Candy Man is a new horror film that was released August 27, 2021. According to Universal, the film was a sequel of the 1992 Candyman and the fourth film to the Candyman series. 

The Candyman films are actually based off of the legendary ghost, Candyman. According to the legend, Candyman is actually a man named Daniel Robitaille. Daniel Robitaille was the son of a former slave and ended up becoming an artist. One day he was commissioned to create a portrait of a white lady named Caroline Sullivan. As the story goes, Danielle and Caroline fell in love, and Caroline got pregnant out of wedlock, which severely angered her father. This led a lynch mob to attack Daniel, and cut off his right hand as well as cover his body in honey. The honey then attracted a swarm of bees that ended up stinging Daniel to death. 

So, it is said that if you say “Candyman” five times in a mirror, the vengeful spirit of Daniel who is cursed with a disfigured body and a hook for a right hand will come out and kill you. However, in the new Candyman movie, Candyman was actually a man who had a hook for his right hand and used to hand out candy to kids. Yet, one tragic day some of the children found razor blades in their candy, so a group of police tracked down the man and tortured him before finally killing him. A couple days later, some more kids found razor blades in their candy and they realized the guy was innocent. 

In the movie, a struggling artist named Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his girlfriend Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris) move into a new condo in Cabrini. One day, Anthony hears about the legend of Candyman, and can’t help but saying “Candyman” in the mirror five times which starts up a series of murders related to Candyman.

According to some viewers, this movie was a “Complete waste of time and money.” One viewer, Isabella Smith, stated that the movie was “Exactly what you thought it would be” and “It killed most of the mood and suspense.” Another viewer, Natalie Fisher, stated how the first Candyman movie “felt like you were in a living nightmare,” while the 2021 version was more of an “embarassment.” 

Obviously, many viewers are finding this movie to be a disappointment as it did not live up to the original Candyman movie. Plus, many viewers are complaining that this movie feels more like a “social injustice movie than a horror movie,” which is not what they wanted to see. However, one viewer, Jacob Johnson, did mention that “The camerawork and direction were creative, but the movie lacked character development.” So, even though the movie had poor development, it seems most viewers agree that the movie did have some good camera work. 

Overall, this movie seems to be a failure, however, only you can decide how you feel about the movie.