Candyman Review - Off The Shelf Reviews 

A smart and genuinely scary movie from my youth; Tony Todd's Candyman performance is worthy of a cult following. The examination of race is particularly telling and equal parts subtle.

I’ve been on a binge watch of reviews of Candyman because I just can’t get enough of this movie. It’s original, it’s scary, it’s everything you want from a horror film. Thanks for your review guys!

Virginia Madsen is actually extremely allergic to bees so when that scene with the bees all over her and candyman came they had to use baby bees and a queen bee pheromone to make sure they wouldn’t sting her although they did sting Tony a lot in fact he was paid a lot of money for each sting he endured also when the scene where the hook comes through Helen’s mirror came around they didn’t tell Virginia that it was going to happen because they wanted real fear out of her but Tony being the class act that he is vehemently refused to scare her on purpose without her knowing it but eventually they got him to do it and after the fact he felt so bad and profusely apologized to Virginia so yeah as I said class act and I’ve got a lot respect for him

I think that the most disturbing part on Candyman is when Helen's being burned alive as she crawls holding the baby so the fire couldn't hit him....is very sad....

When you see some of the garbage that gets 7 and 8s out of 10 on imdb, yet this film scores 6.6, it's bloody disgraceful to be honest!

idk why, but still to this day, Candyman is unsettling to me. No other Horror movie has scared me like Candyman. And i grew up watching Nightmare on Elm st and Friday the 13th, and Halloween etc.. They were my favorite movies since i was like 3. but Candyman still at 24 kinda creeps me out.

The way he kills his victims...The grunting sounds are extremely, unsettling. 1 of THE Best !!

I can't believe you guys didn't talk about the Helen scene at the end

In life he was a painter and what made him mostly recognized and remembered was his painting skills. His right hand being cut off and replaced with a hook is a mockery of him by taking away his tool to create the art he was well known for. In death his tool, His right hand now a stump with a hook is his new tool not for painting but spilling blood.

Tony Todd did a cracking job with this movie. This movie is so dark, and has so much realism in it, you could almost ignore the supernatural aspect. This is an excellent example of a horror movie.

I don't think I even glanced at a bathroom mirror for months as a kid because of this movie

I now understand why this movie was considered a suspenseful thriller rather than a horror movie when it was first released but there's no denying that Candyman himself is a horror film icon. Great review!

This is the first otsr review I watched. I saw this film when I was 6 and revisited it throughout my childhood and never truly understood many parts until I watched this review. This is what got me hooked on movie reviews and this channel!

Fantastic review! An aspect not mentioned (shocking but not really) is the lack of commentary on racism in the film. Candyman was tortured and murdered unjustly by a white racist mob for being in a relationship with a white woman. He then sets up white woman Helen through the institutions that Black people are traditionally targeted. She is framed, arrested, and institutionalized and no one believes her. In a way she lives the life of a Black man. I wonder what the original Helen did if anything to stop the living Candyman from being slaughtered. It also talks about how Black women are murdered Ruthie Jean and how not too many people cared (similar to the recent deaths at the hands of a real killer Lonnie Franklin the “Grim Sleeper”) but still a great review of one of the scariest movies I have ever seen.

Helen was fucking amazing in this movie. Even through all the shit she went though, she vindicated herself by saving the child despite literally burning to death. She was just as sympathetic as candyman I feel which movies nowadays seem to miss. She was generally a good person who dug too far down a rabbit hole and paid for it dearly, but in paying for it she still saves herself by not giving up and collapsing on the baby or just letting it burn. Such a powerful character that's gone underappreciated for way too long.

I remember when this movie scared me more than the Nightmare on Elm Street series ever did. Something about the Candyman struck such a hard cord with me that’s it’s stuck with me for years. Now a days I think this movie is one of the best slasher flicks out there.

This film scares the ISH out of me! Tony Todd is such a poised and brilliant actor. So is Virginia Madsen. Great review, guys. :)))

I always assumed they put the hook on his hand so that he would tear into his own skins trying to get the bees off of him.

the part where helen is in the restaurant talking to the guy notice how she has her hand (or wrist) in the shape of hook like candyman while holding her cigarette foreshadowing maybe idk

This movie scared me like no other. Extremely frightening and disturbing on so many levels. I just hope that this year’s “spiritual sequel” can recapture the same magic.

Y'all didn't get to the part when Helen became apart of the candyman curse at the end.

Candyman is one of the most visually stunning movies ever. Frightening and beautiful. And the music is haunting. It's one of my favorites.

I hate how candyman frames Hellen for his murders. I felt so sorry for her. He ruined her life

I remember first watching this when videotaping it off the TBS channel (when it used to be called _Superstation_), when I was 8/9 yrs old in the early-2000s, and it *scared the **_HOLY HELL_* out of me. I've watched a lot of horror movies since I was 4, and _Candyman_ was only one of two movies that truly scared me to my inner core, along with _Pet Sematary_.

This is one of my favourite horror films. It's intelligent and horrifying in equal measure. And that score is spooky as hell.

The death scenes weren't over exaggerated like most horror movies. I think the entire cast and team did a great job at making the death scenes so realistic. The way he ripped the dudes back open...And the way you felt listening to her friend die. 2 kills was all this movie needed. Top 5 for me.

Candyman is one of the best films I have ever seen. >I have recommended it so much! excellent. And it links with the history of real Cabrini Green wonderfully.

Great review guys. Good horror flick. You could've mentioned the composer Philip Glass though when praising the soundtrack! The guy's a genius in movie soundtracks

Thanks guys. A very worthy review of a modern classic horror film. Everything about the film is exceptional, Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, and Bernard Rose are in the form of their lives and the Phillip Glass score is just magical. Sometime since I've seen this film as I only have it on VHS video but I have never forgotten this film.

The movie visually resembles Stanley Kubrick movies.

This film scared the shit out of me as a kid!

I watched this when I was 5. My brother then dared me to say his name in the bathroom mirror. Me being billy big bollocks did it. On the 5th candy man, he shut the light off and held the bathroom door shut. I’ve never been the same.

shit that wasn't just a run down apt that was Cabrini Green that place was a fucking war zone that no longer exists

The music is almost everything and Tony Todd

Virgina Madsen was Angelina Jolie before Angelina Jolie was a thing.

i saw this years after it came out and i gotta say i was pleasantly shocked.. it was way above what i expected for quality and storytelling.

Candyman scared the shit out of me as a kid. It was a lot creepier than the other crappy horror films during the 90s like Return of the Living Dead 3 and I Know what You did Last Summer.

There is something very eerie and unsettling about this horror movie. I've lived and breathed horror since I was about 5...they usually are fun and just mostly make me laugh..this was the only one that ever gave me a nightmare. So I guess this makes this a really good horror movie :) that music. That voice. That image of him. Truly terrifying..and it is a love story.

My first memory of Virginia Madsen is in Fire with Fire. I looooved that movie. Had a big crush on her love interest in the movie.

Candyman,...well, I first seen this movie when I was about 10, It scared the crap outta me so bad that I set fire to the VHS and watched it burn...took me years to get over the Images and scenes in that movie.

You we're not convinced of the stories, so I was obliged to come.

The true stories of those housing projects is more terrifying than this movie

I thought Virginia Madsen's character is a bit too cocky but granted, you do feel sorry for her. Likewise, although I recognize the titular character as a non-discriminate and merciless killer of innocence, you feel sorry for his origin. I feel the most sorry for her friend. She didn't deserve to be murdered at all.

I would love to see you guys review the other candyman movies

Now here in 2021 the original candyman is gaining a larger appreciation due to the new release.iconic

I don't know why, but whenever somebody mentions Candyman, my mind goes to Wishmaster. They are just iconic for the 90s.

Movie scared the absolute shit out of me as a kid. That candyman theme too man UGH. Lol I haven’t seen it since I was a kid. I have to watch it as an adult.

The music score is not overused, there are multiple scores all composed by Philip Glass so they are somewhat similar but there's the main score, candyman's score, helen's score, and they're all very beautiful 1st time I've ever heard they were overused when the music is part of what makes this movie so legendary, you should listen to the entire album to understand what I mean but I liked your review Candyman is my all time favorite movie. Towards the end when he decides to take the baby he does that to re-unite the family he never got to have, the family he was condemned to death for which is why he puts the baby there he knows Helen would come and his plan was for the 3 of them to die together therefore being tied together forever (his new miracle).

To this day, I WILL NOT SAY HIS NAME, AT ALL!!! When I was a kid, my cousin had me say his name in the mirror, then she locked me in the bathroom!

First half of this movie is fantastic. The atmosphere and the setting, the sense of place, amazing and very unnerving, leading up to the public bathroom scene. I think it falls away in the second half but still a great movie.

One of the best 90s movies and a horror classic, I love how subtle and not rammed down your throat the race elements are!

Latesha and Lanesha Martin both starred as Baby Anthony in the film. It is quite common to use twins for one role in television and film productions to meet requirements with laws about how much time children can spend in front of a camera. Pjillip Glass, the famed composer of the score and the song Music Box that was used as Candyman's theme has details on his site at philipglass.com/films/candyman/.

The bees were bred specifically for this movie. They needed to make sure that the bees were only twelve hours old, so that they looked like mature bees, but their stinger wouldn't be powerful enough to do any real damage. Exterior, hallway, and stairway scenes were actually filmed for a few days in the infamous Cabrini-Green housing projects, though the producers had to make a deal with the ruling gang members to put them in the movie as extras to ensure the cast and crew's safety during filming. Even with this arrangement, a sniper put a bullet through the production van on the last day of filming, though no one was injured. While investigating one of Candyman's crime scenes, Helen and Bernadette discover that the design of the apartment's medicine cabinet made it a possible point of entry for an intruder. This was not a made-up piece of horror movie fiction. While researching the film, Bernard Rose learned that a series of murders had been committed in Chicago in this very way. In Slashers Part 1 (2018), Tony Todd said he was stung by bees 26 times during the space of the Candyman trilogy. Tony Todd negotiated a bonus of $1,000 for every bee sting he suffered during filming; he was stung 23 times. Tony Todd's favorite role and movie of his own. Whenever Candyman is walking his footsteps have no sound, signifying his status as rumor and mythology powered by superstition come to life. The Candyman's lair was designed to look like a gothic church constructed by the people who believed in him living in Cabrini Green The film's opening credits feature a great aerial view of Chicago, which was pretty revolutionary for its time. "We did that with an incredible new machine called the Skycam, which can shoot up to a 500mm lens with no vibration," Bernard Rose told The Independent. "You've never seen that shot before, at least not done that smoothly." The Candyman in Clive Barker's original story had been described as an imposing possibly white man (he is described as having a rather unnatural shade of yellow that of course adds to his candy theme) with an unruly red beard. Director Bernard Rose had Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd take ballroom dancing classes together so they would have more of a romantic connection when playing their characters. Candyman combines elements of two real urban legends: Bloody Mary (a ghost who appears by chanting her name in a mirror) and the Hook (a killer with a hook for a hand who attacks a couple in a parked car). The effects crew had a blacksmith make Candyman's hook, but when they went to pick it up, the blacksmith refused to sell it to them. Once he'd heard it was for a Clive Barker horror movie, the devout Christian blacksmith had misgivings about the project. There was some controversy that the film was depicting racism and racial stereotypes. According to Bernard Rose, "I had to go and have a whole set of meetings with the NAACP, because the producers were so worried, and what they said to me when they'd read the script was 'Why are we even having this meeting? You know, this is just good fun.' Their argument was 'Why shouldn't a black actor be a ghost? Why shouldn't a black actor play Freddy Krueger or Hannibal Lecter? If you're saying that they can't be, it's really perverse. This is a horror movie. . .'" According to Virginia Madsen , "I was and am now worried about how people will respond. I don't think Spike Lee will like this film." It took half an hour for all of the bees to get into Tony Todd's mouth, and he recalled being "tranced out" when he let all of the bees out of his mouth. Eddie Murphy was considered for the title role, but was deemed too short at 5'9". They chose Tony Todd for his height at 6'5". For the scene where Helen strips in front of the policewoman, Virginia Madsen suggested her lifelong best friend Rusty Schwimmer for the part as she felt more comfortable doing it in front of a familiar face. For the scene in which bees fill Candyman's chest cavity, bees were placed in a special body appliance which was filled off stage and strapped to Tony Todd's chest. Utmost care was taken to be gentle in placing the bees properly for the scene and then collecting them afterwards. In an August 2011 interview with Cindy Pearlman of the Chicago Sun Times Tony Todd stated, "I'll never forget that I filmed that movie in a building on the South Side of Chicago. Building 116. Unit C. That's the Candyman pad!" Bernard Rose expressed interest in Clive Barker's story "The Forbidden", and Barker agreed to license the rights. Where Barker's story revolved around themes of the British class system in contemporary Liverpool, Rose chose to refit the story to Cabrini-Green public housing development in Chicago and instead focus on themes of race and social class in inner-city United States. The original story takes place in a fictional British housing project called Bob's Corner in the late 70's, while the movie moves the setting to 90's Chicago and the real life slum of Cabrini Green. The change in setting also makes the bonfire seem out of place, as in the original the bonfire is part of the traditional Guy Fawkes Night celebrations. Tony Todd compares his character's ability to invoke fear, suggestion and seduction to the DC Comics villain Scarecrow. He also compares his character to the Phantom of the Opera and the Hunchback of Notre Dame in that they are all "monsters" who use both tenderness and terror in an unsuccessful attempt to win the love of the female protagonists. The honeybees in Candyman were controlled by Norman Gary, who previously handled bees on films such as The Deadly Bees (1966), My Girl (1991), and Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). The film used more than 200,000 real honeybees throughout, and most of the crew wore bodysuits to be protected from stings, although all of them faced at least one sting. Originally scripted Candyman's name was to be called 13 times, but writer and director Bernard Rose reduced it to 5. Clive Barker's short story took place in Liverpool, England. The titular character of Candyman does not appear in person until 44 minutes into the movie. The only slasher movie in the horror canon with a Black serial killer as the villain. This has never been done before or since in the history of film. In "Draculas, Vampires and Other Undead Forms: Essays on Gender, Race and Culture", the Candyman's nature is likened to a vampire, elaborating that similar to the vampires: "[Candyman] possesses the capacity to hypnotize his prey such that they appear to desire their victimizations." Virginia Madsen confirmed that the Candyman was intended to be an "African-American Dracula", adding that she thought that it is "appealing to the African-American community because they finally had their own Dracula". For a scene in which both Helen and Candyman are covered with bees, the queen bee scent was placed on the actors and then the bees were placed on the actors by pouring them out of a container. A special bee vacuum was used after to collect the bees. Bernard Rose's then-wife, Alexandra Pigg, was originally set to play Helen but ceded the role to the higher profile Virginia Madsen. In "The Forbidden", Helen's last name is Buchanan as opposed to Lyle in the movie. Anne-Marie's last name is changed from Latimer to McCoy in the movie, as well as her baby's name from Kerry to Anthony. Candyman is regarded in some critical circles as a contemporary classic of horror cinema. Michael Culkin's debut film Penned by Clive Barker who also wrote Hellraiser, another iconic horror franchise. The scene where Candyman's hook bursts through Helen's bathroom cabinet was set up without Virginia Madsen's knowledge, so her terror and shock are real. She ran screaming from the set. According to Tony Todd, the studio cut several minutes of footage out to the swirling embrace scene at the end of the film when Candyman tells Helen "Surrender to me" because they were leery of the interracial context of the scene. When Helen is seen talking to Jake at Cabrini-Green you can see the shadow of the gates on her face resembling honeycombs therefore forshawdowing that her face will be covered in bees. Dr Burke's death won the "Golden Chainsaw" award because it had the most visible hookage. Kasi Lemmons's second horror film after The Silence of the Lambs (1991) (in which she played a similar sidekick role), and the first in which she dies when she gets gutted by Candyman. Helen and Bernadette, before they unwittingly summon Candyman, make a joke about how someone's lurking behind a bathroom mirror. In the second act of the movie Candyman himself later smashes through the mirror to get at Helen.

I can listen to these guys review horror all day.....I wonder how do they feel about the new candy man movie that’s about to come out this summer?

I love how he's horrific but also has a sexiness to him that draws you in. To me that's the part of him that makes him even more spooky.

This film has always been a favorite of mine. As an adult it has only become more interesting and multi-dimensional. I now even go as far as wondering if Helen was insane or possessed and was actually killing people. I love that the movie doesn’t really address every detail so it leaves it all up to interpretation. Is Candyman a literal figure that kills or a supernatural force like more of a demon that takes over a person like Helen?

This story and slow development is exactly why this movie is so phenomenal and it only has 2 kills. It only needs 2, im more invested in the myth of the candyman. The 2 kills are horrific, i know we dont see bernadette being killed but just the screams in themselves makes your mind wander. My favourite horror movie from my childhood. I have a massive poster of the dvd cover of this movie on my front room wall ❤❤❤😂

Candyman is a carefully paced to build the suspense...the paceing of the flim is slow in a very unsettling way.also the theme song YUS!!!!!! I still wonder if there is a true horror film that will scare you HARD!!! (very scery)

Looking forward to the new film, if they ever let movie theaters reopen.

The neighborhood gang used the residence's fear of the candyman as a form of control over them. That's why they pretended to be him. Candyman didnt need them, the gang needed him.

One of the greatest horror films ever made

Is it just me or does the audio get out of sync around 6:45 ??

I went to high school down the street from cabrini green.

YES THE MUSIC SCORE !!!!!!!! YES U TOUCHED ON IT U HAVE DONE ME PROUD, PHILLIP GLASS!!!!!!!!!

I loved this movie in '92 and still love this movie today. I never get tired of it, and I've watched it so many times !!! Love, all your film reviews, they're always intelligent, informative, and humorous ! I even enjoy your reviews of the movies, that I haven't seen. Thanks, Gary and Iain !

Please review Mishima, another AMAZING Philip Glass score, and an amazing Paul Schrader movie. one of my favs of all time... please?

With the “Reboot” coming out; I’m certain people will rewatch this and the popularity will spark. Reboots only shine line on the originals in my opinions.

The nails!! *Finally* somebody pointed that out!! I've been saying for years that the grotesque and crude appearance of the hook is a major part of what makes him so terrifying. The way the nub is just raw and open, like a wound that has had absolutely no medical attention or effort to clean it up or make it look less morbid, and the hook -not a clean modern chrome or stainless steel medical prosthetic, but an old, iron hand-forged butcher hook with a needle sharp tip, 100 years of rust and slathered in gore- just crudely jammed into the meat and held in place by some bailing wire and a couple rusty nails into bone....when he first shows us the hook, Im like oh hell no! Like seriously, I dont care how non-threatening the person is...if your grandma came at me and whipped out a hook hand that looked like that, I'd be like fuck this! And run like hell shitting my pants the entire way....

No, They Don't Play It Too Often It's ESSENTIAL.

No mention of Philip Glass' AMAZING Score? :(

Great review guys! Keep it up!

Lol all these years I never knew he fed the baby honey...which I’ve learned only a couple years ago is a “no-no” to give babies

Still stands up as a Great 90s horror. Creepy setting in an urban environment added also. The Short Story audiobook listen was CREEPY AS FUCK.

Great review of an awesome movie.

I thought Candyman 2 was pretty underrated.

First time I saw this one it was here in german TV. Had to be 12 or 13 or so. And even back then I knew there's something missing here. Today I know: The cut german version lacks about 7 (!) Minutes...

you guys have a good eye for horror you should have more subs.

Word! The music & his voice fucked me up as an 11 year old kid watching this shit back in 92 & he looks scary too. I can't watch movies with him in it til this day cuz I always see Candyman & not the actor himself

I’d love to hear your all’s opinion on the recent Candyman

Rewatching this amazing review to celebrate Candyman’s 25th anniversary!

Have you guys reviewed Wishmaster yet? If not, do you plan to?

The baby turns into the new candyman in the 2020 version. l do feel bad for Helen, but she did call on him and seek him out persistantly. Classic horror movie.

I honestly didn't even know a third film existed

I actually like the second one. The third one is absolute s***! I know Tony Todd would agree with that.

You said weiner. I couldn’t stop laughing.

I read the short story this is based on, which was set in London I believe, without realizing until most of the way through that it had anything to do with this movie.

I'm in love with this movie. Sad they're doing a remake

The candyman blames helen for destroying the faith in his congregation. I blame Jake, he called the cops.

Helens husband got his comeuppance in Terminator 2 😏😉

Did you know they originally wanted Eddie Murphy to play Candyman?

I saw it when I was 8....scare the bejeezus out of me for years.

Wasn’t there a part of the legend where the woman and the candy man had a baby? Maybe he wanted the family that was torn away from him. In the end, when he burns, he realizes that she isn’t the woman he once loved. Add that to the flock thinking he is being burned, there is the chance he stopped “existing”. Then again, maybe the sequels ruin that theory.

Candyman is a love story.

Scariest film I've ever seen in my life.

Oh, and btw...for years I've said that I want a grittier, more realistic peter pan film where captain hook looks as terrifying as candyman...I mean fuck, he's a child-murdering evil pirate...pirates in real life werent all aristocratic looking...they were the thugs of the sea...mofos were ruff and rugged and dirty lookin...so I feel like a realistic Captain Hook would look alot like Candyman, except the wound wouldnt be raw...probably wrapped in bandages...but the hook itself would look just as crude and creepy...it wouldn't have been all shiny and silver...would have been a crude fuckin butcher hook...

Virginia Madsen is cute in this film ..I love her little bunny teeth

This movie scared the fucking shit out of me as a kid, I did not wanna go to sleep after watching that shit. THIS MOVIE IS NO DOUBT THE MOST UNSETTLING, AND SCARIEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. THE THEME IS FUCKING CREEPY. I didn't knoe this movie took place in Cabrini green, I'm living in Chicago so this is just more scary

Ever see a movie titled "Tales From The Hood" ?

I love the combination of sadness, terror, and anger the Candyman represents. Love that piano melody as well....haunting. One of my fave horror movies!

Someone accidentally knocks Iain's "OFF" switch @ 30:22