Candyman
Bernard Rose, US 1992
Say his name five times if you dare. In Candyman, legend and reality blur in the haunted halls of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project. When graduate student Helen (Virginia Madsen) investigates the myth of a hook-handed killer who appears when summoned, she discovers that the real horror lies not just in superstition, but in the violence, neglect, and racism embedded in the city itself.
Director Bernard Rose transforms Clive Barker’s short story into a haunting reflection on racism, class and superstition. Candyman asks what happens when a story becomes real, when collective fear and guilt summon the very monster they seek to deny. This gothic horror film and urban tragedy is as much about America’s haunted imagination as the specter in the mirror.
-Hil
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