Candyman (2021)

Director: Nia DaCosta. Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris. 91 min. Horror.

• Let me just set the standard: I rank the 1992 Candyman as one of the top 10 horror movies of all time. To this day, I still avoid saying "Candyman" 5 times in the mirror. That's how effective the movie was. So this remake/sequel, co-written by Jordan Peele (of Get Out fame) and done for whatever reason twenty years later, had huge shoes to fill.
• To my understanding, the idea behind the concept of Candyman, is that when you exploit a community or minority (in this case, African-Americans by Whites), that minority will respond with extreme violence both to themselves and others - and the urban legend of Candyman is the metaphorical embodiment of that violence. This movie reiterates the concept, and expands upon it by suggesting gentrification of poor housing projects (the birthplace of Candyman) is just a worthless band-aid approach. The movie also pays respect to the original by summarizing its plot through a shadow puppets sequence, and fleeting cameos of the original's main actors. Other than that, the movie does not have much to add.
• There's a school restroom sequence where a few teenagers are slaughtered by Candyman. If you cut that sequence from the movie, nothing will change. And the movie is barely 90 minutes. Like I said, not much to add.

MoGo's rating: 6/10

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