Candyman

A classic horror film. Makes you anxious throughout the whole film. An old gem that all horror fans should own.

I still find this film extremely creepy. It’s a classic and I think it’s better than the remake!

Candyman is a flawed but intriguing horror film based on a short story by Clive Barker, who Stephen King proclaimed as the future of horror. Directed by Bernard Rose, the plot follows scholar Helen Lyler (Virginia Madsen) as she writes a thesis on urban legends with her friend Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons). Together they investigate the Candyman (Tony Todd), a murderous ghoul with a hook for a hand who haunts a rough Chicago housing project, having supposedly committed two gruesome murders there. If you look in a mirror and say his name five times, he appears. He also inspires graffiti reading "sweets to the sweet" and leaves behind piles of candy, hence his name.The film's problem is that it can't seem to decide if Candyman is an outright or tragic villain. He does terrible things, of course, though there are hints that he's a lost soul, from his dark back story, which is rooted in 19th century racism, to what he shares with Helen at the end. Also, Tony Todd is distinctly unscary. The hook and bloody stump are effectively grotesque, but they're at odds with the actor's placid, almost warm expression. There's none of the gleeful sadism Freddy Kreuger had, or the faceless menace which distinguished Michael Meyers, Jason Voorhees or even Darth Vader. More time could have been spent developing his back story, which is revealed in one brief monologue then never really mentioned again, except through symbolism. As an antagonist he's confusingly drawn. Why was one of his hands replaced with a hook? Why was he covered in honey then stung by bees? Of all the tortures his attackers could have used these felt oddly specific, and have no relevance to their motive. Maybe they wanted to give him a gimmick in case he did become an urban legend.Madsen is a good actress, however, and I enjoyed her character's story arc. Unlike Candyman she's very convincing as a victim of fate; her development from a skeptic to what she becomes is compelling and haunting. A better approach might have been to focus on her and make Candyman a vaguer figure who may or may not exist only in Helen's mind. The film removes all doubt that Candyman exists in this world, but without a properly developed persona he has no bite. Still, he does have some nicely gory scenes and there's a certain poetry to the climax (I really liked the final shot).

Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, erm better not eh? This is, quite simply, a classic psychological thriller. Horror? Not really. Splatterpunk? If you must, I guess. To me it's a just a really good thriller with an urban-folklore driven narrative and plenty of gore considering it was released 25 years ago now. In fact, I'm both amazed and slightly comforted that it hasn't got the Hollywood remake treatment by now. That would ruin it. The suspense would be replaced by massively more amounts of overly graphic violence and a great story would turn into just another slasher film. Don't expect the greatest special effects and you won't be disappointed. Do expect a movie that you won't forget in a hurry though. Heck, people who saw it back in the day (count me as one of them) still won't say Candyman five times while looking in a mirror...

Got the film for a retro horror session with my teenage son. Seen this myself numerous times over the years.Enjoyed the film per se, but Amazon Prime experience was a disaster on Sky Glass. Audio was out-of-synch with video, and despite trying everything I could find online which was pertinent to Sky Glass (limited configuration options), I couldn't get it fixed.Wasn't a network bandwidth issue, I have 900MB fibre, and no other Sky apps were having any problems.

Brilliant film the original candy man

i loved this film when i first saw it many moons back unfortunately it has been desensitized and cut down by film sensors only in two scenes i think but it shows the violence how it should with shocking deliberation and vigor, the plot really is a revenge movie based on a curse that if summoned the candyman will come,set in the ghettos of Cabrini green it really sets apart the generic slash horror flicks of the 1990's 80's ,its low budget in looks and theatrical stance but the music score is its ace in the hole, Philip glass master piece is worthy of purchase,i just wished the second movie where you see what happened to Daniel (the candyman) was done in the first film with some more additional pieces it would have saved the ridiculous sequels, tony todd is superb as the phantom twisted soul and you cannot help but feel sorry for his plight,great film underrated but with minor tweaks it would have been perfect.

Whatched with the Granddaughter , better than the new films

Reçu aujourd hui cette version 4 k est excellente un plaisir a revoir en 4 k . Merci

Der originale und beste Candy Man Film. Tony Todd ist einfach grandios.Tolle Effekte und Story!

Se Hellraiser é super violento e gore, e Nightbreed tem pouco gore para o tema do filme (mas ambos escritos e realizados pelo autor Clive Barker), Candyman mostra mais os resultados do que a acção, mas é sempre um início duma mitologia que, ainda assim, não foi destronado pelo remake/sequela direta

Edizione esteticamente bellissima. Purtroppo non ha audio italiano, ma a differenza di quanto avviene solitamente con le edizioni tedesche, il film ha almeno i sub in inglese. Film enorme per gli amanti Dell horror

La qualité du produit ainsi que le film est à acheter les yeux fermés. Un incontournable dans une collection de film. Même 30ans après sa sortie, candyman reste un monument d'un cinéma d'horreur qui désormais se perd.