Fresh
Candyman is an uppper-register horror item that delivers the requisite shocks and gore but doesn't cheat or cop out.
Variety Staff, Variety
Candyman
We dare you to say his name five times.
1992 · 1h 40m · R
Drama, Horror, Thriller
Directed by
Bernard Rose
Overview
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
Director and cast
- Bernard Rose Director
- Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle
- Tony Todd as The Candyman / Daniel Robitaille
- Xander Berkeley as Trevor Lyle
- Kasi Lemmons as Bernadette 'Bernie' Walsh
- Vanessa Williams as Anne-Marie McCoy
- DeJuan Guy as Jake
- Michael Culkin as Purcell
- Stanley DeSantis as Dr. Burke
- Gilbert Lewis Cast
- Marianna Elliott Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
79%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Like so many post-Val Lewton horror films, this 1992 feature starts out promisingly while the plot is mainly a matter of suggestion, but gradually turns gross and obvious as the meanings become literal and unambiguous.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh
The film's spooky atmosphere is accentuated by Anthony B. Richmond's cinematography and Philip Glass's score.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rotten
Madsen is a much better actress than is usually found in such a role. However, if you don't like splashes of blood or bees swarming out of bodies, you may want to think twice about this one.
Richard Harrington, Washington Post
Fresh
What I liked was a horror movie that was scaring me with ideas and gore, instead of simply with gore.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
More films
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · R
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as...
- Runtime
- 1h 59m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn
IMDb
8.6
Rotten Tomatoes
95%
Metacritic
86
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Horror · R
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their l...
- Runtime
- 1h 31m
- Director
- Wes Craven
- Cast
- Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
IMDb
7.4
Rotten Tomatoes
94%
Metacritic
76
Hellraiser (1987)
Horror · Thriller · R
A hedonistic man finds a mysterious puzzle box that summons a group of gruesome beings known as the Cenobites. These otherworldly entities open the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible.
- Runtime
- 1h 34m
- Director
- Clive Barker
- Cast
- Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence
IMDb
7.0
Rotten Tomatoes
72%
Metacritic
57
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
Horror · Thriller · R
Annie, a young schoolteacher struggling to solve the brutal murder of her father, unwittingly summons the "Candyman" to New Orleans, where she learns the secret of his power, and discovers the link that connects them.
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Bill Condon
- Cast
- Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, William O'Leary
IMDb
5.3
Rotten Tomatoes
25%
Metacritic
41
Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999)
Horror · Thriller · R
As the Day of the Dead celebration approaches the barrio of East Los Angeles, Caroline is challenged to control the horrifying legend of her ancestor, the "Candyman".
- Runtime
- 1h 33m
- Director
- Turi Meyer
- Cast
- Tony Todd, Donna D'Errico, Alexia Robinson
IMDb
4.0
Rotten Tomatoes
7%
Comments
Talk about the film with other members