old self was desperate to sound smarter than he actually was. However, there was one point I made that I believe still holds up. That point being, two decades after its release, the film still has an impact, emotionally and intellectually. Will Nia DaCosta’s iteration do the same? Only time will tell but for now, I can say that 2021’s Candyman is a great successor to the original and while it does have some issues, it is a well written and rather poignant horror film.

Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris) have moved in together. Their apartment stands where the Cabrini Green housing project used to before it was demolished. Anthony is an artist who needs some inspiration. He needs to make something that will wow his colleagues and put his name on the map. It’s this desire that leads him deep into Cabrini Green, where he discovers the urban legend of the Candyman. As fresh new paintings fill his studio, something more sinister fills his mind. Something that goes on to warp Anthony’s sanity and, eventually, his body.

The Characters

Anthony, like a lot of us nowadays, wants a legacy. He wants to make it big in the art world but according to his colleagues and critics, he hasn’t found his voice. Anthony’s investigation will immerse fans and non-fans alike in the Candyman mythos. The creepy and rather timely urban tales he unearths will disturb new viewers while the history he learns of will serve as reminders for long-time fans.

Whether you know of the Candyman series or not, Anthony’s exploration is engaging regardless because every progression he makes has consequences. Some personal, like the degeneration of his and Brianna’s relationship, and some repulsively physical. You’re never certain of where he’s going but you know it’s somewhere awful.

While some of the supporting characters do come across as mouthpieces for the film’s social commentary (which we’ll get into later), they have enough personal traits to prevent them from being nothing but. Of the supporting cast, the most affective are those in Anthony’s circle; his mother, Brianna and her brother (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett). They are the emotional core of the film as they share our worry and disgust at what’s happening to Anthony. I was initially concerned about Jarrett’s character as I knew from what I saw of him in the trailers that he was camp. I feared that he was going to be used as a sassy comic relief and while some of his comments can be interpreted as humorous, they’re never so in-your-face that you feel like you have to laugh, they’re just things his character says.

The Horror (Or The Social Commentary)

Like any horror film, Candyman offers its fair share of blood and jump scares. In fact, its balance of gory kills and suspense is better than those of most recent horrors. However, what makes the Candyman series distinct are its racial and socio-economic themes. This new film specifically tackles Black art and gentrification. Through Anthony’s artistic struggles, Candyman explores how Black art only attracts attention when it embraces Black pain. Anthony’s early work gets little praise but as soon as he incorporates Candyman into his art, he gains acclaim.

The film parallels the original in many ways. One is about a white woman entering the Black space of Cabrini Green, the other is about a Black man venturing further into the white space that is the upper echelons of the art world. In one the Candyman’s victims are mostly Black, in the other they’re white. Both have protagonists who try to succeed in white dominated industries (in the original it’s academia, in the new film it’s the Chicago art scene). At the end of the day, both films reveal the consequences of systemic racism as that is what the Candyman symbolizes. He is what happens when a community is deprived of society’s benefits and is subject to its laws regardless.

Its social commentary is pretty on the nose and the third act is a bit rushed in my opinion but everything else is done so perfectly that I have to recommend it. Whether you’ve seen the original or not, Candyman is a moving and disturbing ride that’ll stick with you for a while.

I give Candyman a great 9 out of 10.