Candyman (2021)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Candyman (2021) – N. Da Costa

I never have watched the original 1992 film (nor any of its sequels) – but this Jordan Peele produced film, directed by Nia DaCosta, seemed like it could hold promise. The interweaving of genre tropes and black history/black anger that Peele’s community has produced manages to have enough bite (often positioned as satire) while also ticking the horror check-boxes (Get Out, 2017, is the standout film, of course). Unfortunately, this update/call-and-response to Candyman does not really make the grade. The idea that the murderous ghost with a hook for a hand (summoned by saying his name five times in front of a mirror) is actually the embodiment of the collective black deaths at the hands of whites (cops or otherwise) is a good idea. The shadow puppets that act out the historical events (including from the 92 film) are ace.  I also liked the contrast between the art world (where Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris live and conjure up the ghost) and the Cabrini-Green housing project (where the Candyman originated). But seeing the abandoned rowhouses from that notorious ghetto now brought me right back to Frederick Wiseman’s Public Housing (actually shot in the Ida B. Wells projects, also Chicago) – true horror.  (Startling to find out now that Good Times (the 70s sitcom starring Jimmie Walker) took place in Cabrini-Green -- a subtheme here about white appropriation/appreciation of black culture might cast light on that). Unfortunately, DaCosta’s film doesn’t quite maintain a coherent plot (perhaps I should have watched the first film) and, even at only 90 minutes, seems to have superfluous scenes and characters. The body-horror sure is gross though.