 |
Candyman |
|
|
  |
| Use the darkbrown scrollbar to the right to scroll down for the review. |
Two female students are writing a thesis about urban
legends and studies a legend about a demonic killer
called Candyman, who'll supposedly slashes you with his
hook if you call his name in the mirror. One of the
students laughs at the myth and calls Candyman's name
in the mirror, with all hell breaking loose...
An extremely underrated 90s horror classic, this isn't
as explicit and typically mainstream genre flick, but it's
very clever, well-made and unpredictable. And it's based
on a novel by Clive Barker, one of the underrated
followers of Stephen King in the horror-film-authors
tradition.
Director Bernard Rose uses a certain, mildly arty style
and already in the pre-credits proves his ability to create
a spooky atmosphere just by using certain camera angles.
The film, story-wise, begins like a cheap B-movie, with
pretty ladies doing big mistake by breaking old legendary
rule, followed by some fake scares and the investigation
of an old house.
But as soon as Tony Todd in the title role (his big
breakthrough) appears it gets scary. There's no flashy
entrance or pretentious makeup on his menacing character.
He's not transparently evil, or crack jokes like Freddy
Krueger. Instead Todd gently whispers and uses a
sensitive approach to the almost seducing demon and he
instantly crawls under your skin, already in his brief
opening narration.
This also makes good use of the folklore and myth premise,
compared to, say, Urban Legend. Putting a supernatural,
unexplained ghost in a normal suburbia and having a normal,
innocent woman being mixed into these terrifying events
gives the film a spooky, almost surreal feeling while the
outstanding cast holds up the realism and belief.
Then there's Virginia Madsen. While the similarly excellent
Todd got most of the attention, Madsen makes a completely
believable and sympathetic heroine. As she's framed for
Candyman's murders and everything in her life is slowly
ruined (friendship, marriage, reputation, etc.) we strongly
feel for her, even if the film manages to stay
non-manipulative, and we cheer for her fight for justice.
The climatic twist may come out a little silly, and is on
the limit of cliché, but I still like it as it gives the
movie a good final shock moment. This isn't a film for
gore fans, even though there's plenty of it. This is
really a strong drama which manages to both scare, shock
and seduce anyone who gets into it. And it's a masterpiece
especially compared to its sequels.
The grisliest murder is actually done off-screen, showing
only Madsen's face expression as she becomes a witness
and afterwards gives a brief glimpse of the mutilated
corpse. Otherwise, there are some slashes and stabbings.
One scene has Madsen waking up in a bathtub filled with
blood and finding Vanessa Williams screaming over the
severed head of her dog. And then there's Candyman, who
hides a skeleton chest filled with bees under his coat...
Marvelous score by Philip Glass. It's nicely tuned along
with the photography and goes perfectly hand in hand with
the plot and the grisly events, creating a feeling of
chills and horror.
A great combination of nightmarish framing-thriller,
supernatural drama and gothic mystery, with first-rate
performances from both cast and crew and delivering one
of the scariest and most well-acted horror-film
killers ever.
Review By: Slicer-dicer
 |
 |
 |
 |