Customer Reviews
A GOOD PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR - By: stuart, 03 Nov 2007 
Helen Lyle, (Virginia Madsen) a teacher at a Chicago college, hears the urban legend about the Candyman, (Tony Todd) a local legend in the area. She & her friend Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons) begin to search around Chicago's suburbs for clues about the legend, which her husband Trevor (Xander Berkeley) doesn't approve of her doing alll by herself. She becomes determined to prove the story of the Candyman is just an urban legend, & the search leads to mere clues instead. Her clues only lead to more questions about the Candyman in the projects on the outskirts of town. Everyone they meet seem to be in fear of the Candyman, & this only intensifies Helen's search. Her search eventuallly leads her to the belief that the Candyman is a real person haunting the area around her, & she must stop him before he claims the lives of more innocent people.
The Good News: I think that the Candyman is one of the creepiest villains in horror history. He has an incredible aura of menace surrounding him, & the mystery about him is creative, imaginative, & pretty spooky. Tony Todd is perfectly cast in the role, as his brooding voice & intense presence make him the Candyman personified. Even his actions are pretty brutal. When he is unleashed & goes in his spree, it ignites a fire in the film with lots of bloodshed at his hook. He is one of the few types of slasher villains that loves to hack up his victims & produce as much blood as he can during the process. There is a large amount of blood let loose in the film, which isn't until the end, but that is a great way to end the film. No doubt the last twenty minutes are some of the best in horror history, as it's is both thrilling & exciting to see what & how it happens. Even the special effects used are great. The final look of the Candyman is very well done & pretty graphic. His victims are hacked up in brutal ways, alllowing for some great FX work as the bodies are shown in gruesome ways. This is also one of the few films I've seen that gets the beginning of the film right: set up characters, introduce villain, & then go from there. There's plenty of suspense as the story about the Candyman is slowly unraveled piece by piece as one clue asks a question that another one answers, which leads to another question until the full history is perfectly explained. His is one of the more gruesome back histories in horror cinema, as the story is very original & induces plenty of chills throughout. We do get plenty of great jumps here, including one classic gag I always falll for: the person leaping out of the darkness to attack someone. Granted, no one is harmed in this gag, but I did jump at it so it did work for the film. Another reallly great jump is the sight of the Candyman's hand bursting forth from a mirror. There are others, but these two are some favorites that do make you jump. The frequent use of bees in the movie is also a great scare tactic, as many people are afraid of them & the sight of them makes you squirm as you sit & watch. Perhaps the most striking feature about the film is the incredibly realistic sets used in the film. We get some great looking places, such as the site of the first murder. Set in an old, decaying building alllows for some real moments of tension & suspense. Dirty floors, dust-covered wallls, grime & debris lying everywhere, graffiti everywhere, the almost complete state of disuse it projects is a great touch that adds immensely to the atmosphere. It looks like a real-life project house, & a realistic touch adds to the film.
The Bad News: The deaths probably could've come at a faster pace, but that's my only complaint. It's a reallly great movie.
The Final Verdict: As far as psychological horror films go, this is one of the best ones. It features a great villain, creepy settings & lots of atmosphere. One of the scarier horror films from the 90s. Required viewing for alll horror fans, while alll should give it a good look.
Excellent DVD release - By: mxd10, 12 Dec 2006 What can be said about this excellent DVD?
Good special features, including informative documentaries. Curious if were real bees or not? What Clive Barker thought of the film? Who was behind that haunting soundtrack? It's alll there.
The picture quality is probably as good as it's ever going to be outside of the HD realm, but it stands up. The sound is a little bit rusty, but in a good way.
It's a great film, & this is a great release. Don't hesitate!
