Candyman Review ( SPOILERS ) | Wow this was so disappointing 

I've watched this today, what works is its beautiful imagery, amazing acting, genuinely creepy and disturbing moments and of course completely relevant social commentary that is as bold today as it was in the original, even though it can be at expense of the narrative. What didn't work for me, we were introduced to a Candyman who was a side character. This wasn't that actors time to shine in the role and be centre stage, which is a shame because every time he was on screen, it was some really good and creepy stuff. I NEED more of that. Instead he was A Candyman, one of many whilst the film spent more time setting up for what a potential sequel could be more than focusing on what we already have now. It's a classic film that feels like "watch Candyman, oh boy, you can't wait to see what we do for the sequel" and yet we've forgotten the fact that the audience is sat here wanting to see stuff now. Not to mention, narratively, we've now established is a chain of villains who are replaced, so why would we care about a new one?

Tony Todd with his low gravelly voice is and always will be the candyman.

Gotta love how people ignore that Candyman literally castrated a young kid who said his name in the first movie. And they wanna make him an anti-hero.

It seemed forced when they showed Tony Todd… we barely even saw Yahya play him. Also the de aging was awkward. IMO

I was hoping Helen's spirit would come back and save Anthony, but she basically sacrificed herself for nothing. In the first film, the black community was tired of Candyman and wanted his legend to die because candyman ain't no "hero" like how this movie is trying to portray him, and while Candyman's legend died, Helen became a legend herself, which is why she was able to come back and kill her ex. If anyone should be the hero or avenger, then it should be Helen because her legend was her saving a child, while Candyman's is based on fear and pain.

Thank you! The characters were so lackluster. They went so hard pushing the gentrification issue (which I don't mind at all) that it was like they forgot they were making a horror film. I also didn't care for Anthony or William's acting (specifically when he went crazy). Not being able to see the kill scenes SUCKED! Tony Todd was seductive and alluring, yet also terrifying, but we can only see this guy's reflection. I like the way he kind of hovers and is carried by bees in some scenes. Also, where did the candy aspect come from??? How was Anthony able to see Sherman since that was William's childhood memory? Are there supposed to be multiple CM since Tony popped up at the end? If so, they should have named it "CandyMEN". I thought the movie was choppy, didn't flow, and wasn't well explained. I give it a 4/10 and that's being generous.

I saw Tony Todd at a horror con a few months ago; our eyes met and I nodded my head in reverence. When I tell you this mans smile sent shivers down my spine. Such a wasted opportunity not using him more.

From the get go I had my doubts of this movie. The lack of Tony Todd was a huge red flag. Turns out all my doubts were not misplaced.

Peele needs to learn how to show and not tell. You know what great social commentary looks like? It's like that episode in The Wire where Bubbles sees all those white kids playing on lush green fields, just enjoying life. He is then driven back to the ghetto and you see black kids playing on concrete with beat up equipment. Then Bubbles says one line, "It's a thin line between heaven and here". That hit you straight in the gut. And it did so with one line, because it showed you and allowed you to draw the conclusion yourself.

Tony Todd’s voice and presence is what made candyman scary for me , Tony Todd appearance at the end was the scariest part for me and one if not the best part . I enjoyed the movie and felt some parts were really strong ended seemed rushed .

remember when we use to watch movies and entertainment to escape reality and everything in it.. Now there's no escape from it

I’ll say what no one else would ever say: I will not watch another horror film that Peele is involved in. I watched the others, got the message, yes, it’s possible to understand where he’s going and what he’s saying in its fullness but I’m over it.

The movie is way too heavy handed with politics and social commentary. I just wanted to be scared...not preached to.

This was more disappointing than Force Awakens when Luke is shown for 30 seconds and doesn't say a fucking word. Tony Todd should feel so ripped off and boned. Tjis should've been his movie 100%

I did like how they use those puppets to tell the story. And only seeing the killer from reflections of mirrors was cool. But over all I was expecting something more like scary. It felt like they couldn't determine if this was a sequel or a prequel. I dont hate the movie but it doesnt have that Candyman feel. It would had been awesome had this been not in the Candyman franchise but it's own. It felt more like a race thing.

The technical aspects, the acting, the sound design, the camera work, the buildup of tension, the imagery, the disturbing kills, all of that stuff was great. What really disappointed me was the forced story beats, the confusing ending, and the attempt to make candyman into a misunderstood antihero despite doing horrendous things such as castrating a young boy, murdering innocent people, and almost burning a baby alive

Whole review is on point. The social commentary/politics of the film isn’t the problem. It’s the execution of it! I didn’t disagree with the points being made yet I found myself rolling my eyes. Are you hear to tell a story or give us a reference guide for political education? This film got so tangled up in its milquetoast commentary and need to rewrite the 1992 film, that it forgot to tell a story with fully realized characters. Hell, it forgot to be a damn horror! And that ending was just nonsensical. Ugh, such a disappointment!

The whole movie I kept asking "where's Tony Todd? They said he was in it!" Tony Todd: last 5 minutes of the film Me: 👁👄👁 (Best part of the whole movie)

I agree with all of this. It's a frustratingly unscary film especially as a follow-up to the classic original.

Spoilers: Just got back from the theater. Totally agree with everything you said. The third act feels completely separated from the first hour of the film, the social commentary was conveyed with a hammer not a scalpel, and characters lacked any real, concrete motivation letting me actually give a shit about their continued existence. The trifling white characters getting their comeuppance was cute, but really didn’t make sense given the Candyman’s M.O. of “bitch don’t care you who are I’mma kill you if you utter my name.” Also, didn’t it feel like they were trying to push an angle about Anthony’s character maybe being implicated in the killings? Like, visiting and then leaving with the embroidered cloth from the critic’s place, and his art gallery manager whom he was seen publicly fighting with? It almost feels like they were trying to connect him with the “lineage” of the “Candymen” in that they were lynched/murdered/publicly executed for something they never actually did. Then using the 4 or 5 kids as a way of showing there’s no way he could have been in that school, so the scent gets thrown off his trail. But did it actually play out that way? No. Also, the way Sherman was portrayed made it feel like maybe he wasn’t 100% all there, mentally. I think that is a great touch if you take into account the “wrongful death” thing, but if he’s not 100% there, then why is he taking so much joy in his killings? He relishes what he’s doing, clearly, but that doesn’t line up with how the character was portrayed earlier on in the film. And like, his arm?! Are you kidding me? Not a single person in his life told him to go get that shit looked at? It was literally rotting off! Not just a scab. It was a beautiful movie, had a lot of cool moments, but the holes were so massive that no amount of snarky dialogue or well executed shots could distract from them.

What baffles me most about this movie is how they didn’t even manage to make CANDYMAN scary… he was literally like this random skinny dude that made cringey grunts.

Great lead actors and great topic. The presentation overall fell flat. This was the first Jordan Peele film I seen where the audience didn’t clap.

I just got back from the new Candyman, and I hated it! I absolutely loved the original, Tony Todd is a fucking legend! The only parts I enjoyed were when they explained what happened to Helen. I brought my wife cause we both love the original, and we wanted a "good scare", but all we got was a cringy waste of time, and a whole new appreciation for the OG. 🐝

Ironically when they made it "CandyMEN"... the whole premise of one chosen Candyman to carry out the ultraviolent exploitative murders lost the feeling of abandon and hopelessness that the first one generated. Although we know just how Candyman was made and IS.... we still in this newer movie, become way too "informed". It was the mystery of Tony Todd's persona which exacted revenge with such ferocity that we kept hitting rewind...trying in all honesty to come to terms WHY Candyman killed with such glee. It was such a better case study. This one was a try hard. A true flop that felt like a bunch of cheeky woke ass college students collaborated on to yell at our faces about how evil we apparently are and deserve every bit of this. Alas...this brings me to my last point. The original Candyman did things so horrific that it made you both sad at the racism inflicted upon him, yet torn on whether or not his "corrective actions" towards nonbelievers was truly warranted on the scale of violence with which he inflicted.

Great review! Jordan peele is one track minded

There's two things that stood out for me for Anthony's character- no three: - the fact that he's baby Anthony from the OG which they could've done so much for! - as an artist, he's got an iconic look of his own with a painted jumpsuit - he's got a nice ass 😂

I honestly think in the wake of last year they rewrote/reshot stuff to try and fit into the moment. No idea if that's true but there are clearly scenes missing/build up that never happens/characters (as you mentioned) not acting in a way that makes sense given what we previously knew about them. I don't think even with this the film becomes great, but hopefully much better.

Perfect Review!! I agree with everything you said. They really dropped the ball and the movie was all over the place. It felt rushed, no suspense and there wasn't any build up. Even his skin decaying seemed like it was just thrown in there. Even the scene of the girls summoning him in the high school bathroom felt out of place. I feel that scene would've fit better as the opening scene, then launching into Anthony's story. This movie was so wack. What a let down.

Thank you for this breakdown. I’m really grateful for the time and work that went into creating something that contributes to and guides my understanding of this film. merci buckets !

Great review! The original is a classic in my opinion.

Dude your stuff is great! Very insightful, smart review and terrific style!

The original candy man IS Tony Todd. Without him the movie would not be as remembered and revered if it wasn’t for his stellar performance. I was so butthurt when the movie was nothing but the dude that crawled out of the wall lol

I Truly appreciate everyone checking out this video. I just want to give a heads up. If you see some content blacked out then that means RU-vid claimed my shit for no reason when clearly this video falls under Fair Use. Thanks again. Hope you subscribed!

Subscribed. I had to read thru abt 12 articles and 5 RU-vid videos before I found your account and finally FINALLY someone with the range and passion for film to deconstruct this film. 😊 Looking forward to seeing your other vids

Loved this! Subscribed.

Felt hacked to death in the edit. Started out decent then third act went off the rails in a matter of seconds. Good concepts just fleshed out wrong. They could have put in 15 min of character development that would make a few of their decisions make sense. Also needed more gore/horror. I liked the visual of him floating with the bees over the face. It had some gems, just put together bad.

This is my first video I’ve ever seen of you and I absolutely love your balanced approach to criticising and praising the movie. Keep at it, Man, you’re going to blow up in time.

I love the direction your channel is going man. Your review style is very personal and I would say your approach is intellectual as well. You're a very smart man!

you need more subs. after watching the vid I was shocked to see you were a smaller channel. good content, man!

i couldn’t agree more. they actually could have made the same points with a good horror movie without being so on the nose. and the dude in the laundromat?? especially at the end and whatnot he could’ve completely been removed from the movie. he made no sense at all. and him like turning anthony into a patchwerk candyman wtf i can’t even

Thank you for this review!!!!!

Your review is the first of the best description of the movie I've been looking to hear.

Damn good review brother. I don’t agree and my review would show that but I still really appreciate your points for sure. Points I hadn’t really thought about, I think I just tend to not pick apart movies and instead just kinda enjoy the overall piece. Also I’m a artist first so I fell in love with the visuals for me.

You hit the nail on the head...spot on review! My favorite part was Tony Todd's cameo at the end! I would still rate it a 6 out of 10, because I was just so happy to see a sequel after all these years & it wasn't horrible, but definitely a missed opportunity!

This is the first video I see from you and at first I thought you had 233k subs not 2.33k subs? You deserve much more support and I am a new and happy subscriber

In the first film there was a question of whether the candyman was real or whether it was just Helen going nuts, and killing people. This new film acknowledges that phsycolgical element for a bit but then totally disposes of that and becomes something less subtle and less interesting.

06:34 - When you sit back, mouth gaping like lol! Funny stuff!

Thank you so much for being honest about this movie, I will be back to give my review in the future.

Absolutely agree with your review. I have to say that I do appreciate that they drew inspiration from the original film and utilizing Hellens story as the new urban legend or urban folklore as if she was the candy man. There was a lot more mythology of the boogeyman missing from the movie to make it more of a horror film. I had to watch the original right after to get my fix.

The entire movie I kept looking at Colman Domingo and thinking, "He reminds me of a young Danny Glover

Wait a minute! Anthony gets possessed and becomes the new Candyman?! So Helen's sacrifice at the end of the first movie is meaningless now?! Everything I'm hearing just makes it sound like this movie ruins the original.

I don't really watch horror movies, but I was interested in people's reviews of this particular film because of its legacy in the genre and because of Jordan Peele's involvement and how that can impact some themes. I liked your energy and enthusiasm, and I definitely like your set-up. I subscribed and I hope to see more of your content!

Daniel Robitaille may have died unjustly from a murderous tragedy, but the Candyman he became was simply a soulless monster. His death "from tragedy" wasn't the point; it was that he discovered a form of immortality through rumor and legend. And the easiest way to do that wasn't to "do good deeds" "or "fight injustice", but to kill people in horrific, memorable ways. Who he killed was irrelevant. All that mattered was that each kill spread the legend "Without these things, I am nothing"). Even if others (like the drug dealer) appropriated his name, it still spread the legend. He turned on Helen when she got the drug dealer arrested because she caused the legend itself to be questioned. There are illusions that she, and perhaps baby Anthony, were reincarnations of his love and child, or they were simply stand-ins he used to both grow his legend and have "company" in immortality, making them part of his legend. Helen's life was destroyed by Candyman, and she sacrificed herself to save Anthony. But in doing so, she killed Candyman's legend and accidentally began her own, presumably making her another monster. There is no hive, simply eternal life though rumor, like any other urban legend. This 2021 sequel either ignores that, or simply doesn't understand it, because it has its own message to push.

Just finished the movie after being really on the fence about seeing it (the original Candyman is an all-time favorite and I had a bad feeling this attempt at a reboot's reach would exceed its grasp). Your review is a perfect breakdown of where the movie went wrong. Sucks, because it's a gorgeous, gorgeous movie and there was so much potential there. Anyway, you earned a subscriber. Good stuff.

Thank you a thousand times over for this review. I've never been so disappointed to watch an iconic villain from my childhood, being used as a super woke black hero, that black people summon to deal with racism. Candyman (92) was haunting, and terrifying. EVERYONE was afraid of him because he killed without mercy or question. You summon him. You die. Period.....now, he's what the world needs?

I recently saw this today with my Mum, she fell asleep towards the end of the movie. I was a bit disappointed at this movie. The shadow puppet thing was wack. 6 out of 10, not enough bees.

Great review 👍

Glad I found this channel. 👍

Thanks for the honest review think I will save my money

The message took over the entire movie.

Great Review....I agree!

Man you the only person I’ve watched that has given a movie review with such a large vocabulary .

They should of just made this a reboot if they were going to ignore Helen became one of the legends. Why was Burke a fanboy to the guy who killed his sister? Briana’s father should of been left out. Her brother also had way too much screen time not to be murdered.

The strange thing abiut the whole thing is why the guy did not get his bee sting infection looked at

Love the 1992. It had heart and soul. This one was anti white

Great review man! A lot of people *want* to love Peele's work which is cool, but this was just a complete and utter mess. The switch from vengeful spirit to vigilante makes 0 sense. The fact that the laundry guy was somehow supposed to anticipate that makes even less sense. The fabrication of a new Candyman *by a black dude like some sort of community service* (wtf even for, when he was already 'possessed' and transforming from a freaking bee sting???) The hive of candymen... Jesus Christ, I couldn't believe what I was watching.

Great honest- funny review

The thing about Candyman was that he never was a vengeful spirit, he never terrorized the residents of Cabrini-Green-Candyman was all a figment of Helen's mind. The first film was really about Helen losing her mind and lashing out murderously at anyone who refused to take her seriously (her husband, her friend, the dog, the doctor...).

Candyman isn't a protector or some kind of guardian angel🤣 he is anything but that. Unfortunately with today's false narrative against white police officers and the whole BLM bullshit, they saw this as an opportunity to incorporate that nonsense into this movie all because of the way the original Candyman died🙄

As someone who hasn’t seen the original candyman movies I actually enjoyed the movie. Was I scared? Heck no, it didn’t feel like a horror film to me. People just died gruesomely. That being said I am for sure going to go watch the other three in the series

Totally agree. Tony Todd grunting when he killed made it that much more spookier and believable.

I still don't consider Jordan Peele to be a horror filmmaker because nothing he makes is scary at all just tense

When I go to see a horror movie, I don’t wanna get lectured lectured about something, I already know I want to go and be entertained

I feel like this film didn’t handle the themes of racism and exploitation well, as a white person i felt like I was spending and hour and a half being told off for something I hadn’t done. I feel the film is massively pandering to the Black Lives Matter movement, too much so, I think it should have had candy man also attacking black people and less of the blatant white people are all racist, for example the teenage girls bullying the black girl, I don’t see why that needed to be in there to justify their deaths. I think racism is an important topic to explore but without vilifying all white people same way as I feel vilifying all men is counter productive to feminism, a movie like this should be used to promote discussion and to educate not to instil guilt.

Glad I stumbled onto your review. You are so spot on in everything you say and I admire how well you can articulate why this movie was so disappointing. I wanted so much to like this, as I truly do love the original. But it just missed the point so hard.

I love the review sir!

Not only were the kills off screen, but the ones THAT WEREN’T!!!!! were all copy and paste kills, one slash straight up the body and you’re dead…… I’m like “bruh I never saw Candyman kill somebody #1 the same way and #2 with such ease, I seen this man rip open a man in a office with the back part of his hook and fly out the window backwards 🤣🤣 where was the creativity in the kills?

It was horrible and made no sense AT ALL. It turned into a social justice warrior project looking to Villainies white people and law enforcement . They ruined Candyman. And not to mention this movie was all over the place, I was so confused

Brilliant review

You nailed this review. I love Candyman, and I don't feel that this film did the source material justice at all.

This movie was like a Black Lives Matter, revenge killings, horror movie. Even with the say my name theme.

I liked the story but not the execution, I liked that they kept the theme that someone can become a vengeful spirit and even the Candyman themselves. But the film lacked focus and finesse in many aspects unfortunately. The hand puppet scenes were the absolute best scenes in the film though.

If a movies made by Jordan Peele is going to be a race-based movie

Your very underrated man keep going!!

Very good review! I suppose I enjoyed it more because I’m a big fan of artsy-ness in horror and they really leaned into that, but you make some great points that I definitely agree with! They left out some of the most iconic features of candyman’s character, and honestly Tony Todd’s appearance at the end felt cash-grabby. The idea of Anthony being the kid that was going to be sacrificed could have really made for an interesting plot, but they tried to fit in too much at the end (also, I was positive that Coleman’s character would be revealed as Brianna’s dad based on the scene of his art studio and the kid walking in? Would have been very engaging if it happened :/).

Love the introduction

Damn, damn, damn. I'm a big fan of the original. I haven't seen this new one yet, but man, my expectations have been plummeting the more I hear about it.

Tony is to candy man what Freddy is to Robert. You simply can not replace these characters with different actors. They ARE the character and they MAKE the movie. Period. I felt like the candy man in this movie wasn’t even a thing. I felt nothing for him until I saw Tony for two seconds in the end. They shoulda just stuck with Tony and his story.

Great review! Review I did was similar man.. what a shame..

I'm burned out on Hollywood being so heavy handed and I don't know why they do this BS now.

Just got out of my Candyman screening… Huge fan of the original and of course specifically of Tony Todd as the titular character. I felt mostly underwhelmed with this one. I had super high expectations. Without spoiling anything, I honestly expected there to be much more to “the hive” idea. I thought for sure we were going to see how they carried the legacy and myth throughout the decades. Completely glossed over though. I liked a lot of the themes and ideas they were trying to get across but I felt it just kinda fell flat in the end. Still happy af for DaCosta though, looking forward to her work on The Marvels!

I thought I missed something and when I was asked what I thought about it I couldn't really explain anything except it felt rushed and I needed to watch it again. This was probably 1 of my absolute favorite horror movies as a kid and I have been waiting to see this remake since last year!! I was very disappointed & confused glad I am not the only one!

It’s ridiculous how they tried to turn a man who castrated a child, brought fear onto the people of the projects, last attempted victim was a baby but oh he was a victim first so let’s forget what he did and make him our own vigilante! Many horror characters had tragic backgrounds that doesn’t change the fact that they became villains themselves! Pinhead Hellraiser, Jason Vorhees Friday the 13th, Hannibal Lecter etc!

Good & on point review fam! I really think they neglected the horror aspect after the first 30 minutes of the film.

Bro, just got home from the movie, you hit the nail on the mf head, from one fellow black man to another. Thank you 🤞🏽

Best review of it I've seen

Absolutely on point with this review. Liked and subscribed. This was such an utter disappointment, it seems like the filmmakers wanted to make a horror movie but instead coded it with superhero tropes. One of the most confused movies I have seen in some time.

I loved the original Candyman! I was ready for the new new... I fell asleep at the Alamo Drafthouse.

CANDYMAN WAS NOTHING LIKE AN ANTI HERO HE DID NOT DISCRIMINATE EVERYONE WHO SAID HIS NAME DIED INCLUDING BLACK KIDS, THE ONLY REASON HE EVEN SPARED THE GIRL IN THE END WAS TOO SPREAD HIS STORY

Silly me for thinking I was actually going to be scared watching a horror film about a guy who comes out of the shadows after mentioning his name. To this day I will not do Bloody Mary bc it’s terrifying. Instead I get a glimpse into the artist world and gentrification rhetoric.