In the fall of 1992, it was imperative that I go see Candyman. My mom drove my friend Vick and I to the theater and I believe she had to buy us tickets since we weren't quite old enough to get into an R rated film. We bought candy (I got Skittles) and sodas then settled in our seats and had the bejeezus scared out of us. Candyman is gory for sure but more importantly, it has an inescapable tension and fucked up atmosphere that pervades throughout the entire film. Hats off to British born director Bernard Rose (Paperhouse) for kicking ass and taking names on this one.
There is a funny scene buried in all the freakiness which comes after the lovely Virginia Madsen is assaulted by a guy posing as Candyman and his gang of thugs who don't want her snooping around in their neighborhood. The cops snag a bunch of dudes matching the description of her attacker and have a lineup where they have to say the line: "We hear you're lookin' for Candyman, bitch." To Vick and myself, who were 16 at the time, this was the funniest moment in film history. I found the clip online (posted below) and it is nowhere near as amusing as I remember it.
Skip to around 6:35
One of my favorite horror movies from the 90s. I think you should have mentioned the soundtrack - excellent work by Philip Glass.
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