Candyman

"Dare to say his name."

2021 1h 31m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 1,849

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Chicago artist's sanity starts to unravel, unleashing a terrifying wave of violence when he begins to explore the macabre history of the Candyman.

“Dare to say his name.”

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Cast

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Anthony McCoy
Teyonah Parris
Brianna Cartwright
Colman Domingo
William Burke
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Troy Cartwright
Kyle Kaminsky
Grady Smith
Vanessa Williams
Anne-Marie McCoy
Brian King
Clive Privler
Miriam Moss
Jerrika

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nia DaCosta
Writers: Nia DaCosta, Win Rosenfeld, Jordan Peele
Languages: French, English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Candyman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nia DaCosta, shot by John Guleserian. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Catrin Hedström shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nia DaCosta directs. John Guleserian behind the camera. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe scores. Catrin Hedström cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
2Released 5 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
4International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
5Part of the "Candyman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Nia DaCosta, shot by John Guleserian. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Catrin Hedström shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris and Colman Domingo carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Dare to say his name.".
11IMDB entry: tt9347730 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "halloween", "sequel", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Guleserian
Original score: Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
Editing: Catrin Hedström
Production design: Cara Brower
Costume design: Lizzie Cook
Makeup / hair: DeShawn Bowman
VFX supervisor: Josh Simmonds
Sound: Chris Diebold
Stunt coordinator: Mike Fierro
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $77,411,570
Return: 310% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Candyman (2021)

Part of

Candyman Collection

A children's ghost story comes to terrifying life in these gut-wrenching thrillers. A modern folklore brought to life.

Also by

Nia DaCosta

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2021-09-01
★ 5/10
I rewatched the 1992's Candyman in preparation for Nia DaCosta's (Little Woods) direct sequel, so I could get the most out of it without having to force my memory to kick in. Despite being addicted to Philip Glass' score of the original film, Bernard Rose's take on Clive Barker's short story isn't exactly one of my favorite classics, even though I appreciate it quite a bit. Expectations-wise, I didn't know the director beforehand, but I was curious to see what DaCosta could bring to the famous tale. Unfortunately, I'm not the right person to tackle the heavy themes depicted in the filmmaker's sophomore flick. From an evident, strong opinion about gentrification to the biased white critical lenses, the director has a clear vision and firm messages concerning cultural injustice. As a white European young man, I'm not going to pretend to have experience or even enough knowledge to approach these necessary, sensitive debates, so I'll let other critics, namely Black authors, spread their voices. Nevertheless, I have mixed feelings about this sequel. Despite being beautifully shot (John Guleserian), edited (Catrin Hedström), and scored (Robert A. A. Lowe), the thematically driven screenplay often feels forced and occasionally preachy. Characters are thinly developed through an uncommonly too short runtime. The never-ending silhouette recaps of the previous movie are unnecessary, and weirdly enough, a major revelation of this sequel is partially ruined by simply (re)watching the original film. The extreme gore is still present, though slightly toned down, at least from my perspective. Technically and visually, it's truly one of the most interesting movies of the year. Sadly, it isn't able to transmit the same quality to the two pillars of filmmaking - story and characters." Rating: C
Martha2022-07-26
★ 6/10
I'm a huge fan of Tony Todd as Candyman and always have been, this was a good story and the actors play their parts very well. However afterward it was kind of ruined for me when they all started talking about it being about racism. Why did they have to make it about racism when it was enjoyable as a horror movie?
Nathan2022-07-26
★ 6/10
Candyman's story was intriguing and with spectacular visuals it is a decent watch, but for a horror film there was a significant lack of... horror. At no point in the film was there tension, dread, or a sense that I was being lead to a thrilling climax, it was more of a character study on Candyman. The character study aspect was great, I loved hearing the mythos of Candyman from different people in the community. The investigation into the backstory of Candyman paired with commentary on police brutality was really well done, but this was marketed as a horror film and it did not deliver. The cinematography was excellent, there were some really great shots utilizing mirrors and different angles but is that enough? In the end, this movie left me wanting much more. Score: 58% Verdict: Decent