The new Us). The most recent trailer offers a glimpse of the urban legend’s new beginning, updating the Candyman for modern audiences.
Candyman is a slasher highlighting crucial societal issues of race and is based on the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker. The original movie was released in 1992 to positive reviews and starred Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd in the titular role he made iconic. 1992’s Candyman revealed the villain was once the son of a slave named Daniel Robitaille, who was an artist in the late 1800s and painted portraits for wealthy white landowners. After falling in love and fathering a child with the daughter of one landowner, Daniel was killed by a lynch mob. His hand was severed and he was covered in honey, which attracted bees that stung him to death. To add to the horror, his body was burned on a pyre and his ashes scattered across the land that would later become the site of the Cabrini-Green housing project he would later haunt.
The horror film has been delayed significantly due to the coronavirus pandemic, originally intended for release back in June 2020. Tony Todd is set to reprise his role, but in the sequel, his backstory has been revamped. Candyman already gave its villain a tragic origin, but his human fate has been updated to reflect extremely current issues concerning racism and police brutality. The trailer combines live-action footage with fantastically eerie shadow puppets to tell the tale of a man who gave sweets to kids, only to be wrongly accused of filling the candy with razor blades and being brutally murdered by the police for it. The origin was likely changed to reflect current social issues, with the Black Lives Matter Movement regularly making headlines over the past year. The movie can hopefully convey a proper sense of righteous anger about violence toward the Black community from law enforcement while using its new origin story to offer insight into community values and the corruption of power.
In this sense, Candyman’s updated origin is effectively continuing the series’ tradition. The original movie saw Daniel punished by the reigning authority of the 19th century. In current times, with greater focus being placed on police brutality and corruption, it's wise to update Daniel's origin to reflect the atrocities of modern authority figures. The story of handing out candy also paints him as an even more tragic figure who was acting out of simple kindness, and crimes against children will likely resonate more strongly today than one of interracial love being forbidden. While the original movie holds up very well, its origin story might be perceived as slightly outdated by today’s standards, with the 2021 movie hoping to inspire a new generation of moviegoers with a tale that sounds ripped straight from headlines. It’s also worth noting that the new Candyman retains a connection to artistry, with the protagonist a visual artist using his work to inadvertently bring the legend back into a modern Cabrini-Green.
The killer's origins may be different, but the trailers suggest Candyman could be an excellent successor to the original. Tony Todd’s voice remains terrifying, and the movie still uses the chilling premise of summoning the urban legend by repeating his name in the mirror. Time will tell how effectively the movies compare, but DaCosta and a strong cast led by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II indicate it can be a chilling experience that rings true to reality.
