Candyman (film)
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| Candyman | |
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| Directed by | Bernard Rose |
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| Produced by | Clive Barker Steve Golin |
| Written by | Bernard Rose |
| Starring | Virginia Madsen Tony Todd Xander Berkeley Vanessa A. Williams |
| Music by | Philip Glass |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Editing by | Dan Rae |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 16, 1992 |
| Running time | 99 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8,000,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $25,792,310 (sub-total) |
| Followed by | Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh |
Candyman is a 1992 neo-noir/slasher film starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Xander Berkeley. It was directed by Bernard Rose and is based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker, though the film's scenario is switched from England to the United States (specifically Chicago). The film was scored by Philip Glass. Candyman is the first film in a trilogy which includes Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman 3: Day of the Dead.
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[edit] Plot
Helen Lyle is a graduate student conducting research for her thesis on urban legends. While interviewing freshmen about their superstitions, she hears about a local legend known as Candyman, the son of a slave who was brutally tortured and murdered because of a love affair with the daughter of a local (white) plantation owner. According to the legend, anyone who looks into a mirror and chants his name five times will summon him, but at the cost of his or her own life, similarly to the Bloody Mary folkloric tale. Helen believes that Candyman cannot exist and jokingly calls his name in the mirror in her house.
To further explore the urban legend, Helen enters the notorious gang-ridden territory known as the Cabrini-Green housing projects, the site of a recent unsolved murder of a woman who claimed someone was coming through her walls. On her second visit to the projects, Helen meets a young single mother, Anne-Marie McCoy, then encounters a young boy who takes her to a bathroom where a brutal attack on a young boy had taken place. She finds one toilet full of bees and the words "Sweets, to the Sweet" written on the walls, which had been seen earlier in the housing project. As she is leaving, she is stopped by a gang and attacked by a man with a hook.
After recovering from her attack, Helen walks through a parking garage on the day she returns to school. She is entranced by a voice calling her name who then reveals himself to be the Candyman of the urban legend. Candyman states that because of Helen's disbelief, he must show her that he is in fact real. She then wakes up in a pool of blood, finding herself in the apartment of Anne-Marie, who is screaming for her baby, who is missing. The apartment is covered in the blood of Anne-Marie's decapitated rottweiler. The police then enter the apartment and arrest Helen, seeing she's holding a meat cleaver in her hand.
While in jail, Helen is allowed one phone call to which she uses to call her husband, Trevor. He promptly arrives to bail her out of jail and take her home. With Helen relaxing in the bathtub, Trevor tells her that he needs to go out for a little while. He leaves her alone and Helen begins to hear Candyman speaking to her again. Candyman cuts the back of Helen's neck and causes her to bleed. Suddenly, Helen's friend Bernadette arrives at her door to bring her flowers. Helen tries to scream for Bernadette to leave and that it is unsafe for her to be there, but she enters anyway and is killed by Candyman. The police then arrive and take Helen with them to a psychiatric hospital where she is restrained and sedated.
After a month's stay at the hospital, Helen is then told that her trial is coming soon and she needs to have an interview with a psychologist. While restrained, the psychiatrist interviews Helen about the day Bernadette died. Helen denies murdering her and as proof, attempts to summon Candyman. A few moments later Candyman appears and murders the doctor, after which Helen escapes the Hospital to her own apartment. There she finds that Trevor is with another woman. Helen then heads to Candyman's hideout to confront him and to save Anne-Marie's baby and clear herself. The residents of Cabrini-Green, who still believe Helen to be the Candyman murderer, attempt to bring justice by burning Candyman's hideout with Helen still inside. Helen sacrifices herself to save the infant and apparently defeats the Candyman.
During Helen's funeral, Anne-Marie and the other residents of Cabrini-Green arrive to pay their respects to Helen for saving them from Candyman and for rescuing the child. The residents drop large metal hooks into Helen's grave as a token of apology from Anne-Marie for falsely accusing her for her infant's kidnapping and as a trophy for ridding the Candyman from Cabrini-Green.
After the funeral, a grief-striken Trevor summons Helen's spirit, who then kills him with Candyman's hook, leaving Trevor's new lover with his bloodied corpse as Helen becomes the new Candyman.
[edit] Differences between story and film
The short story concentrates solely on Helen and features Candyman in the last couple of pages only. The horror film is more of a slasher-film in comparison. Candyman was summoned by rumors and urban legends in a desolate and poor community, and the purported legend about saying his name five times is not featured anywhere in the story.
[edit] Cast
| Actor / Actress | Character |
|---|---|
| Tony Todd | The Candyman |
| Virginia Madsen | Helen Lyle |
| Xander Berkeley | Trevor Lyle |
| Vanessa A. Williams | Anne-Marie McCoy |
| Kasi Lemmons | Bernadette 'Bernie' Walsh |
| Bernard Rose | Archie Walsh |
| Gilbert Lewis | Detective Frank Valento |
| Stanley DeSantis | Dr. Burke |
| Eric Edwards | Harold |
| Rusty Schwimmer | Policewoman |
| Michael Culkin | Professor Philip Purcell |
| DeJuan Guy | Jake |
| Marianna Elliott | Clara |
| Ria Pavia | Monica |
| Carolyn Lowery | Stacy |
| Lisa Ann Poggi | Diane |
| Adam Philipson | Danny |
| Barbara Alston | Henrietta Mosely |
| Sarina C. Grant | Kitty Culver |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Candyman at the Internet Movie Database
- Candyman at Allmovie
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