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                      F  I  L  M  *  R  E  V  I  E  W  S

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                                   CANDYMAN

                         A film review by Ken Johnson
                          Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson

145 min., cert 18, Horror, 1992
Director:   Bernard Rose
Cast:       Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd,  Xander  Berkely, Kasi Lemmons, Vanessa
            Williams, Gilbert Lewis

     Virginia Madsen and Vanessa   Williams    are    doing   a  thesis on folk
lore. They find one tale about  Candyman.   Candyman   was  a black man back in
the 1600s (?) who had an  influential  father.    He went  to the best schools,
and became a painter.  He was  called  on  to  paint    a portrait of one man's
virginal daughter, and the painter and  the  daughter  fall in  love.  When the
father finds out that the girl is  pregnant,  he has Candyman killed by a group
of men.  First they cut off one of his hands with a rusty  saw  then  smear him
with honey and let bees sting him  to  death.  The folklore   says   that  when
you say Candyman five times (into a bathroom mirror?) he will come and kill you
with the hook that has been nailed  to  where his   stump   is.    Madsen   and
Williams  find  out that several killings have  been going on in the  projects,
and Candyman is blamed.  The  two  decide  to  investigate, and  Madsen   finds
out  that  Candyman, Tony Todd, might really exist.

     CANDYMAN is based on a short story  (I  don't remember the title) by Clive
Barker.  Clive Barker didn't  write   the   screenplay  for the movie. CANDYMAN
is one of the best horror films  to    be   released  to the theaters this year
(but I expect that DRACULA will beat  it).    I   highly recommend that you see
this film, and don't wait for the  video  to    be   released.   On  a scale of
zero to five, I give CANDYMAN a  five.   CANDYMAN   is   rated   R   for  brief
female nudity, graphic violence, adult situations, and explicit language.

     The special effects for this  film   are    great.   The gore is very well
done, without being overly  disgusting.    The   story   is  well  written  and
kept my attention throughout the film.    The   script   is  written  such that
the actors don't end up with moronic   lines.    The  sets  are  well  done and
add a spooky atmosphere to the film.

     The actors (and actresses) all do  a  great job.  Virginia Madsen (THE HOT
SPOT, CREATOR) is excellent in  the   main    role,   as   the  girl who may be
either losing her mind, or seeing  a   real   demon.    Tony Todd (NIGHT OF THE
LIVING DEAD, 1990 version) is great  as   the   antagonist  of  the  film.   He
makes a perfect demon, who    is    taking    over   Madsen's   life.   Vanessa
Williams gives  a good performance as  Madsen's best friend.

                                   --------
                     Ken Johnson blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu

