Candyman [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray]

Director: Bernard Rose Bernard Rose

Overview

Bernard Rose followed his moody fantasy-thriller Paperhouse (1988) with this modern horror tale, based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden." Compiling a thesis on urban legends, University of Illinois in Chicago graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) becomes aware of the prevalent superstition surrounding the legend of "Candyman" (Tony Todd)--a hook-wielding phantom who will appear if his name is recited five times into a mirror--among the tenants of Chicago's Cabrini Green project. A senior professor, hearing of Helen's research, explains the historical basis for the legend, detailing how Candyman is believed to be the vengeful spirit of a former slave who, though initially respected in academia, was set upon and mutilated by an angry mob when accused of taking a white mistress. When the clinically-detached Helen flaunts her intellectual confidence by reciting Candyman's name five times, she sets in motion an inevitable series of supernatural events -- culminating in a series of grisly killings, after which Helen is invariably found holding the bloody murder weapon. Though she is captured by the police, it becomes evident to Helen that Candyman is guiding her fate every step of the way.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/24/2022
UPC:	0826663222951
Original Release:	1992
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	9,452

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Virginia Madsen	Helen Lyle
Tony Todd	The Candyman
Xander Berkeley	Trevor Lyle
Kasi Lemmons	Bernadette Walsh
DeJuan Guy	Jake
Ted Raimi	Billy
Ria Pavia	Monica
Lisa Ann Poggi	Diane
Adam Philipson	Danny
Carolyn Lowery	Stacey
Barbara Alston	Henrietta Mosely
Sarina C. Grant	Kitty Culver(as Sarina Grant)
Latesha Martin	Baby Anthony,Baby Anthony
Michael Culkin	Purcell
Bernard Rose	Archie Walsh
Glenda Starr Kelly	Crying Mother
Kenneth A. Brown	Castrated Boy,Tough Guy
Jason LaPadura	Actor
Vanessa Williams	Actor

Technical Credits

Bernard Rose	Director
Clive Barker	Executive Producer
Steve Golin	Producer
Alan Poul	Producer
Sigurjon Sighvatsson	Producer
Gregory Goodman	Producer
Marty Bresin	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Haunting, intelligent and poetic, Candyman's strength lies in its ability to deliver a powerful social message primarily through imagery (Helen's realization that each room in her ritzy high-rise is the "mirror image" of its counterpart in Cabrini Green is a telling example), while managing to deliver the horror goods with hair-raising suspense, graphic shocks, and a chillingly seductive yet painfully human monster -- all qualities which affirm Candyman as the finest Barker adaptation ever committed to film -- far superior to its disappointing sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1994).

All Movie Guide - Cavett Binion