Exposition: Candyman

CANDY

Most horror fans will be familiar with the story of Candyman, a supernatural killer, with a hook for a hand, and the sweet honey smells he carries when summoned by those who dare to repeat his name five times in a mirror. However, the urban legend, turned cult classic, is being reimagined in a new film, out this year. The screenplay is co-written by Get Out’s Jordan Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta, a rising star in Hollywood, most known for Little Woods and directing two of Top Boy’s episodes. DaCosta’s rendition was described by Peele as a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the 1992 film of the same name, directed by Bernard Rose, and based on the short story ‘The Forbidden’ by Clive Barker. It follows the young baby from the first film, Anthony McCoy (Yahya AbdulMateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, US), who is now grown up and working as a visual artist. Ten years after the last of the old housing projects were torn down, McCoy returns to Cabrini-Green to live in one of the now gentrified apartments with his girlfriend Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph). After learning about it from an old resident (Colman Domingo; Zola, Ma Rainy’s Black Bottom), and as part of a bid to revive his career, McCoy becomes obsessed with the legend of ‘Candyman’ to the point of his detriment. Just as with the original, DaCosta’s incarnation of the original story presents as more than just a slasher with occasional jump scares. It stands for something much deeper. Peele cited the original film as ‘a landmark film for Black representation in the horror genre.’ Now DaCosta takes up the mantle of Black representation, made even more poignant by the lived experiences of Black people in 2019, with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Speaking on Juneteenth, a holiday to celebrate the day that slavery was abolished, DaCosta recounts her thought process during the filming of Candyman that, much like Juneteenth, it is a story of the ‘duality of the Black experience in America’; that it is at once ‘a celebration of us, of life, of freedom’, but also ‘it’s incredibly difficult and there’s a lot of pain’.

MAN

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (left)

This is exacerbated by the dark origin story of the titular character, his role reprised by Tony Todd, who was the freed son of an enslaved man that was brutally murdered for falling in love with a white woman, only for his vengeful ghost to come back and take the life of a journalist that reminds him so much of his past lover. The decade-long span of the Cabrini-Green haunting serves as a constant reminder of the darker side of humanity, but also, as DaCosta said; “the truth of the pain behind Candyman. In reality, we made monsters of men all the time.”

The cast is full of rising stars that have delivered devoted and genuine performances, including British actor, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits), and in the case of Tony Todd and Vanessa Estelle Williams, are reprising their roles from the original, adding to the cyclical nature of the film. And indeed, this is a film that communities of the past and present are bound to love.

It is clear from Nia DaCosta’s past successes that this most recent project is well worth the wait, and that DaCosta herself is only just getting started. Drew Chateau n

Teyonah Parris

Candyman is released in UK Cinemas on 27 August from Universal Pictures.

Celebrating 50 years of the NFTS

StandOut

in the Film, TV and Games Industry

As one of the top film schools in the world, we want to effect meaningful and lasting change by ensuring the NFTS reflects the full diversity of our country and that our students and graduates are represented across all areas of the industry.

The NFTS strives for lasting and systemic change, resulting in a more multi-racial UK film, television and games industry for generations to come.

Generous scholarships and bursaries are available. The Toledo Scholarship enables talented newcomers from the UK’s ethnic minorities to study with us. Since its inception, over 30 scholars have benefitted from the funding including writer/director Shola Amoo (The Last Tree) and producer Kurban Kassam (Ginger and Rosa).