The Candyman (2021)

First thing I noticed was the music. The shot with the buildings was so good. I haven’t seen the original for a while, but oh my god when the buildings were upside down and covered with fog with this repetitive instrumental piece it was so eerie and made me feel a little nervous in the stomach. I realized it was gonna be a good movie right when I saw the intro.

I thought the beginning when the things were backwards was really smart because it references a mirror and how everything’s backwards in a mirror. It’s kind of like you were looking in from behind the fourth wall.

I thought the Candyman song being distorted was really creepy. I think that music is very important in movies because it builds the atmosphere. In certain horror movies there’s no music at all, which is also an interesting choice. Auditory effects can change the way the movie makes you feel, that’s why it’s so important. The music throughout the movie stayed persistently good. There wasn’t a moment where it was just background. Even when he was talking to the white lady who was an art critic, despite it being just a small moment with no big significance, they had a good choice in music.

I thought it was really creepy. I overall thought it was very good for a horror movie. Very unnerving. Just gets you clutching the end of your seat. It starts out very strong, with the little boy and just the candyman crawling through the wall. They didn’t have any music! Just him humming, and just a direct shot on him! I thought it was very different and unique because in most horror movies when the villain is about to pounce they have super intense music . . .but it was just super real. It makes you sympathize with the quote unquote villain because the villain has actual motives that you agree with. Most people are like “vengeance doesn’t solve anything” but…..it’s not really vengeance it’s justice when the candyman kills the cops at the end.

I really like the colors, the yellow, the way they did effects with mirrors, the lights, I could go on for hours about the shadow puppets and how creepy they were and how good. The proportions, the sharp features were so creepy and eerie and good.

Scary 4 

By scary I mean, you’re like, the movie makes you feel scared even whe you’re home in perfect safety. That’s what the scary category is for. You are scared to look in mirrors. It has a lasting effect on you. The overall effect was scary, the shadow puppets, with the music when they’re telling the story of Helen was so good. 

Creepy 5

SUPER creepy!
The buildings were SO creepy. The second I saw the opening where everything’s backwards and it was playing the distorted song and I saw the buildings and I knew it would be a good movie. The buildings, the city, I feel like it’s amazing how even though they showed shots of Chicago thriving with life, it felt isolating. The puppets were so eerie, the style that they were drawn in, what the hands that were pulling them visible in the shot, the way the features were drawn. The white eyes on the black background were so creepy in the silhouettes. 

Disturbing 5

It’s disturbing, first of all, it’s gory, because it’s a real life thing and a real issue. It WAS a horror for those people that it happened to. That’s why I think political horror movies are so important. Especially if they’re done right.

Disturbing in the movie when he was picking at his finger and it was falling apart and when he’s thinking about what’s happening to him and he doesn’t know what’s going on. There was enough gore for it to make you turn your head away from the screen. I liked the effects on his face, they looked like honeycomb. 

I thought the overall message was very disturbing because it was real. It was extremely sad. They focus more on this movie than they do in the original Candyman on how these urban legends are brought to life and where they come from, innocent Black people and specifically men and boys who were framed and did nothing wrong, and I thought it was interesting that they came back for vengeance.

Suspenseful 3.5 

Scenes like the bathroom scene with the girls in the bathroom. You don’t see them getting murdered, you just see the blood and hear the screaming. What’s going to happen next to Anthony? What is happening to him? ANd you’re aching to find out. That was suspenseful.

Good 5

It had this really good political message that it gets into your head through horror. Most people say oh you have to be sensitive with this people…..careful with their feelings...but, who cares about your feelings. This stuff actually happened. 

The music, the shadow puppets, the cinematography, the characters, everything about it was good. The way they portrayed the political message through horror was just great. It made you feel I really hope they don’t die, you get really connected to them. They had motivations, made you mourn their loss when they died (mostly). THye make them feel like people instead of flat characters. 

plot

WHne you find out each thing you’re like oh my god, he’s the baby! OH my god, Helen was framed,, each time there was a discovery, you feel immersed in it. It’s not tacky, its like oh my god yes.

They way they continued on the original and focused on a different perspective. The first film was from Helen’s perspective.

I loved that they include the original candyman because he’s so . . .I don’t blame Helen honestly.

I’m juiced out. My train of thought is running empty. 

I can’t wait until it’s available online. 

The image of George Stinney Jr. That really happened. They put you in a room and don’t give you any food or water and freak you out until you confess.

I wrote these film reviews when I was 14. Hire me to draw. -Lillian Schrag