History NightmareFuel / Candyman2021

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black men dying at the hands of racists such as Anthony Crawford getting axed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And then those victims come back as hook-handed ghosts and take revenge against those who wronged them, giving you the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fcf0ce4c_71c2_4d2e_b16e_5ca18196f7b9.png]]

** The razor in the candy is an especially unsettling detail since the real Sherman Fields was actually innocent of doing that. It hints that Candyman, as an embodiment of collective fears and urban legends, has essentially overwritten Sherman Fields' innocence (and by extension, the innocence of the other people who Candyman is composed of) with this distorted rumor, a more literal version of how real victims of police brutality and racism are often reduced to their worst possible traits by the media (such as portraying the victims as AcceptableTargets because of their connections -- however tenuous or irrelevant -- to drug use or crime).

'''Anthony:''' Brianna-!

* Anthony exposits to Brianna that saying Candyman's name five times in a mirror summons him, and he kills you. After he playfully does just that in front of their living room window, Brianna playfully attacks him and they start making out... Then the camera cuts to a shot of the window, ''showing Sherman standing in it.'' He's out of focus and you can't see his face properly, but it's the first major hint of anything supernatural in the film.

* At the end of the film, the audience is given the simple but horrifying visual of Anthony / Candyman floating in midair down a dark alleyway towards the viewer, with his face completely covered in bees. Candyman has fully returned, [[InferredHolocaust and with the speed that rumors and similar trends go viral on the Internet, how devastating will his eventual rampage be?]]
** Daniel Robitaille's face appearing on Candyman Anthony. Combined with Tony Todd's deep, thunderous voice, it's absolutely haunting.

---- [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fcf0ce4c_71c2_4d2e_b16e_5ca18196f7b9.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Candyman has returned]]

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* The scene where Anthony enters an elevator in the library--the fact that he is surrounded on all sides by mirrors is an instant OhCrap moment for the audience, which is immediately made to expect an attack by the Candyman, who makes himself known by dropping a piece of candy with a razor in it, and then appearing as a battered, blood-smeared specter.
** The razor in the candy is an especially unsettling detail since the real Sherman Fields was actually innocent of doing that. It hints that Candyman, as an embodiment of collective fears and urban legends, has essentially overwritten Sherman Fields' innocence (and by extension, the innocence of the other people who Candyman is composed of) with this distorted rumor, a more literal version of how real victims of police brutality and racism are often reduced to their worst possible traits by the media (such as portraying the victims as AcceptableTargets because of their connections--however tenuous or irrelevant--to drug use or crime).

* Burke sawing off Anthony's rotting right hand and then ''[[{{Squick}} slowing shoving a meat hook in the stump]]''.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black men dying at the hands of racists such as Anthony Crawford getting axed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And then those victims come back as hook-handed ghosts and take revenge against those who wronged them, giving you the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black men dying at the hands of racists such as Anthony Crawford getting killed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And then those victims come back as hook-handed ghosts and take revenge against those who wronged them, giving you the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black men dying at the hands of racial prejudice such as Anthony Crawford getting killed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And then those victims come back as hook-handed ghosts and take revenge against those who wronged them, giving you the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black men dying at the hands of racial prejudice such as Anthony Crawford getting killed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And it plays with the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black people dying at the hands of racial prejudice such as Anthony Crawford getting killed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And it plays with the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black people dying at the hands of racial prejudice such as Anthony Crawford getting killed after getting into an argument with a store owner over the price of seeds he was trying to sell, George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And it also plays with the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself forever.

* The end credits. As if the shadow puppets weren't creepy enough, some of them depict the true accounts of black people dying at the hands of racial prejudice such as George Stinney Jr. getting sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't even commit and James Byrd Jr. getting dragged for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. And it also plays with the idea that as long as racial crimes exist, the story of the Candyman will repeat itself forever.

* A {{Fridge Horror}} variant. The legend of Candyman seems to be capable of corrupting any black man who hears about into the next incarnation of the hook-handed killer. How many men of colour heard about the legend [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou from this very film? Or read about it on this site?]]

* Anthony's SanitySlippage throughout the film--it starts with small things, like him being excited that the coverage of the murders at the art gallery talks about his installation rather than being upset that Brianna’s boss was brutally murdered, and culminates in Brianna's discovery of his RoomFullOfCrazy, full of distorted Francis Bacon-esque portraits, and his unstable, borderline abusive behavior when she discovers it. The fact that Brianna's father was hinted to be an artist who committed suicide due to mental illness adds a further layer to her fear of Anthony and the possibility that HistoryRepeats.
** When Brianna tries to prove that Candyman isn’t real by summoning him in one of the mirrors, Anthony gets [[OhCrap appropriately horrified]] and quickly smashes both the mirrors, alienating Brianna even further.
--->'''Anthony:''' ''Don’t'' say his name.\\
'''Brianna:''' Don’t follow me.
* The scene where Candyman murders the prep school girls is the least graphic death scene but is still no less horrifying. For starters, the first girl killed has her death obscured by the bathroom stalls but we still hear the sickening noise of Candyman’s hook tearing into her flesh and see a gallon of her blood being poured on the floor. The other three victims are also killed off-camera but a glimpse is shown through a pocket mirror of Candyman going after the last girl.
* The retelling of Daniel Robitaille‘s origin. You can hear the pain and shock in Burke’s voice as he describes the horrific fate Daniel suffered. The fact that the origin itself is shown via paper puppets does ''not'' help.

* Burke sawing off Anthony’s rotting right hand and then ''[[{{Squick}} slowing shoving a meat hook in the stump]]''.
* While AssholeVictim is in play here, the cops getting slaughtered is still somewhat scary, due to the look of terror on the officer’s face as Candyman circles the car and threatens him. [[HopeSpot The door then unlocks and the officer flees, only to be greeted by Candyman’s hook as soon as he turns into the alley.]]

** Daniel Robitaille’s face appearing on Candyman Anthony. Combined with Tony Todd’s deep, thunderous voice, it’s absolutely haunting.

* A {{Fridge Horror}} variant. The legend of candyman seems to be capable of corrupting any black man who hears about into the next incarnation of the hook-handed killer. How many men of colour heard about the legend [[TheFourthWallWillNotprotectyou from this very film? Or read about it on this site?]].

** Then there's the murder itself: Candyman (completely invisible, mind you) lifts Finley by the neck and slits her throat before shoving her corpse against the window and dragging it along, smearing blood on the grass.

* Anthony's SanitySlippage throughout the film--it starts with small things, like him being excited that the coverage of the murders at the art gallery talks about his installation, and culminates in Brianna's discovery of his RoomFullOfCrazy, full of distorted Francis Bacon-esque portraits, and his unstable, borderline abusive behavior when she discovers it. The fact that Brianna's father was hinted to be an artist who committed suicide due to mental illness adds a further layer to her fear of Anthony and the possibility that HistoryRepeats.

** Arguably the most unnerving aspect of Finley's demise is the long pullout from her apartment window. Everyone is busy in the apartment building, going about their night and completely oblivious to the fact their neighbor is being slaughtered.