"Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew, Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two, The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can, The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good..." Okay, perhaps that song isn’t about the same Candyman, but I still hear it in my head every time I hear the name. That’s just the kind of twisted guy I am. In the world of horror films, icons come and icons go, but there are a few who have a way of burning their image so indelibly that they become legend even with only a few films in a series. “Candyman” came out in 1992, and to date has only had two sequels, yet he is as popular Freddy and far more frightening than Jason. The idea for “Candyman” came from the nightmarish imagination of author Clive Barker, who first wrote about him in his “Books of Blood” series. The story was originally called “The Forbidden” and it dredged up all the horrors based on some of the most frightening of urban legends.

I’m sure the concept is familiar to you. Have you ever heard the legend of Bloody Mary? In order to call forth her spirit, all you have to do is stand in front of a mirror and repeat her name five times. I personally have never tried this, in spite of the fact that I don’t believe in it at all. I’m only concerned that I may be wrong.

This legend is taken to the extreme with “Candyman” as he doesn’t just show up in the mirror, he also exacts his revenge for injustices from a time whan he was alive. The very existence of someone like Candyman, is made all the more real by putting him in a real world setting, in this case a decaying ghetto of Chicago. There are no haunted houses, or castles or even dark woods. All he needs is that mirror.

The film is fairly good as far as horror movies go, but admittedly it suffered a bit from a lackluster and somewhat predictable ending. But there is one thing that I feel made the character such a memorable one and that was the performance by actor Tony Todd. He embodied the character of Candyman as much as embodied Freddy Krueger, only without the self reverential humor. Every move and every expression added to the credibility of the character. Even the timber of his voice was enough to being chills to audiences. Yet, in spite of the horror and death he brings, Candyman was also tragic figure, and Todd was able to elicit those feeling of sorrow for what he suffered in life. Todd has become a genre favorite, having lent his incredible talents to shows like “The X-Files”, “Star Trek: You name the Series”, and “Smallville.” But he is forever identified with this one singular character.

“Candyman” has long been deserving of a Special Edition release, and Sony / Columbia Tristar has taken the reins and delivered just that. There aren’t a ton of extras, but there are certainly enough to make this release worthwhile. Of course, the transfer looks pretty darn good, too. It’s not perfect, but it’s a damn sight better than the one that came out a few years back. The only thing I missed was having a 5.1 track which I’m sure would have intensified an already intense movie.

As far as special features go, I don’t have any complaints. First there’s a filmmaker’s commentary that features Clive Barker, producer Alan Poul, director Benard Rose along with actors Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen and Kasi Lemmons. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get all these people together into the same room so most of the commentary is culled from various interviews, though this does little to detract from its value. It just would have been cool to hear these guys talking amongst themselves. They cover a lot of ground, most notably how the ideas of race played into the story, being that Candyman is one of the only, if not the only African American horror villain icon.

You’ll also find a lengthy documentary about the making of the film. Coming in just under 30 minutes, “Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos”, which goes even deeper into the origins of the story as well as the making of the movie. I did catch several comments here that were also in the commentary, but not enough to complain about repetition. Another shorter featurette follows the career of Barker, which I found especially interesting as I was a big fan of his earlier works. Finally, there is a storyboard montage set Philip Glass’ terrific score for the film.

“Candyman” certainly wasn’t the best horror movie ever, but thanks to the amazing performance by Tony Todd, the movie has escaped obscurity and the character continues to haunt our nightmares. Maybe I’ll finally give that old mirror trick a try. Ahem…. Candyman… Candyman……… Candyman…………… Candyman…………………….um…… Candy….man? There see, I knew I wa >GAKK<

Directed by: Bernard Rose
Starring: Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Kasi Lemmons, Xander Berkeley
Extras: Filmmakers Commentary Featuring Clive Barker, Bernard Rose, Producer Alan Poul, Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen and Kasi Lemmons, “Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos”, “Clive Barker: Raising Hell.”
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Stereo Surround
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 8/17/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Candyman: Special Edition an A.