**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Say it…I dare you.”

Candyman (2021) released in theaters on August 27th 2021. The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Vanessa Williams and Tony Todd. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty minutes.

In present day, Anthony and Brianna move into the now gentrified Cabrini-Green. Anthony is trying to make a name for himself as an artist when he comes across the legend of Candyman, which inspires his latest work. He encourages others around him to summon Candyman, which unleashes something sinister into the world once again.

Here is the trailer:

Candyman attempts to make itself relevant in today’s world while still recognizing the original film in the process. Is it worth a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Visually stunning.

The visual effects in this movie were really so well done. The art, the use of light, the focus on the reflections and even the body horror was done in such an interesting way. I really loved the elevator scene in particular and I thought that the visual choices really gave the film a genuine chilling quality.

A continuation of the original story that made sense!

I’ve seen so many different reboots, remakes, and re-imaginings over the years and I was wondering what we were going to get to witness with the new Candyman. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it continued the original story.

The film still branched off into something new, but it kept the story going in an effective way. It truly felt like a direct sequel and it worked.

The Cons:

I wanted more from our main characters.

The acting was well done and I genuinely liked all of the performances, but I wanted a little bit more. I didn’t really believe the chemistry between Brianna and Anthony, which impacted the reveal later on.

I also thought that we could have expanded on some of the flashbacks a bit more and Colman Domingo was so fantastic, but I wanted to see him in more scenes. I also think him randomly showing up seemed a bit out of place, but I’ll just go with it…

Attempted to do A LOT.

The film was not very long and it really tried to cram so much in. I think it created several discussions worth having but I also found myself being bounced around a little bit too much. I didn’t want to lose focus in this film because there were so many things that were so well done, but this could have been tightened up a little bit in my opinion.

So am I in or out?

I’m in!

This movie was a worthy direct sequel.

It was chilling, unique, and visually stunning. While it did attempt to do a lot in one film, there was still enough substance here to keep me entertained.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Candyman (2021) in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

PLAY BY THE RULES…STAY ALIVE…

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