Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

Film: Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

Year: 1995

Director: Bill Condon

Writer: Rand Ravich and Mark Kruger

Starring: Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan and William O’Leary

Review:

This is a film that I never actually saw all the way through until setting down for the first time to watch with a critical eye. I will say that this is one was on the movie channels so I’d jump in at different parts. I was intrigued to revisit this one, being a more seasoned cinephile and seeing the other films in the franchise. This is a Voyage through the FiVes rewatch.

Synopsis: the Candyman (Tony Todd) arrives in New Orleans and sets his sights on a young woman whose family was ruined by the immortal killer years before.

This begins with the expert about Candyman from the original film, Phillip Purcell (Michael Culkin). He’s written a new book, referring to the incident in Chicago. He doesn’t believe there is a supernatural being, but that people use the concept. There’s already built in fear. Standing in the back is Ethan Tarrant (William O’Leary). At the end of this talk, Phillip recites Candyman five times in the mirror, which is the cover of his book. He does this to show that nothing happens. This is a stunt that causes Ethan to leave.

The two men run into each other on the street. Ethan is upset with Phillip due to bad advice given to his father, resulting in his death. Ethan is convinced that Candyman killed his father. Phillip then goes into a bar to get away and orders a drink. Ethan isn’t done yet, attacking Phillip. He flees to the bathroom and when they are alone, he is killed by Candyman.

Ethan is arrested for the crime. We then meet his sister, Annie (Kelly Rowan). She goes to her mother who is Octavia (Veronica Cartwright). Together they head to the police station. The officers in charge of the case are Detective Ray Levesque (David Gianopoulos) and Pam Carver (Fay Hauser). There they also run into Annie’s husband, Paul McKeever (Timothy Carhart). Annie talks to her brother, who tries to convince her that he didn’t kill Phillip, that it was the Candyman.

Something to include is that Annie is a teacher for inner city school students. They are terrified by the specter of Candyman. There is one student named Matthew Ellis (Joshua Gibran Mayweather), who is haunted by dreams of him. He draws them in the art class that Annie teaches. Matthew is bullied by his classmates. It seems in part due to his obsession. Annie then does a demonstration to prove to the class that Candyman isn’t real, she says his name in a mirror. A single bee does appear on the window.

This act turns out to be disastrous. Annie starts to see Candyman. He even attacks her husband. She starts to investigate what happened to her father with help from Ethan. This upsets their mother, but they are more connected than she ever realized. She will have to go to dark places to break this curse before it is too late.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is with the elephant in the room. There is a major plot hole that is difficult to get past. The original film takes place in Chicago. This one takes place in New Orleans. I don’t think this does a good enough job to explain the discrepancy. It makes sense for the events that happened to Daniel Robitaille, Candyman’s real name, in the south. I hate to start with a negative, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves for a sequel.

Now that I have that out of the way, I do think that this is a solid supernatural slasher. Bringing in that flair of Mardi Gras is good, especially with the disorienting nature of people partying in masks. Having just large groups of people around is another aspect. This area is also highly religious, a majority Catholic. That is a good element to this as well.

Another thing that is brought back is setting part of this in the slums of this city. That was where Cabrini Green was in Chicago. Reverend Ellis (Bill Nunn) is the father to the Matthew character. He points out that people need to have a reason or explanation for events. He believes like Annie that someone is using the Candyman moniker. That is until she experiences the true killer. Then having this dichotomy of the slums against where the Tarrants used to live. It seems like she grew up in a former plantation house. Octavia is living in an apartment with a door attendant. We are seeing the rich vs. the poor concept where Annie must venture to the latter to survive.

Then the last thing that is ingrained in this series is race. We see the history of how Daniel became Candyman. He is punished for having relations with a white woman. This gets him tortured and killed, trapping him in a supernatural state for revenge. I do like the development here with why in a mirror. It creates a way to defeat him in this sequel. The race aspect doesn’t play out as much for the main story, aside from the students that Annie works with though. There is a subplot with Octavia and her not acknowledging the past that is just here to hinder Annie’s search.

That is where I’ll leave the story and go over to the acting performances. Todd delivers the best performance as Candyman, though he's given less material than in the original. He maintains a menacing presence while humanizing Daniel through his torture. Rowan's subdued portrayal as the lead is fitting given her character's trauma. O'Leary effectively initiates events. Nunn and Cartwright's solid cameos are appreciated, as is Culkin's return. The remaining cast members, including Gianopoulos, Carhart, and Hauser, adequately fulfill their roles to round out what is needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking aspects. For the most part, I’d say that this is made well. The cinematography and framing work well to capture New Orleans. I do like the difference between where the characters we follow are opposed to the slum. The kill scenes were also done well enough. They go brutal and the blood looks realistic. I do like how Candyman doesn’t show up on cameras when people watch back. There is CGI late in this that doesn’t hold up as well. Not enough to ruin this. Other than that, I do like Phillip Glass’ soundtrack. The recurring theme is good. It is hard to give too much credit; it is reused a lot from the previous movie.

In conclusion, this has some notable plot inconsistencies, particularly the unexplained shift from Chicago to New Orleans. Despite these narrative shortcomings, the film successfully delivers as a supernatural slasher. It effectively utilizes the Mardi Gras setting, the religious undertones of New Orleans and the stark contrast between social classes to enhance its atmosphere. The strong performances, especially from Todd as Candyman and the well-executed filmmaking aspects, like the cinematography and realistic gore, contribute to an overall enjoyable viewing experience, even with the less convincing CGI toward the end.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10