Written by Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta
Directed by Nia DaCosta
Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo and Vanessa Williams
Runtime 1 hour and 31 minutes
MPAA Rating R for language, bloody horror violence and some sexual references
Available to watch in theaters August 27

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief

“Do you guys want to hear a scary story?”

Often the things we can’t see are the most terrifying. Sometimes just hearing a tale is enough to cause a fright because it is our imagination that makes the story that much more chilling.

Nia DaCosta’s imaginative rendition of the mythical horror tale, Candyman provides a social commentary that, depending on how one views it, may find just as horrifying as the hook-handed man himself. The film opens with reversed film studio logos while the Sammy Davis Jr. song “The Candy Man” plays. The upbeat tune inexplicably filled me with even more fear than I had prior to viewing the film. It was something sweet, a sugar-coated darkness, and all the while I was fully aware that I was about to view something completely horrific, filling me with dread.

It is 1977, Cabrini-Green, Chicago and we meet a young Black boy, William Burke, as he is headed to do some laundry. Police sit outside the facility and flash a picture of a suspect they are hunting, but the boy seems more worried about the police being there than whoever they are looking for. While in the basement laundry room, a mysterious man with a hook for a hand emerges from the wall to offer him candy, the boy screams. Much like a swarm of bees, a passel of cops descend and we are left with the man’s shrill screams.

Jump to 2019 and Cabrini-Green has gotten a facelift. Yuppie high-rise condominiums now occupy the space that was previously the location of low income housing. During a dinner party, friends are regaled with the tale of Candyman. Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Manteen) is a young artist that found success early and is looking for his next inspiration. In hearing this yarn, much like Helen Lyle (Virigina Madsen) in the 1992 film, he finds himself intrigued. Taken so much by the lore, Anthony decides to recite the name, Candyman unaware that he just summoned the spirit. The next day, Anthony starts digging further into the history of Candyman and while out exploring is stung by a bee. Throughout the course of the movie, Anthony begins to change - figuratively and mentally, not just from the bee sting but from his obsession.

While looking for more inspiration, he encounters William Burke (Colman Domingo), the boy from the opening of the film who is now in his late forties and coincidentally runs a laundromat. William shares his encounter with Candyman from decades ago. Anthony decides to take what he has learned and transform it into art, creating a piece for a gallery show where his partner, Brianna (Teyonah Parris) is employed. He creates a piece that is interactive entitled, “Say My Name”; a bathroom cabinet styled mirror that when opened reveals a painting. Initially, this is not well received. When tragedy strikes he finds, as many artists do, that there is money in death.

I’ll be honest, I struggle with attempting to convey my feelings on this film. At the heart of it, you have a spiritual story that is centered around hatred, specifically by the white race. A Black artist who finds his hand sawed off, his body covered in honey and burned, alive all at the cost of being in love with a white woman. What makes this scenario so horrific is that it is not far-fetched to believe that something like this may have occurred in our past, and is just as likely to take place in the present. It is conveyed here as a legend, told through the use of shadow puppetry, but one must ask whether these stories are fantasy at all.

White people have committed atrocities to other races for centuries and continue to do so today. We don’t just invite ourselves into spaces, we take them over, much like a plague. We invent our own truths and versions of the story, often ignoring the reality - that we are the true monsters. There is a scene in which William states to Anthony, “They love what we make, but not us.” This specific line moved me, as it made me really think about the way in which human beings use others for their own benefit, rather than truly appreciating what someone has to offer in this world.

Do I think this is a perfect film? No. But I think it is a pretty darn good one. More than just a reboot, it’s the beginning of something that I hope continues - Black people taking control of the narrative of their own stories. I want to know how they see the world and more importantly how they see us. For far too long white people have been giving their version, its time for someone else to tell their side.