Candyman (1992)
Philip Glass’s score for “Candyman” not being available on any music streaming platforms- or really, commercially in any manner- is criminal negligence. As I finally started to listen to his work, it all sounded the same to me, but as I’ve familiarized myself with specific scores of his over the years, Glass’s minimalist style has a versatility that is as exciting with the right material. I’m not quite sure what drew him to come on to Bernard Rose’s “Candyman,” but it’s the absolute right sound for this film.
I have not read Clive Barker’s The Forbidden, which this is adapted from, but transplanting the story from Liverpool to Chicago allows Rose to make it about very specific American prejudices against African Americans that feel- unfortunately- as relevant in 2021 as they did in 1992. You can tell the ideas at play immediately, when Helen (Virginia Madsen) is showing her friend, Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons), how her condo with her professor husband Trevor (Xander Berkeley) is just a polished up version of the public housing development of Cabrini-Green just on the other side of the tracks. Immediately, the social issues Rose looks to explore are on display, even more so as Helen and Bernadette, whom are working on their thesis on urban legends, and go to seek out the one of Candyman. Who is Candyman? That’s what Helen is about to find out.
In 2020, I did a deep dive of Clive Barker in terms of his directorial efforts, and how he adapted his own stories to the screen. In the middle of that is when I finally watched “Candyman” for the first time. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, as I knew the name of the film, that it inspired sequels, and that it was- almost inexplicably- directed by the same person who did “Immortal Beloved” a couple of years after this. I didn’t really know the lore behind Candyman, and I’m actually grateful I allowed the movie to reveal that to me. Played by Tony Todd, Candyman is the ghost of a 19th Century artist whom fell in love with one of his subjects, the daughter of a wealthy white man, and was lynched, although the film doesn’t call it that. Now, if you say his name five times, allegedly he comes and kills you. That is what Helen and Bernadette are exploring- is this real, or just a way for people in Cabrini-Green to rationalize the violence they endure from street gangs who seem to control the area.
Having Helen be the driving force of the narrative allows Rose to subvert the idea of the “white savior” in a lot of ways, by having this privileged white woman think she can examine black culture without consequences. That she is seen as the manifestation of Candyman’s lost love, and a chance for him to finally have what he lost all those years ago, also makes his motivations more compelling than a standard horror movie slasher. Rose has done plenty of horror over his career, and he does a great job with the scare moments, and ladling on the gore during the kill sequences. He also doesn’t trivialize his themes of social consciousness and racism; as embodied by Anne-Marie McCoy (Vanessa Williams), a woman just trying to raise her son, we get an empathetic look at people in the projects, whom are just trying to survive day-to-day. Helen’s presence disturbs that, and having her seemingly get framed by Candyman is a shrewd, unsettling concept psychologically that pays off at the end, when the subversion of the “white savior” cliche is complete.
“Candyman” is one of those films that feels very familiar, but also doesn’t play by normal rules of its genre. That’s one of the most compelling things about Barker’s work- you’re not quite sure what to expect, and it’s great to see Rose play along with that. Glass’s music is the cherry on top, and is very much in the vein of the film it accompanies. You’re familiar with a lot of the technique and ideas, but the way they are deployed is unlike anything you’re used to before.
