A Lenda de Candyman

Scrolling through these reviews, I saw a couple 5 and 6 stars, but mostly 1 and 2, all complaining about the movie focusing on racism rather than horror, and blaming Jordan Peele (even though this is not his solo film). All I have to say is these people have either never seen the original Candyman or failed to understand it. If you think the original didn't have anything to do with race I think you should watch it again. Nia Dacosta did a great job with this film and tying all the legends together, creating a "spiritual sequel" as planned. Candyman has never been cut and dry horror, and while I agree there could have been more chilling moments, this is not as bad of a film as these other reviewers would like you to think. If you walk into a black horror film expecting jason vorhees or michael myers, that's your fault, not Dacosta's.

Understanding that this sequel is its own installment and it interprets what Candyman is will allow you to experience this film differently. If you are expecting a carnage filled experience carried by the brilliant Tony Todd, you will be a little disappointed. But if you reflect on what the Candyman actually symbolizes and what this ghost actually means to the world it inhibits you may appreciate what they brought in this installment. It's not a fun watch. It's creepy and full of imagery that will make you cringe. Solid movie all around.

This sequel expanded on Candyman's muddled fictional mythology and mixed this mythology with some real people and events to give sociological and political background on some hot topics like racism and injustice to African Americans in the United States. I found it strange that they mixed some real-life racism-related crimes and their victims with a classic horror movie's fictional story for social commentary, but it's just my personal opinion. There are too many problems in this sequel, and I think the biggest problem is that this movie is definitely not as scary and thrilling as the first one. It's narrative is also unfocused, and that makes the story hard to follow because they crammed too many things into the script, which makes the script kind of messy, drawn out, and convoluted. I wasn't also impressed by the acting. The main guy's acting is really wooden; the character he played is also quite bland and hard to empathize with, and the supporting actors and characters aren't better than him. The movie is also quite slow-paced. It lasts 1.30 hours, but it feels much longer because of its slowness. Overall, I found this movie less scary and less enjoyable. It's a well-made movie; that's why I didn't give a low point, but it just couldn't give you the first movie's suspense, thrill, and horror.

Well, it has all the components - say his name five times, the hook for a hand, and the bees! And the 'puppet' animation, especially over the end credits is amazing! But the story seemed very muddled, and I'm not even sure I understand what happened at the end. I like the idea of the hive, and of Candyman standing for all the racial injustices suffered in this country, I just found the story itself to be very confusing.

But that puppet stuff - true works of art!

The original Candyman already suffered from muddled mythology and unclear rules, and this film does nothing to fix that. The lore is messier and more confusing than ever, and that's not helped by the fact that this movie has ZERO character development for anyone involved.

It's established that the lead character, Anthony, is estranged from his mother. But we never learn why and this plot thread is never resolved. Other than that, we know nothing of substance about any of these characters and thus do not care when they are in danger or die.

Despite this, the actors really do give it their all and they make all of the scenes sufficiently watchable. The camerawork and direction are creative and also elevate the clumsily-written material to be watchable...but it's still not worth watching.