Line #10 YMMV/Candyman


1	* AdaptationDisplacement: Few people are even aware of the original short story.
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: Helen defeating Candyman by stabbing him in what's left of his stomach in the bonfire he arranged for them both.
3	** The way Helen [[spoiler: posthumously gets back at Trevor ''and'' his spineless mistress for their infidelity. Trevor is moping for Helen in the bathroom and says her name in the mirror while his mistress begrudgingly chops up meat for dinner. As he chants her name one final time, Helen appears behind him as a vengeful ghost and [[WaxingLyrical splits him from groin to gullet]]. Meanwhile, the mistress has accidentally cut herself on the knife before she hears Trevor's cries. She goes to the bathroom to discover his massacred corpse, screaming in horror. Between her dead lover and her blood on the knife, [[CassandraTruth good luck explaining this]].]]
4	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/PhilipGlass's ultra-gothic minimalist score, all wordless choirs and pulsing pipe organ, elevates the film from slasher flick to grand tragedy.
5	** [[https://youtu.be/GdPvnKEJYi8?si=Hsb5gjaFvxIpcSLt Helen's Theme]], which plays over the end credits and is a recurring leitmotif for her, is particularly haunting with a lonesome piano score eventually being joined by a gothic choir.
6	* BrokenBase: A mix because the three original films (ie. those made in the 90s) all kind of go about it differently. To the point the different styles have different qualities to different people.
7	* EvilIsCool: The Candyman himself with his BadassLongcoat and hook. His deep voice and charismatic demeanor provided by Creator/TonyTodd also helps.
8	* FauxSymbolism: ''Candyman'' explores the concept of religion, specifically the idea that Man created God. When a local gang [[spoiler: is exposed committing crimes and violence as "The Candyman"]], the being in question ends up actually showing up to reinforce the [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly community's belief in him]] through HumanSacrifice. The Candyman's lair resembles a decaying, moulded church and he sleeps on a concrete bed reminiscent of an altar. It overlaps with SmiteMeOMightySmiter, given that stupid people keep activating the summoning ritual in an effort to prove Candyman doesn't exist. It doesn't end well.
9	* FashionVictimVillain: In the film, Candyman wears a large, fur-laden longcoat which some critics derisively compared to a {{Blaxploitation}} character.
10	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: In the climax, Helen saves the baby Candyman kidnapped and is posthumously cleared of all the crimes he framed her for. The witnesses all come to her funeral in droves. They even make a new painting of her in her honor.
11	* HarsherInHindsight:
12	** The film's underlying racial themes are, if anything, even more relevant today than they were back in the time of its release. Helen [[spoiler:being released from jail after attacking Anne-Marie while a mob of reporters and angry onlookers surround the police station]] looks strikingly similar to many cases of white police brutality towards black civilians in TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties (which the [[Film/Candyman2021 2021 film]] would address too).
13	--->'''Helen:''' Yeah, but you know what bugs me? Two people get murdered. [[PoliceAreUseless The cops do nothing]]. A white woman gets attacked, [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome and they lock the place down]].
14	** Helen's [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice at the end of this film to save Anthony would ultimately proven avail them naught as a SenselessSacrifice for her as in the [[Film/Candyman2021 2021 film]], Anthony would still die and become another Candyman.]]
15	* HilariousInHindsight: The boyfriend of the woman in the opening is played by [[Creator/TedRaimi Ted Raimi]], and [[GenreSavvy he knows better than to]] summon a dangerous, murderous supernatural force, stopping just before saying Candyman's name the fifth time. His girlfriend proceeds to finish it and she is brutally murdered for it by the conjured force. The boyfriend was said to have survived but gone crazy and his hair turned light as a result. It would certainly explain why Chet is so loopy and an alcoholic in [[Series/AshVsEvilDead Ash Vs Evil Dead]]. And having a demon summoning buddy like [[Characters/EvilDeadAshWilliams Ash Williams]] who is also believed to be crazy from his brush with the supernatural force that killed his own girlfriend, it is of no wonder he was smart enough not to go through with summoning the Candyman.
16	* MagnificentBastard: The Candyman himself, born Daniel Robitaille, was tortured and murdered by racist whites. His anguished spirit survives as a murderous urban legend within the whispers and imaginations of Cabrini-Green, forcing him to kill to stay alive. The Candyman kills those who summon him to spread the fear of his myth, but when the heroine Helen begins to debunk the myth, he is compelled to appear to her. Framing Helen for murder and the disappearance of a child, the Candyman systematically lures her to him, intending on consuming much of Cabrini-Green in a fire while enshrining Helen as his beloved victim to enhance his myth even further, handling himself with an unmistakable cunning and pure charisma to go along with his dark conviction.
17	* {{Narm}}:
18	** Candyman, after killing the asylum doctor, exiting backwards through a window (which was achieved by pulling him via [[SpecialEffectsFailure visible wires]]). There's also Helen taking this opportunity to walk along the outcropping outside, signal a nurse to let her in, and promptly knock her out to steal her outfit.
19	** Some viewers have found Candyman's appearance to be ridiculous. Creator/GeneSiskel compared his clothing to a blaxploitation pimp's outfit.
20	** Trevor's pose and the expression on his face after [[spoiler:Candywoman!Helen kills him]].
21	** "We hear you're lookin' for Candyman, bitch."
22	* NauseaFuel: The toilet stall where a recent murder took place. Covered in rotting blood and the toilet is absolutely ''crawling'' with flies. Urp...
23	** The restroom itself, which is extremely dilapidated and has messages written on the walls with what strongly looks like fecal matter.
24	* PoorMansSubstitute: Due to the comparisons stated below, the first film's director can be considered this to Creator/StanleyKubrick of ''Film/TheShining'' fame.
25	* {{Sequelitis}}: Depends on how much you liked the first film, but the others pretty much abandon the metaphysical observations on the power of urban myth from the original.
26	* SpiritualAdaptation: The first film evokes the surreal atmosphere of a Creator/StanleyKubrick horror film such as ''Film/TheShining'' with elements of Creator/DavidLynch. What further helps is that the music by Philip Glass can be considered to be reminiscent of Music/WendyCarlos's electronically musical work (Carlos had worked with Kubrick on films ''The Shining'' and ''Film/AClockworkOrange'').
27	* ValuesResonance: The themes of racial injustice, with Candyman being the victim of racial prejudice and the residents of Cabrini-Green living in poverty while being ignored and discriminated by the police and broader society, still feel very relevant to a modern audience as anti-black racism has only become more of a hot-button issue since the movie came out.
28	* TheWoobie: Helen Lyle, upon being turned into a WronglyAccused HeroWithBadPublicity and her husband dumping her upon her conviction.

Context YMMV / Candyman