Nia DaCosta’s ‘Candyman’: Not for Everyone, but Beauty is in the Eye of the Bee-holder

A sequel to the 1992 film, it continues the story of baby Anthony as a grown man (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), now a painter living with his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris). He’s drawn to create an art installation about Candyman, complete with a piece that invites museum-goers to call him themselves. Candyman’s turf Cabrini-Green has been gentrified, but it’s still home to the titular specter–in fact, there is actually a growing hive of Candymen, and Anthony has gotten their attention.

As can be expected of something penned by Jordan Peele (Nia DaCosta and Peele collaborator Win Rosenfeld also have writing credit), it’s a scathing commentary on racism wrapped around a candy core of creepy goodness. The themes are modernized from the original, with a focus on police brutality and white possessiveness. This one highlights greed for financial gain and, in a very meta way, white appropriation of Black intellectual property. As Anthony’s acquaintance Burke (Colman Domingo) says while telling the story of the original Candyman, who was a nineteenth century portrait painter, “They love what we make, but not us.” It’s about goddamn time the franchise revolves around someone other than a nosy blond lady.

Keeping with the emphasis on inclusivity, there’s a gay couple in the movie, Brianna’s brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) (who, in a cute bit of banter, Anthony calls his muse) and his feller Grady (Kyle Kaminsky). They’re likable, but Troy is a bit stereotypical, flamboyant and dramatic. In one scene he’s telling a scary story by candlelight and ends with a gasp of “Is my Rosé still in the freezer?” Grady is the less clichéd of the two; Troy offers him up as Brianna’s protector, assuring her that Grady can “stomp” Anthony. While the most screen time is devoted to the heterosexual main characters, in defiance of movie tropes yet again, *spoiler* they both live to the end of the movie.

Unlike Peele’s previous films, this one isn’t meant to be very funny. There are some comedic quips, one of my favorites being Anthony’s reassurance to Brianna: “Your new apartment is ghost-proof. It was on the Zillow listing.” It’s occasionally quietly amusing. I enjoy the bee puns, for example: “My board members are buzzing about McCoy’s work.” I like the ironic use of the song “The Candy Man” over the opening credits, gradually becoming distorted and steadily more unnerving. In one scene Brianna, the voice of reason throughout, is looking for Burke and sees a dark basement. “Nope,” she decides, and walks away.

My gripes are few, basically only that I don’t get why a racist, lowkey antagonist character (Brian King) was named after Clive Barker, who wrote the original novella. The score is entrancing, and the ambient sounds are creepy. There’s a pervasive sense of dread and even a really well-done gross-out reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s The Fly. The performances are amazing, and there’s an awesome cameo by Tony Todd. Check it out if you’re in the mood for something eerie and thought-provoking.