Candyman

Summary

“If you look in the mirror and say his name five times he will appear behind you breathing down your neck.”

A few years ago, Shout! Factory delighted horror fans when they finally landed the rights to Candyman. This was always a release that seemed a natural fit for the label, but, despite being one of the best known horror films of the Nineties, it had been strangely missing on Blu-ray. Now, Shout! Factory has updated that release for a new 4K UHD release. The resulting Collector’s Edition is the definitive release of the film thanks to an HDR enhanced image and a truly game changing Atmos track.

Candyman is loosely based on the Clive Barker short story “The Forbidden” from his Books of Blood – Book 5. I found myself recently on a bit of a spree reading his books and that short story is one of his strongest from the set. When I saw that the film was up for preorder with an exclusive poster, I couldn’t resist ordering it.

At the University of Chicago, a grad student named Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) writing a thesis on urban legends and their basis, comes upon the story of the Candyman. People claim that if you say his name five times in the mirror, he will show up behind you. They claim he is missing a hand and has a hook in the middle of his bloody stump. Helen wants to prove that the urban center of the city had turned to this legend to explain some of the violence that had befallen their community. While doing research, she finds that her apartment used to be a housing project. She investigates several unexplained deaths attributed to the Candyman and finds a unique anomaly in the housing design in the projects of Cabrini-Green. All of the projects have a wall in the bathroom that shares a mirror with the other side of the wall. This leads her to believe that the people that had been attacked by the Candyman were attacked from behind the mirror. Helen learns from another professor the story regarding Candyman (Tony Hale) and how he had lost his hand. He apparently was an artist and former slave. When he was found to have a relation with a white woman, the townspeople cut off his hand. They smeared a honeycomb on him from an apiary and allowed the bees to sting him to death. His ashes were spread where the housing projects of Cabrini-Green were built. As Helen investigates the housing project where his ashes were spread, she puts herself in danger both natural and supernatural.

The Nineties is an era that gets a bad wrap for its horror films. I love horror from the Eighties and giallo films from the Seventies, but I also really enjoy horror from the Nineties – with a strong affinity for both Lord of Illusions and Candyman. These two films share one thing in common – they are both based on short stories by Clive Barker. Barker’s stories and the films based on them are uncommonly intelligent even if they are not for everyone. Barker is too morbid for some, and for others he goes just a little too far into the fantastic. I enjoy his books and movies for the amount of imagination that goes into them. His short story “The Forbidden” served as a small framework for what Candyman became. Under the direction of Bernard Rose, the film evolved into something more expansive and, in my opinion, even better. The film chose to be set in Chicago rather than working class England. The film chose to have African American actors in prominent roles and to make racial identity important to the film. None of that is in the story. The film manages to encompass the eerie feeling of the short story while differentiating itself. Clive Barker himself was happy with the final product with good reason.

While schlock was par for the course in most horror films from the early Nineties, Candyman reveled in bringing as much sophistication as it could to subject matter that amounted to a repurposing of the Bloody Mary urban legend. How many horror films from that time period would be able to coax modern classical music impresario Philip Glass to compose the soundtrack? Only director Bernard Rose would have the gall to bring this project to the same composer that had been used primarily for the documentary films by Errol Morris – one of the most beloved documentary filmmakers of all time. Bernard Rose approached the film as an art film and that approach led to something very special. That is not to say that this film does not use a lot of familiar horror tropes. For example, the film uses a lot of the jump scare tactics and there are scenes of violence that exhibit some bloodlust. It is a horror film – just an uncommonly clever and well written one. What is surprising is that when the film first went to the ratings board they tried to give it the dreaded NC-17 rating. In order to get an R-rating they shortened one killing scene and reduced the amount of blood that hits Helen’s face. This change achieves almost nothing but is the difference between the Unrated and Rated R cuts.

The acting in the film is strong. Virginia Madsen has proven her chops in numerous films and is well cast in the lead role. Tony Todd delivers one of the great horror-villain performances as the Candyman himself. Todd was excellent casting due to his strong build, unconventionally handsome looks, and booming voice. If we were looking for another great narrator for a film, I would throw his name in the hat. Supporting roles are filled well by Xander Berkeley and Kasi Lemmons. The direction by Bernard Rose is strong – especially for a horror film. To get a truly memorable performance out of Virginia Madsen he actually hypnotized her. Cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond was best known for his work on the classic Nicolas Roeg’s film Don’t Look Now before filming Candyman, and he does a fine job.

At the end of the day, this is one of the best horror films from the Nineties. The prior Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory looked and sounded great, so there was not a lot of room for improvement (except in one area, which I will discuss.) The HDR brings out the best in the image and I don’t believe the picture quality could be improved much further. This is the best the film has looked and I can’t imagine any release of the film will best this presentation. Where this release really shine is the new Atmos track for this release that is a substantial improvement to the prior track. It makes the film more immersive and ultimately more frightening. The Atmos track is really well done and a substantial enough upgrade to recommend a purchase. Fans of the film are going to want to immediately add this 4K UHD edition to their collection, and I beleive that fans who already owned the prior release will find the improvements enticing enough to upgrade. Speaking for myself, I am happy that I double dipped. This is the definitive edition of the horror classic.

Video

The new presentation of Candyman is pulled from the same excellent 4K master used a couple years ago. As expected, the change is not a huge jump forward, since the prior release already looked great. The Unrated Cut of the film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on the UHD disc. (The Theatrical Cut is only offered on Blu-ray, but the differences between the cuts are minimal.) The HDR brings out additional fine detail and the color comes through with more nuance. The film has never looked better but fans who own the prior disc should only expect a minor improvement to the already stellar presentation. From the opening shots above Chicago, to the final salvo of the film, this transfer looks very good. Grain is well resolved and never obtrusive. The film has never looked better.

Audio

This is the best reason to purchase this edition. The new Dolby Atmos track makes the film much more frightening. Jump scares hit me harder than ever before due to the immersive nature of the track. Philip Glass’s incredible score has never sounded better than it does here. It remains one of the least conventional and most enjoyable horror film soundtracks out there. The score helps to differentiate Candyman from other horror films from that era. The dialogue is crisp and clear. This Atmos track is going to make fans of the film ecstatic.

Supplements:

UHD: The film presented on the UHD disc is the Unrated cut.

• Commentary #1 features writer/director Bernard Rose and actor Tony Todd.
• Commentary #2 features film historians Stephen Jones and Kim Newman.
• Theatrical Trailer

DISC TWO (THEATRICAL CUT):

• Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Bernard Rose And Actor Tony Todd – a fun commentary recorded specifically for this release. Topics include Avengers: Infinity War and much more!
• Audio Commentary With Authors Stephen Jones And Kim Newman – an enjoyable commentary with two authors that discuss the film’s relation to Clive Barker’s story and other topics. 
• Audio Commentary With Director Bernard Rose, Author Clive Barker, Producer Alan Poul And Actors Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen And Kasi Lemmons – this is the track that you should give a listen. Lots of great details. The best of the commentary tracks.
• Audio Commentary With Bernard Rose, Moderated By The Movie Crypt’s Adam Green And Joe Lynch – this is another fun commentary where the director discusses the film with some dedicated fans. The discussion of visual effects alone is worth checking out this track.
• “Sweets To The Sweet: The Candyman Mythos” Featuring Interviews With Writer/Director Bernard Rose, Executive Producer Clive Barker, Actors Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, And Kasi Lemmons – this archival piece is great. It goes into solid detail about the intentions of all the people involved. Well worth your time.
• “Clive Barker: Raising Hell” – An Interview With Author/Artist/Filmmaker Clive Barker – this archival interview is fascinating. Clive Barker discusses the beginnings of his career and the motivations that drove his work.
• Interview With Actor Tony Todd – this is a short but enjoyable interview from 2014.
• Bernard Rose’s Storyboards
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Still Gallery
• Screenplay (BD-ROM)

DISC THREE (UNRATED CUT):

• “Be My Victim” – An Interview With Tony Todd – an interesting interview with the actor where he delves into his thoughts on the character and the film. One of the highlights is his discussion of the gangs that were paid off during the making of the film. Another highlight is the discussion of the studio worries regarding one scene.
• “It Was Always You, Helen” – An Interview With Virginia Madsen – the actress discusses the role and film. Unbelievably, she was cast despite her allergy to bees. Also, she discusses being hypnotized on screen. Basically, it’s a great interview.
• “Reflection In The Mirror” – An Interview With Actor Kasi Lemmons – the supporting actress from the movie discusses her experiences on the film.
• “A Kid In Candyman” – An Interview With Actor DeJuan Guy – the actor who played Jake discusses working as a child actor in a dangerous environment. 
• “The Writing On The Wall: The Production Design Of Candyman” – An Interview With Production Designer Jane Ann Stewart – this is a fantastic interview about the production design of the film. I always find production design interviews interesting and this one is no exception.
• “Forbidden Flesh: The Makeup FX Of Candyman” – Including Interviews With Special Makeup Effects Artists Bob Keen, Gary J. Tunnicliffe And Mark Coulier – this is more lively than you might expect because of the difficulties they faced creating the iconic hook.
• “A Story To Tell: Clive Barker’s The Forbidden” – Writer Douglas E. Winter On Clive Barker’s Seminal Books Of Blood And Candyman’s Source Story, The Forbidden – as a fan of Clive Barker’s books, I was excited that there was an extended piece on his work and the story on which the movie was based. 
• “Urban Legend: Unwrapping Candyman” – A Critical Analysis Of The Film With Writers Tananarive Due And Steven Barnes – this piece delves into the racial aspects of the film from the point of view of two African American critics and writers. It’s interesting to look at the film from this perspective. Good stuff.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

Shout! Factory has updated their incredible release of Candyman for UHD, and the results overall are fantastic. The prior Blu-ray release of Candyman was one of the best Collector’s Editions that the label has ever pushed out, so there was not a lot of room for improvement in many areas. That said, the Dolby Atmos track is a game changer. It is much more immersive and ultimately much moire frightening. The HDR brings out the best of the film. It has never looked or sounded better. Candyman is a milestone of horror cinema from the Nineties. Shout! Factory has gone above and beyond with their Collector’s Edition. The special features sprawl across two disks and they are well worth your time. For those on the fence about upgrading, I believe it is well worth your money to do so. For those who have never purchased Candyman, this is the definitive version to own. This release earns our highest recommendation.