Candyman, Candyman, Candyma…I Can’t Do It!
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Candyman tries out for Westside Story.
The best iteration on the “Bloody Mary” urban legend is of course, Candyman. I’m uncertain, but I think it might be the best meditation on the mirror generated villain. (Take THAT Boogeyman et. al., Mirrors, etc…) Now, when I make a top ten horror film list(I’m sure you’ve all done this, yeah?) Candyman always makes it. For one, I found it original, genuinely frightening, gory, and spellbinding. For a look on how the generation of an urban legend can be batshit crazy, read on.
Grad student Helen (Virginia Madsen) is writing her thesis on urban legends, focusing on The Candyman, a malevolent spirit who appears when his name is said in front of a mirror five time in a row. She and her partner Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons) have been interviewing several other students for their paper, but a member of the janitorial staff tells them with unwavering belief that The Candyman lives in the Cabrini Green housing project. To learn more, they travel there, and meet up with a young mother who tells them that yes, The Candyman killed her next door neighbor. Helen, acting on her own one day, returns and is attacked by a drug dealer who uses the name of Candyman to keep everyone afraid of him. He even carries a meathook, as the real Candyman is supposed to have a hook for a hand.
Things calm down until the actual Candyman shows up to confront Helen (Guess who the only person in the movie to say his name five times was?) for challenging people’s belief in him. He soon begins a frightening campaign of undermining Helen and her sanity by making it appear that she is committing murder and kidnapping. Candyman here is played by Tony Todd, in what has to be his greatest role. When he says “BE MY VICTIM”, his voice is frightening enough that you want to obey him…and he’s just on your TV!
There is a great mesh of writing, acting, music and visuals here. Story provided by imminent horror author Clive Barker is as scary as it is manipulative. You get to witness the birth of an urban legend here, and the outcome is horrifying! Let alone that someone would be clever enough to adapt it to his own whims, as does the drug dealer of the same name, the legend turns out to be real, right when you start to doubt that Helen knows what the hell she’s talking about. There are some beautiful shots from over the Chicago skyline looking directly into traffic. These shots are made scary by the carnival type organ music played over them. Organs shouldn’t be scary (at least, the keyboard instrument variety…heh) they usually being used to denote melodrama in soap operas, but here it comes: SCARY ORGAN!
You’ll feel for Helen, but you’ll feel for Candyman too, whose origin story is heartbreaking and terrifying at the same time. Find it, watch it (Hell, last year it was on Turner Classic Movies!) Enjoy it.
But remember…the bathroom mirror is no place to recite anyone’s name more than two times. You’ll regret doing any more than that.
(Note…I was sorely tempted to put a screencap from Christina Aquiler’s Candyman video on this article…But so far, have resisted.)
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