Nia DaCosta’s ‘Candyman’ Reimagines the Mythology With a Sequel-Reboot Hybrid [Revenge of the Remakes]

Welcome to Revenge of the Remakes, where columnist Matt Donato takes us on a journey through the world of horror remakes. We all complain about Hollywood’s lack of originality whenever studios announce new remakes, reboots, and reimaginings, but the reality? Far more positive examples of refurbished classics and updated legacies exist than you’re willing to remember […]

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The Scariest Scene in Bernard Rose’s ‘Candyman’ Shatters a Horror Taboo [Scene Screams]

Scene Screams is a recurring column that spotlights the scenes in horror that make us scream, whether through fear, laughter, or tears. It examines the most memorable, and often scariest, scenes in horror and what it is about them that makes them get under our skin.  It takes about forty minutes into Bernard Rose‘s Candyman before the […]

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Freeform’s Teen Horror Series “Dead of Summer” Deserved Better

Crystal Lake. Arawak. Stonewater. Summer camps are places to avoid in horror movies. And Camp Stillwater from the TV series Dead of Summer is no different from its cinematic parallels. The camp’s employees are too preoccupied with themselves to ever suspect trouble is afoot, and by the time they are aware of the goings-on at […]

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Exploring the True Villain of the Original ‘Candyman’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

Chunky Peanut Butter Poo. Another month come and gone and it’s been a wild one on the pod! We covered our first 40s film with the very queer Rope, chuckled our way through 80s slasher parody Student Bodies and then dug into the AIDS allegory at the heart of The Fly. Now it’s time to put August to […]

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A Hypnotic Horror: How the Original ‘Candyman’ Led Me Down the Path of Horror Movie Obsession

The landscape of the city, with its many moving parts, appears to be not all that dissimilar from a beehive— from a certain point of view. There’s a purposeful busyness that pervades such a place, presenting the illusion that the individuals there are all part of the hive, working toward something meaningful. Of course, it’s […]

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Examining the Urban Legends That Inspired ‘Candyman’

From the moment that the very first humans settled in the very first city, they were already sharing scary stories. What we now know as urban legends are simply the natural progression of a primal urge to make sense of society’s fears, a fact that Clive Barker was aware of when he wrote The Forbidden, […]

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[Image] The Very First Depiction of Clive Barker’s Candyman Was Far Different Than Tony Todd’s Portrayal

Of all the sweets to be found on Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of Bernard Rose’s Candyman, one of the most interesting features is the audio commentary by authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. One of four bonus tracks on the disc, the duo’s talk is a lively discussion boasting interesting perspectives on the […]

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[Review] Nia DaCosta’s ‘Candyman’ Is a Bold Reclamation of Legacy and Legend

Bernard Rose’s adaptation of Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden” unleashed an enduring boogeyman and horror icon almost thirty years ago. One with a darkly romantic and tragic history. Director Nia DaCosta’s Candyman returns to Cabrini-Green to reexamine the eponymous character’s legend and legacy, expanding its scale. It’s an ambitious and haunting reclamation realized by DaCosta’s bold vision, blending […]

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‘Candyman IV’: Tony Todd Revisits the Winter-Set Sequel That Was Never Made [Phantom Limbs]

phantom limb /ˈfan(t)əm’lim/ n. an often painful sensation of the presence of a limb that has been amputated. Welcome to Phantom Limbs, a recurring feature which will take a look at intended yet unproduced horror sequels and remakes – extensions to genre films we love, appendages to horror franchises that we adore – that were sadly […]

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New Clip from ‘Candyman’ Retells the Origin Story of Tony Todd’s Daniel Robitaille [Video]

Universal Pictures just released a great 20-minute chat about “The Impact of Black Horror” in promotion of Nia DaCosta‘s Candyman, featuring insights from star Colman Domingo as well as trauma psychotherapist Dr. Wendy Ashley, BEAM founder Yolo Akili Robinson, Confess Project founder Lorenzo Lewis, and horror author and professor Tananarive Due. In addition to their […]

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“I Heard You’re Looking for Candyman”: Tony Todd’s Voice Heard in Latest ‘Candyman’ TV Spot? [Video]

Described as a “spiritual sequel” to Bernard Rose’s Candyman (itself an adaptation of a Clive Barker tale), Nia DaCosta‘s Candyman is coming to theaters on August 27, 2021, and we still don’t know for certain that Tony Todd will be making an appearance in the film. It would seem likely he will, but up until this point at least, he hasn’t […]

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[Live Review] Tony Todd Proves He’s a Master of His Craft in August Wilson’s ‘How I Learned What I Learned’

The first time I made the trek to DeSales University campus I was in a hurry. It was Fourth of July, muggy and hot and the lush forests and cornfields offered me little comfort as I rushed from the airport straight to the theater. Anticipation that I’d been trying to stifle for weeks reared up […]

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