Candyman Turns 30

Thirty years ago today, moviegoers learned they better never look into a mirror and whisper “Candyman” five times.

I’ll be honest: I thought the Candyman movie franchise was based on an actual urban legend. But it wasn’t. The original 1992 film was an adaptation of a short story by horror-master Clive Barker called “The Forbidden.”

In that version, directed by English filmmaker Bernard Rose, Virginia Madsen plays Helen, a Chicago-are grad student writing a thesis on folklore and urban legends. When Helen hears residents of the nearby Cabrini-Green housing projects blaming recent murders on “the Candyman” (Tony Todd), she investigates. It turns out that locals believe the Candyman is a vengeful son of a slave from the 1800s who was murdered for having an affair and child with a white woman, and that his body was burned on the site where the Cabrini-Green projects now stand.

While the original got mostly positive reviews and critical praise for being a horror movie with ideas, its popularity and fan base kept growing long after it was released, turning it into a cult classic. Tony Todd reprised his role as the title character for the 1995 and 1999 sequels.

I can’t say I was that into the original trilogy. But when I heard Jordan Peele wanted to get involved with another Candyman movie, I was all in. Peele ended up producing and co-writing (alongside Win Rosenfeld and director Nia DaCosta)—and also doing what he does best: inserting insightful, timely social commentary into the plot while not easing back on the horror.

The latest Candyman is once again set in Cabrini-Green, and Tony Todd reprises his role once again. But the star this time is the incredible Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony, an artist who becomes obsessed with the Candyman legend like Madsen’s Helen did long ago. The also-awesome Colman Domingo plays Billy Burke, a Cabrini-Green resident who’s the one that tells Anthony about the legend in the first place.

With great performances, positive critical reviews and a theme of racial tension and injustice that will unfortunately still be relevant in the near future, DaCosta’s Candyman has earned a sequel that’s already in the works. While I won’t be whispering his cursed name anytime soon, here’s hoping we’ll have a few more Candyman films to celebrate by the time the franchise turns the big 4-0!