Candyman 4K 1992 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

In the outer boroughs of Chicago, there is a legend of a mysterious maniac nicknamed Candyman, an inhabitant of a parallel world. He doesn't need a knife to inflict wounds: his prosthetic hook-shaped hand is the perfect instrument of crime.

For now, Candyman is beyond reality. But if you stand in front of a mirror and say his name five times in a row, he will cross that shaky line. And then no one will be able to escape.

A group of young scientists, who do not believe in the mysterious Candyman, take on the task of studying this legend. But at any moment, instead of their reflection in the mirror, they may see the killer...

Review 4K Movie

I was introduced to this film, or rather the entire trilogy, back in the 90s. A lot of good movies came out in that decade, and some of them ("Leprechaun", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Scream", etc.) grew into full-fledged horror franchises. And many of the characters in these franchises have become iconic. But one such film series stands out noticeably. It's the Candyman trilogy. I first watched this movie when I was a kid, so I decided to refresh my memory of it.

Helen is interested in urban folklore. She takes it upon herself to investigate one of the scary stories of a dysfunctional neighborhood, about a killer with a hook instead of a hand - Candyman. If you say his name five times in front of a mirror, Candyman will appear and kill you. Helen has no idea that the horror story might be true...

When watching it the first time, I didn't really enjoy this trilogy. In my opinion, the makers of "Candyman" were a little underwhelming in terms of horror. If the film had been about a homicidal maniac, I would have understood why it was so weak. But no, they went into mysticism, and that is what "Candyman" lacked. It came out too light. The film pushes psychologically rather than trying to frighten with time-tested tricks or technical tricks. In later installments the supernaturalness will increase a bit, but I think it would have been more appropriate to do it in the first film. Maybe then Candyman as a character would have become much more popular.

Like I said, this movie is more scary in its atmosphere and psychologically crushing, so the visual part has been relegated to the back burner. The special effects are there, and even quite good, but they are not used to scare the audience, more to enhance the effect.

The central character is the legendary man himself, Candy Man. This role is played by Tony Todd. He has appeared in this character in all three films, and also participated in the reboot/sequel (?) of 2021. In my opinion, a very good choice of actor for the role. It's as if he was made to play horror movies, which he actually does, appearing here and there from time to time in minor roles.

The rest of the actors did not particularly impress me. The lead female role was played by Virginia Madsen, a star of thrillers of the late 80's. But I was not impressed with her. Too sluggish acting. The plot may not involve various action scenes or overly vivid displays of emotion, but even without them you can tell that she is playing at half strength.

Is this movie scary? No. Personally, it didn't scare me much when I first watched it as a kid. But other people who aren't horror fans will definitely be impressed. The darkness and the suspense, without which Candyman would have lost all of its atmosphere, make it a noticeably different film from the horror movies that came out in the 90's. And it's far more frightening than Wes Craven's Scream. Although, having seen all sorts of modern screemers, viewers are unlikely to be frightened by a man with a hook instead of a hand anymore.

There are plenty of other pluses to the film. The soundtrack, which is now on my playlist. And the ending, while a bit predictable, I liked it. Last year another installment of this franchise came out to remind me of the existence of a character like Candyman. But, as is often the case, the sequel turned out much worse than the original. Although the idea was a good one.