CANDYMAN.
Based on the clive Barker short story The forbidden from his books of blood, Candyman is an intelligent and thoughtful slice of horror that really brings something fresh to the slasher genre. Freddy, Jason, Michael and all the lesser known slasher villains are all based on folklore to some extent. The idea of story's passed along over a camp-fire or at school. The bad thing that happened down the street ect. Candyman actually goes into this idea much better than any of it's contemporaries.
He's the hook handed folk devil that symbolises white persecution of african americans. The son of a freed slave who became wealthy and was horribly murdered for the 'crime' of falling in love with a white woman. Candyman exists as a piece of urban folklore, a being that exists because of peoples belief in him.
When Helen Lyle causes that belief to be tested, Candyman comes forward to make an example of her and slowly her life begins to unravel in very bloody ways.
While Candyman himself is a fairly original character in many respects, the film imbues him with certain traits found in popular american myth and folklore including the hook for a hand and the Bloody mary legend where you need to say his name five times in the mirror. These things help establish him as a creature of folklore in the audiences mind as these aspects of his character should be familiar to the audience.
Bernard rose really brings out the best in the material. It's easy to disparage the American tradition of taking story's and re-locating them to America but here it works. A ghetto is a ghetto whether in Liverpool or Chicago and the only real difference is that one is based on class while the other is race. Philip Glass brings a haunting and memorable score to the film and it lingers in the mind long after the film is over.
The blu-ray is decent quality but not jaw dropping, it lacks the bonus material of the special edition DVD but I picked it up cheap so no loss.
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