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Cast & Crew
Helen Lyle
Candyman
Trevor Lyle
Bernadette 'Bernie' Walsh
Anne-Marie McCoy
Jake
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Critic Reviews for Candyman
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (17)
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Wonderfully playing against expectation, Candyman leaves you wondering where the story will go next, something missing in most horror movies.
January 13, 2021 | Full Review… -
If Candyman doesn't live up to its potential, it does fulfill most of the Saturday night requirements. The action is swift, if excessively graphic, and Madsen proves a strong-willed, sympathetic lead.
March 4, 2020 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
This Candyman can elicit some bona fide shivers while the picture that bears his name is high-caliber horror in its purest, most primal form.
February 26, 2020 | Full Review… -
To pull it off would take the utmost artistry and imagination, but writer-director Bernard Rose expends his energy mainly on the easier task of churning up violence and gore for its own sake.
February 26, 2020 | Full Review… -
Candyman offers a plot riddled with narrative ambiguities that are never fully resolved, all as a spur to the hooked viewer to spread their own take on the Candyman myth, and so to keep it alive.
October 29, 2018 | Full Review… -
Candyman is an uppper-register horror item that delivers the requisite shocks and gore but doesn't cheat or cop out.
September 17, 2008 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Candyman
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Apr 30, 2020Often credited as one of the finest slashers of its time, I was a little late to the Candyman party, but for the most part I can see the cause for praise. Going from something of a detective story to a cerebral nightmare, it turns on a dime and even after that turn it still continues to twist. I like this idea of a killer who makes others take the blame, and thus we end up with questions of sanity and some pretty trippy sequences. My biggest issue with the film though was I never quite understood what Candyman wanted. He seemed to want revenge in some vague sense, and he also wanted this woman for…reasons? I don't get it. I know there's sequels, but in this first one there was a lot about him that just felt like him saying stuff to be vague and creepy. Still, vague and creepy almost works when its Tony Todd, who is amazing in the role. It's an at times clunky film overall, but the nightmarish feeling it gives in its descent is still damn effective and it's final seconds are some of the best in any horror film.Michael M Super Reviewer
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Oct 20, 2018An uneven film, though worth seeing for Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen. Tony Todd in particular has absolute authority over the picture whenever he's given screen time, though Madsen handles her difficult role with ease. The rest of Candy Man, aside from the sets, is average. One particular shot, where Madsen awakens to find herself in the middle of a murder in progress, is executed brilliantly. I found the direction to be a bit stilted for the majority of the picture, perhaps due to some amateurish script writing and execution. I should praise the look of the film though, as well as the practical effects- they're great, and the cgi for the larger effects is done tastefully enough. I did not care for the music though- it soars and clashes against the look of the film. The sound seemed poorly edited as well. One scene of child dubbing was spotty, but the stock sound effects were distracting (noticeable when characters open and close doors off screen). Bad mixing on the adr. This is a turn the film up with subtitles type of mix but, once again, Tony Todd defies limitations and has a suitably powerful and creepy voice. Candy Man: good, worth watching, could've been much better.Paris S Super Reviewer
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Mar 20, 2013[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]Directors C Super Reviewer
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Sep 10, 2011The black Freddy Kreuger and I loved it, it was terrifying and nauseating even.Greg A Super Reviewer
Candyman Quotes
Candyman: | They will say that I have shed innocent blood. What's blood for, if not for shedding? |
Candyman: | Heleeen. Be my victim. |
Candyman: | Be my victim. |
Jake: | Candyman's in there? My friend Charlie says so. A boy got killed there. |
Helen Lyle: | Who was he? |
Jake: | Ain't sure. Charlie, tell me he was weird. |
Helen Lyle: | He was crazy? |
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