Candy Corn

This film doesn't even try to be original. The clichés flow one after another. Even for a low budget it still lacks anything of merit. The freakshow has zero customers!? Sheriff is useless and his sons acting is terrible. Couple of the make up effects are passable. But it's just a poorly shot, weak scripted pointless film cashing in on Tony Todd being in the film.......which he barely is and when appears in screen looks bored. Don't waste your time. It really has nothing goin for it. The promotion for this film was very good though I must say. The trailer made the film look good (did its job well) but it wasn't the film I saw. The fake reviews are just painfully obvious. It's rating tells you all you need to know. Avoid.

It's the staple idea of revenge and retribution used in many an EC Comics tale and subsequent portmanteau movies of the 70s and 80s, such as Vault of Horror and Tales from the Crypt.

A Halloween tradition is revisited by a bunch of friends, looking for twisted kicks. What they didn't expect is what was to follow in its wake.

By twisted kicks, that appears to mean to beat someone up once a year at Halloween for no apparent reason. It's a fairly lame excuse for the golem-esque story which follows, even in this Pumpkinhead sub genre of horror, but hey ho.

Some of the gory scenes are quite entertaining but way too drawn out to have any shock factor; the lack of budget is not concealed well with sleight of hand in the editing - which is probably the movie's weakest point. Most scenes could be trimmed a bit; it's a slightly tedious viewing experience and doesn't lend well to the movie's quality, especially where the acting is concerned. The performances are pretty good, it's just that the scenes need a bit more trimming to feel right and the characters really needed a bit more fleshing out.

I love this kind of horror tale, it just hasn't been presented very well. Hopefully the makers can take on board the criticism and get it right next time. Candy Corn has a lot of unrealised potential and I really wanted to like it more.

The good: Makeup

The bad: Just about everything else. Poor casting (non-actors who are too old for the behavior depicted); poor script (even if the actors could deliver a line, these are too cheesy), poor pacing (there were times when I had to fight sleep; the single note piano lines of the score didn't help), poor screenplay (illogical, pointless behavior and lots of it.)

Josh Hasty wears his influences on his sleeves loud and proud, like patches on his favourite jean jacket, but I'd say he pulls off the look well enough. In the beginning we're treated with a nice establishing scene - with the one and only Sky Elobar - which is followed by that fantastic title sequence, with those wonderful autumn vibes and soothing synths (it's the absolute highlight for me). Then the plot kicks in and things start to fall flat and slooow down rather quickly.

With an uninspired revenge plot and the lack of a real protagonist - stuck with a boring killer (liked the pumpkin candy holder schtick, though), boring bullies, and a boring sheriff - the mind begins to wander over into the background, which is where Candy Corn's strength lies. The lovely set dressing and location, the Carpenteresque score, and all those endearing side/background characters - the deputies, Elobar, P.J. freaking Soles! (essentially playing Lucy Moran), Pancho Moler's especially fun. I also like how it all seems sort of out of time, like I've no idea when it's supposed to take place (can't remember if it's mentioned).

While it could have been a little tighter - there are clear pacing issues and those forced slo-mo scenes are a bother - it is about 80 minutes of perfectly enjoyable mood setting for Halloween season. So I think I would recommend it as just that.

Also, if this were to turn into a series, I'd be into checking a sequel out come next year, or something.

This film is horrendous from the start... very unoriginal story of bullies & revenge that we've seen a million times. The acting seems lifeless & comical most of the time and almost felt like a student film project poorly shot . Shirley the waitress has the two most exciting things and that doesn't say a lot ... we'll I should have expected this as who like Candy Corn anyway!!! The kills are extremely predictable and only the blood is a positive in this film. Don't waste any money on this film as you will be disappointed.