Bernard Rose
Candyman

Recovering small jewels.

Helen studies at the university and is about to produce a thesis on folklore and contemporary beliefs. She discovers the tale of Candyman, a murdered man who would return to kill his victims with a hook, slashing them from the throat to the groin. To be visited by this loving creature, just repeat his name five times in front of a mirror.

Inspired by "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker (who is also a producer), "Candyman" is one of those horror titles from the 90s that first caught the audience's attention and then, over the years, slowly faded into oblivion. Its success at the time was probably due to the story itself: a slasher that appealed to teenagers of the era when saying things in the mirror was frightening because of legends heard even in our schools. Moreover, the protagonist, played by the stunning Virginia Madsen, drew many young people to the cinema.

The peculiarity of the film lies in its being a horror entertainment shot with rare grace and with unusual elements for the horror of the time. How can we not mention the stunning soundtrack by Philip Glass and that terrifying piano? Those notes alone would be enough to give the film an extra point. But the work of Bernard Rose also deserves praise: the alternation between close-ups and long shots of the city strengthens a particular choice, that of preferring a metropolitan and extremely cold setting, à la "Rosemary's Baby," compared to the proverbial claustrophobic darkness of the horror genre.

Folklore, beliefs, and suggestions that Rose also uses to narrate the racism of American metropolises: "the boogeyman" is black, the ghettoization of Africans in degrading neighborhoods like Cabrini Green, the place of Helen's research, and the narrative of the intimate distrust between whites and blacks well represented by the single mother who distrusts whites and Helen. In this sense, the finale becomes redemption, overcoming barriers, with that long Afro procession bearing witness to a shift in mentality and the overcoming of that condition of fear that was formerly justified.

"Candyman" has a plot that several times descends into childishness, with every mirror scene ending up eliciting a smile. At the same time, it has rare originality (given the genre) and does not shy away from an incursion into mystery, leaving the viewer some room for creativity regarding Helen's actual mental health. Certainly, Bernard Rose's film is not a masterpiece, but it is one of those movies that deserves to be reconsidered in light of the evolution (or devolution?) of the genre in question.

7.5