Very disappointing...

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Blistering performances.

It's a 90s supernatural horror/psychological thriller film about the Candyman, a murderous soul with hook for a hand. Sometimes I am not a huge fan of horror films of the 1990s, but it's actually surprisingly excellent, creepy, dark, sad and deeply disturbing film. The story is really thrilling and fantastic. The acting is surprisingly good, especially for a horror movie. The amount of depth, dimension and persona that Tony Todd gives to his character 'Candyman' is amazing. The gory scenes are very effective.9.5/10

Frankly, I've never seen a proper horror movie which redeemed the genre in my eyes. I was just thinking about it, and can only conjure up three times I was horrified by a film product: The cartoon short "The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg" by Paul Driessen; the scene in Morris's "The Thin Blue Line" where an incarcerated, handcuffed David Harris whimsically muses about the moment of murder as a religiously transcendent, timeless moment; and the sturdy narrative depiction of evil acts portrayed in "Rosemary's Baby". I also like Robert Rodriguez's forays into grindhouse style horror... but not because it's truly horrific. In fact, it's almost like Roldriguez knows this, even as he's working.But, that said, I found this flick about as close as they come. I like the tethering the pretense of horror to a sturdy, modern materialism, and Candyman fairly pulls that off.There are a few punches pulled. But there really is a depiction of something well nigh harrowing; a woman dedicated to discovery of the truth who discovers that materialism just may be no protection from an horrific reality.

'Candyman' has the 'honour' of being the first '18 certificate' film I ever saw at the cinema (when I was fifteen, incidentally). I was excited about the whole naughtiness about my experience, yet left pretty disappointed, even falling asleep midway through. Now, over twenty years later, I rewatch Candyman through adult's eyes. And I'm glad I did.Yes, it's probably not the sort of film you should watch when you're a fifteen year old who doesn't really appreciate cinema in general and just wants to watch wall-to-wall explosions and monsters sucking people's brains out through straws. I seem to remember appreciating the odd moment of gore in the film, but it wasn't enough for me then and I never thought of it as a 'horror.' However, it is pretty horrific, just in a different way. It's about a woman who's researching urban legends for her university. She hears of one about a hook-handed ghost called 'Candyman' who appears and kills you if you say his name in the mirror five times. And, yes, it does turn out to be a little more than just an urban legend. The more she discovers and the more she starts to believe, the worse things get for her – not just because she's found out that evil psychotic spirits are real, but she's increasingly classed as mad by those around her, leading to a complete collapse in her personal life.The psychological collapse is one aspect of the horror, but, like so many horror films, it's the baddie we all come to see. Tony Todd gives us his best performance ever (one which has cemented his place in horror villain history) as the titular spook and he is indeed creepy. He steals the scene every time and all, despite the lead actress' best efforts, is what people really want to see.It's also worth noting the general bleak atmosphere created in this world by simple shot composition with the camera picking up on the world around the characters in time with Phillip Glass' haunting soundtrack.Basically, if you're a fifteen year old who just wants 'lowest common denominator horror' (which I did at the time and occasionally still do) then there are plenty of films out there to fill that need. This one makes you think a little more and dig a little deeper, plus is damn good to boot. See it when you're in the mood to think and squeal at the same time. That scene with the bees is scarier than all the CGI insects Nicholas Cage has pretended to swallow in his life.

Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons and Xander Berkeley star in this 1992 horror film based on Clive Barker's story, "The Forbidden." Madsen plays grad student, Helen Lyle who is determined to do a thesis on an urban legend, Daniel Robitille aka Candyman (Todd) who supposedly appears to those who say his name 5 times in front of a mirror. She's skeptical at first, but soon discovers he's real and finds herself in a nightmare when he haunts and makes her look guilty of his gruesome murders. Lemmons (The Silence of the Lambs) plays Helen's friend, Bernadette Walsh and Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) plays Helen's husband, Trevor who is a professor. This is a good horror flick with a chilling score and Madsen & Todd are great in it. I recommend this if you enjoy horror.