Reboots and remakes a hard thing to master. On one hand, you want to have something that changes things up enough to make them interesting without alienating the original fans, but on the other, you want to tie in enough of that to keep the same feeling and theme while not being and out-and-out reshoot a la the 1998 Psycho. With a property as beloved as Candyman, writers Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele had a rather monumental task of walking that fine line between homage and originality, and they succeeded admirably even if there were some missteps along the way.
Artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has hit a mental roadblock with his new paintings and struggles to find fresh themes to use as a basis for a new show. After hearing about the legend of the Candyman, he begins investigating the remnants of the Cabrini-Green projects and learns from laundromat owner William Burke (Colman Domingo) that an innocent black man was beaten to death by police, and that his vengeful spirit can be summoned by saying his name five times in a mirror. After trying this over the reservations of his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris), he begins to have strange visions that mystify him but also spur him on to create a Candyman art exhibit. The visions become stranger and more dangerous as the legend of Candyman begins to spread and wreak havoc on friends and strangers, and Anthony himself begins to evolve into something … different. Fearful of the man her boyfriend has become, Brianna begins looking into the legend herself only to find that he might be lost forever.
What I truly enjoy are horror movies that build the creep factor and pervade every moment with a feeling of dread that is impossible to escape. Much like The Babadook, Candyman always has something hiding in the background or barely in the corner of your eye that continually keeps you on edge even if you only saw it subconsciously. The continual use of mirrors to accomplish this as well as the premise that the spirit can only kill your reflection is used to great effect from the first scene to the last. It even smartly deals with the idea that Candyman can go after you in any reflection, so even if the characters destroy all the mirrors, that puddle of water or a spilled drink now becomes just as deadly.
I would be remiss not to discuss the many themes that are brought up that resonate with the world today. Police brutality, racism, and white gentrification all make an appearance and are the foundation for why the Candyman exists and, in some ways, is almost necessary. The struggle that black and people of color face is just as relevant now as it has always been, and that is unabashedly addressed in this film. I wouldn’t say it’s done as well as in Get Out which was able to better balance subtlety and the obvious in making Peele’s point, but it will still get people thinking and hopefully spurred into action.
Is this better than the original? Hard to say as they are two entirely different types of movies despite sharing a name and many of the same elements. With this though, I don’t really feel it is destined to live on forever and be a touchstone that we will look back on as a must-see horror/thriller like we will with Get Out. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, as it’s scary and fantastic, and what it does, it does well, but the bar has been set incredibly high, and it just doesn’t quite measure up.