CANDYMAN MOVIE REVIEW

Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, and Nia DaCosta got together to write, with DaCosta directing, this new ‘spiritual reimagining’ (but also honestly a straight-up sequel) to 1992’s celebrated (more now then on release) Clive Barker adaptation, “Candyman”. The film tells the story of a black artist (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who discovers the urban legend of Candyman, and the stories surrounding the events of the first film. It brings to life his creative instinct as he creates a new series of art pieces centering around the legend, even featuring a mirror with ‘say my name’ written near it, encouraging gallery attenders to do the ONE THING we all know you should never do: say his name 5 times. Of course, it’s not long before someone does and the killings begin again as the mirrored killer surrounded by bees and with a hook for a hand starts wreaking havoc. But if you’ve seen the first film, you know Candyman isn’t just a random killer. He’s got a plan. For what that is, you’ll have to go see the movie yourself. Which is good, because Chris, Frank, Marco, and Wright REALLY recommend you do that, and won’t spoil it for you in this review.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: Nia DaCosta

STARRING: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Tony Todd, Vanessa Estelle Williams, Rebecca Spence, Cassie Kramer, Michael Hargrove, Kyle Kaminsky, Christiana Clark, Brian King, Torrey Hanson, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Cedric Mays, Nancy Pender, Pam Jones, Breanna Lind

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss)

Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, in 1992 Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas, where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this paradise you see before you. Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook and check out his Amazon Wish List.

 

 

Frank Calvillo (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Born and raised in South Texas, Frank currently lives in Austin and has been in love with movies ever since his father showed him some Three Stooges shorts when he was five years old. Today he loves all kinds of film, regardless of era, country, budget or genre. He believes every film has an audience and is at least one person’s favorite movie. After writing for Sight & Sound and Slackerwood, he now writes for Cinapse where his increasingly random taste in all flavors of cinema (from Rashomon to Mars Attacks!) continues to thrive. His ultimate goal is to write a script for his boyhood crush, Michelle Pfeiffer.

 

 

Marco Noyola (Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Audio Editor)

By day,