Musings in the Dark: Horror 102: Black Horror

10/20/2020

Horror 102: Black Horror

Anyone who knows me knows that this is a duuuh!  It’s Candyman, which dropped in 1992.  We all know the rule: you look in the mirror and say Candyman’s name five times, and he appears with his hook for a hand and slits you from groin to gullet.  I freakin’ LOVE this movie.  It is based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden,” and it is about a graduate student, Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen), who is working on her thesis about modern folklore.  She learns about the myth of Candyman from someone she was interviewing and decides to investigate further.

"Be my victim..."  "Um, okay." 

Helen’s curiosity leads her to Cabrini Green, a housing project in Chicago, where people have been murdered, presumably by Candyman.  Helen’s disbelief and mocking of the legend actually summons Candyman, who feels the need to reaffirm his existence and continue to instill fear in the residents of Cabrini Green.  He appears to Helen and says, “I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom.  Without these things, I am nothing, and so I must shed innocent blood.”

Candyman is played to perfection by Tony Todd, whose voice alone makes me feel all kinds of ways.  He indeed sheds innocent blood in order to keep his memory alive and Helen ends up taking the fall.  She thwarts Candyman’s plans for her and manages to save the baby Candyman kidnapped to replace the one he lost.  Helen ends up burning to death and her no-good sorry-ass cheating-ass husband Trevor moves his new girlfriend into their apartment.  The movie ends with Trevor grieving Helen’s death and he calls her name five times while looking in the mirror.  Helen appears with her own hook and serves Trevor’s ass up on a platter, leaving his ripped body in the tub and the new girlfriend to take the fall for his death.


4 comments:

  1. Candyman freaked the hell out of me. But for some strange reason, I was attractive to him. Someone shoot me in the head.

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    1. No...we aint shootin' nobody. Tony was attractive in this movie, blood, bees and all...so don't feel bad. I am still a fan of his to this day because of Candyman.

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  2. I love your pick in this category. This movie scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I am interested in seeing the remake and how the story was updated for a new audience.

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    1. I can't wait to see it either. I love this movie.

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