Ray J's Review - "Candyman"

Candyman (2021) is a well directed horror film, that overall leaves much too be desired...

I will say that I have never seen the original film, but as I was leaving the theater I did hear some folks saying that they thought it was underwhelming as well compared to the original!

“Candyman” is about the legend of a candy factory worker who would hand out candy to the local kids. However, some of the kids begin finding razor blades in their candy, and the police find him, shoot him, and beat him to death!! Come to find out that weeks later more razor blades are found in candy…turns out he was innocent! Flash forward to about 30 years later, and we meet Anthony McCoy (played by Yahya Abdul- Mateen II), who lives with his girlfriend Briana (played by Teyonah Parris) in Chicago. Anthony is a visual artist, and one day while looking for some inspiration he heads to the area of the Cabrini Green projects, where he meets a man named William (played by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) who had a run in with the Candyman when he was a child (we see this happen in the beginning of the film, but are unaware that it’s him). William tells Anthony the legend & story of Candyman, and how supposedly if you say his name five times in a row while looking in the mirror he immediately kills you! Eventually Anthony begins to become obsessed with Candyman, beginning to obsessively create art inspired by the legend, even going as far as making a display that features a mirror and instructions on how to summon the Candyman for an art exhibit... A mess! Literally! As Anthony’s obsession increasingly gets worse he also begins to learn some surprising secrets about his past....hmm!

As I mentioned above, I thought Candyman was pretty decent, but I do feel like it could’ve been better! It wasn’t super scary, fairly gory, but the story is the most intriguing part! I won’t spoil it, but the ending was infuriating to me!! I understand that police brutality is an issue in this world, but there is no need to go that far! I was not a fan!! Plus the constant bashing of white people has got to go!!

I thought that the two leads, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Teyonah Parris were both excellent, and put on superb acting performances!

All in all I don’t think “Candyman” is a must see, but it is also a pretty solid film with a few flaws.

Candyman is now playing exclusively in theaters🎬

The Ray J's Reviews rating is 3.5 out of 5 lime green hearts:

💚💚💚 & 1/2