Tag Line : Dare you say his name 5 times...

"They will say I have shed innocent blood. What is blood for, if not for shedding?" Based on the novel "Forbidden" by Clive Barker and Directed by Bernard Rose, Candyman is a chilling tale of what happens when modern folklore bleeds into reality.

Set in the city of Chicago, Bernadette Walsh (Virginia Madsen) is working on a University thesis about the origins of modern day myths. She starts her research by investigating the legend of the "Candyman", a hookhanded figure from the late 1800's, that is supposedly terrorising the residents of Caprini Green housing estate.

People claim that the killer can be summoned by looking into the mirror and speaking his name 5 times. Bernadette doesn't believe any of this of course and exposes the "Candyman" as being the leader of a gang of thugs on the estate, who is the person that's really been terrorising the residents. She then goes on to say the name in the mirror 5 times in order to finally disprove any lingering doubts about the myths credibility.

This turns out to be a bad idea, as the REAL Candyman (Tony Todd), appears soon after to prove that the legends about him are all too real. Fantasy and reality then begin to blur as the Candyman carves his way through several victims, each time implicating Helen, in order to perpetuate the myth about him.

Is the Candyman real, or is it all in Hellen's mind? Is it actually him doing the killings, or is Hellen the murderer? The answer lies in the films chilling climax (I wont spoil it for you). There's also a neat twist in the ending, which proves that "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

Overall Marks : 7/10.

Other Information.

• One of many adaptations from Clive Barkers numerous horror books, that followed in the wake his Hellraiser popularity. As with the many other adaptations, Barker actually helped work on the film as executive producer.

• Director Bernard Rose had previously directed the seminal shocker "Paperhouse".

• The part of Billy, who appears during the intro prologue, was played by Ted Raimi, the brother of director Sam Raimi. Fans of the Xena and Hercules TV series may recognise him for his role as the idiot Joxer.

• The bee's used in the film were specially bred for the film, they had to be a mere 12 hours old as at that stage they look fully grown but there stingers haven't fully developed.

• Virginia Madsen also starred in Highlander 2, and Tony Todd is probably best known for his numerous roles in "Star Trek", most notably the part of Worf's brother "Kurn" the Klingon.

• For the scene during the climax showing bees emerging from the Candyman's mouth, real live bees were placed into actor Tony Todd's mouth. The only means of stopping them going down his throat was a mouth protecting appliance.

• The idea of the medicine cabinets in the flats being able to be removed so that people could crawl through from the next building was an idea by director Bernard Rose's who found that a series of murders had happened that way during his research for the film.

• The musical score was composed by Philip Glass, his previous credits include the Argento pics "Suspiria", "The Church" and the Vietnam pic "Hamburger Hill".

• Virginia Madsen is highly allergic to bee stings, so an ambulance had to be on stand-by throughout the filming of the bee sequence.

• There have been 2 sequels. Candyman 2 : Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman 3 : Day of the Dead, which also star the enigmatic Tony Todd in the title role.

Cast & Crew.

Buy the UK DVD (Spec-Ed).

Buy the UK DVD (Spec-Ed).

Buy Clive Barker novels.

Buy the US DVD (Spec-Ed).

Buy the Soundtrack.

Notes on affiliate sites.

Other films in the series.

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