By Dr.LoveGore
Very Minor Spoilers
Directed by: Nia DaCosta
Written by: Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta
Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, and Tony Todd
Story
Starting off, I wasn't too sure about the feel of the movie, but that all changed about five minutes in.
Whenever there's a new interpretation of a Horror movie that's cherished by fans, I think to myself, please don't be like the A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) reboot. Thankfully, the story started moving forward, my attention was held, and I knew it was going to be a much better ride than the 2010 Elm Street attempt. But how good was it? Well, there's more to like than not to like as far as I'm concerned. One thing I can say without spoiling the story is, for better or worse, this version of Candyman spoon feeds its audience information instead of letting us figure it out.
Directing
The directing is my favorite part of the experience. Very wise choices were made. There's slick camera angles, blink-and-you-miss "ah-hah'' moments, and a buffet of shiny shots. I hope Nia DaCosta directs more Horror films.
Writing
Even though the dialog is well-written, I think the story should have been simpler. Yes, I like a thinking-man's Horror movie, but that's not the issue. It's not that I had to overthink, the story is laid out with a pretty straightforward approach. It's the new angle the writers brought in that just didn't elevate it for me. I'm all for, and understand the message they were highlighting, it just made the story too muddled. Plus, the lore was already established in the 1992 film, so, I don't think it needed anything more to spice it up. Finally, there's a character arc I really like that should have been stretched a bit further to fully flesh it out. But, hey, that's just my opinion. I've only watched this movie once, but I plan on seeing it again in the future and maybe my opinion will differ from now.
Horror
If psychological Horror is something you're into, then there's some to go around. There's also treats for bastards like myself.
I don't want to give anything specific away, but I will say, there is blood.
Acting
If the directing is a hole in one, then the acting is a series of touchdown passes. There's not one dud, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris were perfect choices to play the leads. I believed they cared for each other, and that's due to their strong performances in individual scenes and the ones they shared together. Seriously, great acting from every person that showed up on the screen, but, If I had to choose a favorite performance, it has to be Vanessa Estelle Williams' Annie-Marie McCoy. She reprises her role from the original and she emits the strongest emotions in the movie.
Gore
Like I said in the Horror section of this review, I won't give anything away, but there is blood in this movie.
Score
The music in this film is amazing! I love the original score by Philip Glass, and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe AKA Lichens did a really good job at capturing a different, yet, similar sense of dread.
Overall
I appreciate the connection between the original Candyman film and its modern day counterpart. I just think it fell a little short of recreating the tone of the 1992 movie and the new angle the filmmakers threw in made the movie clouded. Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta wrote sharp dialog. I'm not doubting how fine their writing skills are, I'm just not crazy about the additions they made to the Candyman lore. But, I will definitely be looking forward to Nia DaCosta's future directorial efforts. I love the stylish choices she has up her sleeves.
Rating
Grade B+ (Real talk, no pun intended) or 8.5 out 10
Dr.LoveGore is all about the gore, and quality in anything related to Horror. Movies, soundtracks, comic books, novels, you name it, he loves it!
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