Candyman (2021) is a supernatural horror film directed by Nia DaCosta, who co-wrote it with Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld. It is a direct sequel to Candyman (1992), which was based on Clive Barker‘s short story “The Forbidden.” It is the fourth film in the series. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Anthony McCoy, a Chicago artist who becomes obsessed with the legend of the Candyman in the gentrified remains of Cabrini–Green. Tony Todd makes his final appearance as Daniel Robitaille. The film turns the legend into a story about how communities remember racist violence. Delayed more than a year by the COVID-19 pandemic, it opened at No. 1 and grossed $77.4 million on a $25 million budget.
At a glance
| Release date | August 27, 2021 (US) |
| Director | Nia DaCosta |
| Writers | Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta |
| Based on | Candyman by Bernard Rose; “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker |
| Starring | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Rating | R (US), for strong bloody horror violence and gore, pervasive language and some sexual material |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $77.4 million |
| Franchise | Candyman: direct sequel to Candyman (1992), set between Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Day of the Dead (1999) |
Plot summary
In 1977, a boy at Chicago’s Cabrini–Green projects sees police beat Sherman Fields, a hook-handed man, to death after he is falsely accused of hiding a razor blade in candy. In 2019, artist Anthony McCoy lives in Chicago with his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris). Her brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) tells them the story of Helen Lyle, who is blamed for a killing spree and the kidnapping of a baby.
Looking for inspiration, Anthony explores what is left of the projects. He is stung on the hand by a bee and meets laundromat owner William Burke (Colman Domingo), the boy who saw Sherman die. William tells him the legend: say “Candyman” five times into a mirror, and he will appear and kill you. Anthony’s installation “Say My Name” is panned, but people who try the ritual start dying. As his sting spreads across his body, Anthony becomes consumed by the legend and starts painting the men who make up its “hive.”
Spoiler section: the ending
William explains that the legend began in the 1890s with Daniel Robitaille, a Black artist tortured and burned alive over an affair with a white client’s daughter. The souls of other murdered innocent Black men have joined the Candyman ever since. Anthony’s mother, Anne-Marie (Vanessa Williams), admits that he is the baby taken the night Helen died. William kidnaps Brianna, cuts off Anthony’s hand and replaces it with a hook. Then he calls the police so that Anthony will be killed and join the hive. Brianna stabs William, but police shoot Anthony dead. When officers pressure her to blame him, she summons the Candyman in a car mirror. He appears as Anthony, kills the police, and then shows Robitaille’s face and tells her to “tell everyone.”
Production and behind the scenes
Another Candyman was discussed for almost two decades. Bernard Rose proposed a prequel about Candyman and Helen. A crossover, Candyman vs. Leprechaun, was developed after Freddy vs. Jason, but Todd turned it down. A version set at a New England women’s college fell apart over rights disputes. In September 2018, Peele entered talks to make the film through Monkeypaw Productions. Todd supported him as someone who would “dig into the whole racial makeup of who the Candyman is.” In November 2018, MGM and Universal came aboard, DaCosta was hired, and the project became a “spiritual sequel” set in the gentrified Cabrini–Green. Lakeith Stanfield was first considered for Anthony, the baby from the 1992 film, before Abdul-Mateen took the role. Todd’s return was confirmed later.
Filming took place in and around Chicago in August and September 2019 under the working title Say My Name. It used the last surviving Cabrini–Green row houses from 1942 and the Marina City towers, and it was the first feature filmed inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Instead of flashbacks or footage from the 1992 film, DaCosta and Peele told the legend’s history through shadow puppets made with the Chicago company Manual Cinema. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe’s score layers voice and modular synthesizer with field recordings made at Cabrini–Green.
Release and reception
Universal originally dated the film for June 12, 2020. It was then pushed to September and October 2020 by the pandemic, before finally opening on August 27, 2021. Its marketing drew 144.1 million views, and Peele urged fans to tweet #Candyman five times. The film opened at No. 1 with $22 million, and DaCosta became the first Black female director to top the US box office. It earned $61.2 million in the US and Canada and $77.4 million worldwide. It holds 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 72 on Metacritic, with a “B” CinemaScore. Critics praised DaCosta’s direction, visual style and blend of social commentary and horror. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times highlighted the shadow puppetry, and Odie Henderson of RogerEbert.com praised its use of “misdirection, and clever framing.” Some critics, including Anya Stanley of The A.V. Club, felt it had more ideas than “a 91-minute movie can adequately explore.”
Legacy and influence
The film reframed the Candyman not as one ghost but as a “hive” of murdered Black men whose stories are passed down, and it moved its satire onto gentrification and the art world. Anya Stanley wrote that where Bernard Rose had spoken in 1992 on “White anxieties and the image of the scary Black man,” DaCosta “expands the conversation.” The end credits list real victims of racist violence, including James Byrd Jr. and George Stinney, among the hive. It was Tony Todd’s last appearance as the original Candyman before his death in 2024. It also gave DaCosta a historic No. 1 opening, the first for a Black female director.
Trivia
- Vanessa Williams reprises Anne-Marie McCoy, and Virginia Madsen voices Helen Lyle in archive images.
- Anthony appeared as a baby in the 1992 film, where he was played by Lanesha Martin.
- In 2004, Todd said a fourth film was planned with Clive Barker involved and a $25 million budget, the same amount the 2021 film eventually cost.
- The 1992 film calls the killer Daniel Robitaille. The 2021 sequel adds Sherman Fields to the legend.
- Abdul-Mateen was at first misreported as playing the title character.
Related links
- Candyman and Helen Lyle (characters)
- Candyman (1992)
- Nia DaCosta (director) and Jordan Peele (co-writer, producer)
- Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (cast)
- Clive Barker (author of “The Forbidden”) and Bernard Rose (1992 director)