Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999) | Plot, Cast & Horror Facts

Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999) is a supernatural horror film directed by Turi Meyer, who co-wrote it with Al Septien. On screen it is titled simply Candyman: Day of the Dead. It is the third film in the Candyman series and a direct sequel to Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995). Tony Todd returns as the Candyman, the spirit of Daniel Robitaille. This time he targets Caroline McKeever (Donna D’Errico), Annie Tarrant’s daughter and his own descendant, in Los Angeles on the eve of the Day of the Dead. It was the first film in the series to skip theaters. Artisan Entertainment released it direct to video on July 9, 1999. Made in 18 days for about $1 million, it was poorly reviewed, and Todd later called it a poor entry. The series returned to theaters with Candyman (2021).

At a glance

Release date	July 9, 1999 (US, direct to video)
Director	Turi Meyer
Writers	Al Septien and Turi Meyer
Based on	Characters created by Clive Barker
Starring	Tony Todd, Donna D’Errico, Jsu Garcia, Wade Williams, Alexia Robinson, Lupe Ontiveros
Music	Adam Gorgoni
Runtime	93 minutes
Rating	R (US)
Budget	About $1 million (per the audio commentary)
Distributor	Artisan Entertainment
Franchise	Candyman: sequel to Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995); followed by Candyman (2021)

Plot summary

Years after the second film, Caroline McKeever attends a Candyman-themed gallery show in Los Angeles. It is hosted by artist Miguel Velasco and features paintings of the Candyman. Caroline is the daughter of Annie Tarrant and Paul McKeever, and so a direct descendant of the Candyman. Trying to prove the legend false, she says his name five times in a mirror. Soon afterwards, the Candyman kills Miguel and his lover with his hook. A local gang breaks into the gallery and steals the paintings. A flashback reveals that Caroline’s mother, Annie, suffering from dementia, was killed in her bath by the Candyman after summoning him. Her death was taken for suicide. Her last words to Caroline were to “destroy the myth.”

The murders are pinned on David de la Paz (Jsu Garcia), Miguel’s friend, who grows close to Caroline. His grandmother (Lupe Ontiveros), a psychic healer, tells Caroline that to destroy the evil in the Candyman she must destroy the good in him, which lives in his paintings. The Candyman kidnaps David and hangs him from hooks. He kills Caroline’s roommate, Tamara (Alexia Robinson), and then a veteran detective while Caroline sits in his car. That puts her in the sights of the dead man’s partner, Lt. Samuel Deacon Kraft (Wade Williams), who has no plans to take her in alive.

Spoiler section: destroying the myth

Caroline goes after the stolen paintings and is captured by the gang, who summon the Candyman to sacrifice her. He kills them all instead. Caroline finds David alive. When the Candyman tries to persuade her to give herself to him, she slashes his portrait with a hook, and the same wound opens on him. A candle sets the painting alight, and the Candyman bursts into flames. Kraft then attacks her with a hook and is shot dead by Detective Jamal Matthews, gasping “Candyman” as he dies. Following her mother’s advice, Caroline tells police that Kraft was the Candyman all along. Once the news breaks, she tells a mirror that there was no such thing as the Candyman. His hook smashes through the glass, but it is only a nightmare. The film ends with Caroline, David and his daughter picnicking at Annie’s grave during the Day of the Dead.

Production and behind the scenes

According to the audio commentary, the film was shot in Boyle Heights, in East Los Angeles, over 18 days, plus two or three days of second-unit work. That left actors two takes at most per scene. The commentary puts the budget closer to $1 million than $3 million. Bee wrangler Norman Gary, who had handled the bees on the previous two films, came back. The producers had assumed he would be too expensive, but he lowered his fee to stay with the series. The graffiti on the subway set is the work of real graffiti artists. Crew members caught them tagging near the location and paid each $100 to paint the set.

Composer Adam Gorgoni planned to reuse themes from the earlier films. When the production couldn’t get permission to use any of Philip Glass‘s music, he wrote an entirely new score. With no money left for an opening credits sequence, the company told Meyer to run the credits over the opening dream. Instead, Meyer and cinematographer Michael G. Wojciechowski found leftover equipment and film stock. They blacked out the windows of a garage and shot a title sequence with the Candyman’s hook prop at no extra cost.

Release and reception

Farewell to the Flesh had played in theaters. Day of the Dead went straight to video, released by Artisan Entertainment on July 9, 1999. Reviews were poor. Rotten Tomatoes lists 7% of 14 reviews as positive, with an average score of 3.4 out of 10. At a Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention in 2008, Tony Todd admitted he considered it a poor entry in the series.

Legacy and influence

It was Todd’s third film as the Candyman. In a 2004 Fangoria interview, Todd said a fourth film was being prepared with a $25 million budget. He and Clive Barker had talked through storyboard ideas for a winter story set at a New England women’s college. The project fell apart, most likely over the question of who owned the franchise. In 2018, Jordan Peele took on a new sequel with Nia DaCosta directing. Released in 2021 as Candyman, it is a direct sequel to the 1992 original and returns the story to Chicago. Its timeline places it between Farewell to the Flesh and Day of the Dead.

Trivia

Caroline shares her name with Caroline, the woman Daniel Robitaille loved in Farewell to the Flesh. That film ends with the young Caroline starting to chant his name.
It is set during the Day of the Dead, and the final scene takes place amid the celebrations.
Todd talked about putting the Candyman in a snowstorm, saying: “I just had this image of Candyman in a blizzard.”

Candyman 3: Day of the Dead