Candyman | |
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Created by | Clive Barker |
Original work | "The Forbidden" (1985) |
Owner | Universal Pictures Amazon MGM Studios (via Orion Pictures, current holder) Lionsgate (3rd film only) |
Films and television | |
Film(s) |
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Candyman is an American supernatural-slasher film series originating from the 1985 short story "The Forbidden" from the collection Books of Blood by Clive Barker, about the legend of the "Candyman", the ghost of an artist and son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century. Its film adaptation, Candyman , directed by Bernard Rose in 1992, starred Tony Todd as the title character.
Although the film initially underperformed at the American box office, it became a cult classic. A novelization and a comic adaptation of the film were released in the same year. Two sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), were released. A direct sequel to the original Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele, was released in 2021.
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriters | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candyman | October 16, 1992 | Bernard Rose | Alan Poul, Steve Golin & Sigurjon Sighvatsson | ||
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh | March 17, 1995 | Bill Condon | Rand Ravich & Mark Kruger | Clive Barker | Gregg Fienberg & Sigurjón Sighvatsson |
Candyman: Day of the Dead | July 9, 1999 | Turi Meyer | Turi Meyer & Al Septien | Al Septien & William Stuart | |
Candyman | August 27, 2021 | Nia DaCosta | Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld | Ian Cooper, Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld |
Candyman, the first film in the series, is a 1992 slasher film, serving as a loose adaptation of Clive Barker's 1985 short story "The Forbidden" of the collection Books of Blood . The film follows a graduate student, Helen Lyle, who is studying urban legends along with her colleague Bernadette.
She takes a strong interest in learning about a mysterious hook-handed murderer coined as "The Candyman" in the Cabrini Green urban project dwelling which many of the residents feared lived behind the mirrors and the walls of the apartments randomly killing them 'gutting' them with his hook after chanting his name 5 times in a mirror. Helen becomes intrigued by the mythical story that she jokingly summons him in denial and disbelief, later to learn who was really behind the mirror, questioning her reality.
Farewell to the Flesh is the second film in the series. The film follows the story of a school teacher, Annie Tarrant, who comes to learn about her family's past after losing her father due to his obsession with the Candyman. She denies his existence after hearing her students talk about him and learning that one of her students was obsessed with him. She speaks his name to prove he does not exist, but later finds out who Candyman is.
Day of the Dead is the third film in the series. The story continues with Annie Tarrant's daughter, Caroline Mckeever, who is now an adult. She denies Candyman's existence by protecting her family's bloodline as her business partner Miguel uses the story of her Great Great Grandfather Daniel Robitaille/Candyman in his art exhibit for profit. Caroline soon learns why her mother tried to destroy the myth of Candyman but is caught in his web of deceptive murders, framing her in order for her to submit to become immortal as a family with him in death.
A fourth film in the series was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Monkeypaw Productions and was released on August 27, 2021. [1] Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars in the film, while Tony Todd returns to the eponymous role. [2] It is a direct sequel to the first film, taking place twenty-seven years later, in Cabrini Green, Chicago. A young, over-confident visual artist named Anthony McCoy struggles to find inspiration to get him further exposure.
He learns about an old urban legend that took place in the project housing developments at Cabrini Green of a grad student named Helen Lyle who became mentally insane during her research and sacrificed herself to save a baby, which sparks his interest. He further researches the information which leads him to encounter a neighborhood laundromat owner who also reveals his version of the urban legend, which is learned to be of an amputated hook-handed man in the 1970s named Sherman Fields who was wrongfully murdered at the hands of Chicago police officers which Cabrini Green residents believed him to be "The Candyman" who harmed children with razor blades in candy.
Anthony becomes obsessed with these urban legend findings as he uses them for his artwork presentation and to influence the summoning of the spirit of 'The Candyman', but later realizes the consequences of his actions as he learns the real truth behind the legend by his hallucinations, which in turn becomes a deadly reality.
According to Virginia Madsen, Bernard Rose originally wanted the first sequel Candyman 2 to be a prequel showing Candyman and Helen's "look-alike" falling in love, but the idea was turned down because the studio was worried about how a fully-fledged interracial romance would be received. [3]
A possible fourth film was in development in 2004; according to Tony Todd, it was intended to be set in New England at a women's college, [4] and focus on a professor who is a descendant of Candyman but has no idea who he is, with Todd describing "the initial image [being] of Candyman in a blizzard". The film was stuck in development hell.
The slasher crossover film Freddy vs. Jason (2003) also inspired Miramax to want to create a Candyman vs. Hellraiser crossover, but Clive Barker, originator of both franchises, had recommended against it. [5] A crossover with the Leprechaun film series was also considered, but Tony Todd immediately flat out refused to participate in such a project, saying he had too much respect for his character to see him used for such a purpose. [6]
List indicator(s)
- This table shows the characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
- A Y indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
- A P indicates a photographic appearance.
- A V indicates a vocal appearance only.
Role | Film | |||
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Candyman | Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh | Candyman 3: Day of the Dead | Candyman | |
1992 | 1995 | 1999 | 2021 | |
Director(s) | Bernard Rose | Bill Condon | Turi Meyer | Nia DaCosta |
Screenwriter(s) | Rand Ravich & Mark Kruger | Al Septien & Turi Meyer | Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld | |
Producer(s) | Alan Poul, Steve Golin & Sigurjón Sighvatsson | Gregg Fienberg & Sigurjón Sighvatsson | Al Septien & William Stuart | Ian Cooper, Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld |
Composer(s) | Philip Glass | Adam Gorgoni | Robert A. A. Lowe | |
Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond | Tobias A. Schliessler | Michael G. Wojciechowski | John Guleserian |
Editor(s) | Dan Rae | Virginia Katz | Frederick Wardell | Chris Armstrong |
Production companies | Propaganda Films PolyGram Filmed Entertainment | Lava Productions | Artisan Entertainment | Bron Creative Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Monkeypaw Productions |
Distributor | TriStar Pictures | Gramercy Pictures | Universal Pictures | |
U.S. release date | October 16, 1992 | March 17, 1995 | July 9, 1999 | August 27, 2021 |
Duration | 99 minutes | 95 minutes | 93 minutes | 91 minutes |
Film | Release date | Box office gross | Budget | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | ||||
Candyman (1992) | October 16, 1992 | $25,792,310 | — | — | $8–9 million | [8] |
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh | March 17, 1995 | $13,940,383 | — | — | $6 million | [9] |
Candyman 3: Day of the Dead | July 9, 1999 | — | ||||
Candyman (2021) | August 27, 2021 | $50,668,490 | $13,524,000 | $64,192,490 | $25 million | [10] [11] |
Total | $62,102,693 | $5,229,000 | $67,331,693 | $39 million |
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
---|---|---|---|
Candyman (1992) | 79% (82 reviews) [12] | 61 (15 reviews) [13] | C+ [14] |
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh | 22% (32 reviews) [15] | — | — |
Candyman 3: Day of the Dead | 7% (14 reviews) [16] | — | — |
Candyman (2021) | 84% (335 reviews) [17] | 72 (46 reviews) [18] | B [19] |
Candyman (1992) and Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh soundtracks were composed by Philip Glass. According to Glass, "it has become a classic, so I still make money from that score, get checks every year". [20] Tony Todd confirmed in an interview with IGN that a limited edition featuring 7500 copies of the film's soundtrack was released in February 2015. [21] The composition "Candyman's Suite: Helen's Theme" became a widely popular theme song for Halloween and was often featured in a few television commercials and series including in one episode of American Horror Story: Asylum.
Candyman: Day of the Dead original score soundtrack was composed by Adam Gorgoni.
Candyman (2021) original score soundtrack was composed by Chicago musician Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe who used solo compositions based on voice and extended modular synthesis techniques. He expressed in an interview with fellow musician DeForrest Brown Jr. that he used field recordings of Cabrini Green to capture the essence and spirit of the neighborhood and layered it as textural elements on top of the main instruments. In January 2022, Variety reported that Candyman's film score, briefly made the shortlist for the 2022 Academy Awards in the category of Best Original Score, however did not make the official final ballot list. Phillips Glass' score "Helen's Theme/Music Box" was also reimagined by Lowe as a new interpolation on the soundtrack as well as in one scene and end credits of the film.
A board game based on Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh was released during the mid-1990s as a promotional item for the film of the same name. [22] [23] The game features a board, 1 die and cards (Hook, Candyman, Voodoo, Mansion Key) that will impact the player or others. The game's premise is stated as "to win, player must proceed clockwise along the streets of New Orleans and get to the mansion with the key card in order to unlock the secret to Candyman's power". [22]
Clive Barker is an English novelist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the Books of Blood, which established him as a leading horror writer. He has since written many novels and other works. His fiction has been adapted into films, notably the Hellraiser series, the first installment of which he also wrote and directed, and the Candyman series. He was also an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Hellraiser is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot involves a mystical puzzle box that summons the Cenobites, a group of extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic beings who cannot differentiate between pain and pleasure. The leader of the Cenobites is portrayed by Doug Bradley, and identified in the sequels as "Pinhead".
I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Lois Duncan and is the first installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. The film centers on four young friends who are stalked by a hook-wielding killer one year after covering up a car accident in which they supposedly killed a man. The film also draws inspiration from the urban legend known as "The Hook" and the 1980s slasher films Prom Night (1980) and The House on Sorority Row (1982).
Tony Todd is an American actor who is perhaps best known for portraying the title character in the Candyman film series (1992–2021).
Nightbreed is a 1990 American dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his 1988 novella Cabal. It stars Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, and Doug Bradley. The film follows an unstable mental patient named Aaron Boone who is falsely led to believe by his doctor that he is a serial killer. Tracked down by the police, his doctor, and his girlfriend Lori, Boone eventually finds refuge in an abandoned cemetery called Midian among a tribe of monsters and outcasts known as the "Nightbreed" who hide from humanity.
Candyman is a 1992 American gothic supernatural horror film, written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons, and Vanessa E. Williams. Based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden", the film follows a Chicago graduate student completing a thesis on urban legends and folklore, which leads her to the legend of the "Candyman", the ghost of an African-American artist and the son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century for his relationship with the daughter of a wealthy white man.
Pinhead is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Hellraiser franchise. The character first appeared as an unnamed figure in the 1986 Clive Barker novella The Hellbound Heart. When Clive Barker adapted the novella into the 1987 film Hellraiser, he referred to the character in early drafts as "the Priest" but the final film gave no name. The production and make-up crew nicknamed the character "Pinhead"—derived from his bald head studded with nails—and fans accepted the sobriquet. The name was then used in press materials, tie-in media, and on-screen in some of the film's sequels, although Barker himself despises the moniker.
Books of Blood is a series of six horror fiction anthologies collecting original stories written by British author, playwright, and filmmaker Clive Barker in 1984 and 1985. Known primarily for writing stage plays beforehand, Barker gained a wider audience and fanbase through this anthology series, leading to a successful career as a novelist. Originally presented as six volumes, the anthologies were subsequently re-published in two omnibus editions containing three volumes each. Each volume contains four, five or six stories. The Volume 1–3 omnibus contained a foreword by Barker's fellow Liverpudlian horror writer Ramsey Campbell. Author Stephen King praised Books of Blood, leading to a quote from him appearing on the first US edition of the book: "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker."
The Hook, or the Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a raincoat and rain hat that conceals most of his features, especially his face.
Hellraiser is a British-American horror media franchise that consists of eleven films, as well as various comic books, and additional merchandise and media. Based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by English author Clive Barker, the franchise centers around the Cenobites which includes the primary antagonist named Pinhead.
Jordan Haworth Peele is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Peele started his career in sketch comedy before transitioning his career to a writer and director of psychological horror and satirical films. In 2017, Peele was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is a 1995 American supernatural slasher film directed by Bill Condon and starring Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, William O'Leary, Bill Nunn, Matt Clark and Veronica Cartwright. Written by Rand Ravich and Mark Kruger, it is a sequel to the 1992 film Candyman, which was an adaptation of Clive Barker's short story, "The Forbidden". Its plot follows a New Orleans schoolteacher who finds herself targeted by the Candyman, the powerful spirit of the murdered son of a slave who kills those who invoked him.
The Midnight Meat Train is a 2008 American horror film based on Clive Barker's 1984 short story of the same name, which can be found in Volume One of Barker's collection Books of Blood. The film follows a photographer who attempts to track down a serial killer dubbed the "Subway Butcher", and discovers more than he bargained for under the city streets.
Candyman 3: Day of the Dead is a 1999 American supernatural slasher film directed by Turi Meyer and starring Tony Todd and Donna D'Errico. It is the third installment in the Candyman series, and a direct sequel to the 1995 film Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. Its plot follows Caroline, the daughter of Annie Tarrant and a descendant of the Candyman, the powerful spirit of the murdered son of a slave who kills those who invoked him, who finds herself targeted by him on the eve of the Day of the Dead.
Daniel Robitaille, colloquially known as Candyman, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Candyman film series. The character originated in Clive Barker's 1985 short story, "The Forbidden". In the film series, he is depicted as an African-American man who was brutally murdered for a forbidden 19th-century interracial love affair; he returns as an urban legend, and kills anyone who summons him by saying his name five times in front of a mirror. The character is played by Tony Todd in Candyman (1992), Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999); Todd reprises the role in Candyman (2021), a sequel of the original 1992 film, with additional forms – souls brought into the Candyman "hive" – Sherman Fields, William Bell, Samuel Evans, George Stinney, James Byrd Jr., Gil Cartwright, and Anthony McCoy.
Nia DaCosta is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She made her feature film debut as a writer and director for her crime thriller film Little Woods (2018). Nia garnered wide acclaim for winning the Nora Ephron Prize for Female Filmmakers at the Tribeca Film Festival. DaCosta became the youngest black female director to hit No. 1 at the box office for the weekend opening of her horror mystery film Candyman (2021). She was the first black woman to direct a Marvel film, The Marvels (2023); which would go on to be one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. She is currently in production on an adaptation of Hedda Gabler.
Candyman is a 2021 supernatural horror film directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, and DaCosta. The film is a sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and the fourth film in the Candyman film series, based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker. The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Colman Domingo with Vanessa Williams, Virginia Madsen, and Tony Todd reprising their roles from the original film.
Hellraiser is a 2022 supernatural horror film directed by David Bruckner, with a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, from a screen story they co-wrote with David S. Goyer. It is a reboot of the Hellraiser franchise, the eleventh installment overall, and a second adaptation of the 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, which was adapted into the 1987 film Hellraiser. The film stars Odessa A'zion, Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison, Drew Starkey, Brandon Flynn, Aoife Hinds, Jason Liles, Yinka Olorunnife, Selina Lo, Zachary Hing, Kit Clarke, Goran Višnjić, and Hiam Abbass. It follows a young woman recovering from addiction who ends up with a mechanical puzzle box that can summon the Cenobites, humanoid beings who thrive on pain being pleasure.
Candyman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2021 film of the same name. Featuring the film's score composed by Lichens who credited under his original name Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, the score consisted of vocal performances by the composer as well as acoustic instruments sampled and manipulated through recordings of various sounds at live locations. The album featured 34 tracks released through digital, CD and vinyl formats on August 27, 2021 through Back Lot Music and Waxwork Records.
getting a B CinemaScore, average for a genre pic, and a 72% positive score and 56% recommend on Comscore/Screen Engine's PostTrak.