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MOVIE SCORE |
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DVD SCORE |
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REVIEWER |
RumbleWolf4 |
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REVIEW DATE |
2nd September, 2004 |
Review Quote
"You expect greatness when you realize that Clive Barker executive produced and it is based off of one of his stories. This movie carries that deep, rich blend of disturbing horror and stylish philosophy that only Barker can create."
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The Plot
Helen Lyle is a grad student in Chicago writing a thesis on urban legends. When she hears of the legend of an anguished spirit with a hooked hand, she knows she needs to investigate. She partakes in the legend by calling forth the "Candyman" by saying his name five times. She should have listened though, as the legend is true and Candyman begins a trail of carnage and death, all mysteriously linked to Helen. As she becomes arrested and then committed to a psychiatric ward, it seems the only man who can free her is the very man trying to kill her: Candyman.
The Movie
This is one of the more overlooked horror films in my opinion. You expect greatness when you realize that Clive Barker executive produced and it is based off of one of his stories. This movie carries that deep, rich blend of disturbing horror and stylish philosophy that only Barker can create.
The special effects in this movie are great. Especially the sequences with the bees. It only proves the determination of the actors when you consider the fact that they allowed themselves to have bees crawling IN THIER MOUTHS. That's another thing that is so unique of this film. It begins slow for about the first half, casually setting up the backstory and plot lines for the film. Then the second half kicks in and what began as a quiet, provocative glance into the urban underbelly, devolves into a blood-soaked rampage. There's enough here to satisfy the fans of slow, psychological thrillers and the gorehounds as well!
Candyman himself, is a brilliant villian. Almost Shakespearian in quality as he is a troubled, tragic romantic. His main motive in the film is being reunited with his lost love. His lines are the stuff of epic, dark poetry coupled with the barotone voice of Todd and he comes off as a truly classy killer. But he's not afraid to get soaked in red as he is cruel and vicious. BE it an animal or even a baby, he kills what he wants with reckless abandon.
Add the great villianous character to a film with good variety and score that with a fantasticaly creepy musical piece by Phillip Glass. It's almost Elfman-like and enhances the grimy feel of the film. The ending is clever and stretches the mythos into new horizons (although I could've done without the girl screaming, that was annoying). This is just a great, almost forgotten piece of art. It's not perfect and certaintly not as well-known as it should be, but it's still dang good.
The DVD
The following is for the Special Edition DVD. I've been looking forward to this DVD for quite some time and now that I have it,I must admit...I'm a little disappointed. The menus are bland as they are silent and still. Blah. Plus, the film is only available in Dolby 2.0 as opposed to the standard, superior 5.1 and the picture quality is mediocre at best. Luckily, these don't detract that much from the film.
The extras are decent enough. We have a six person Commentary track (all recorded seperately, think TCM 2003 Commentary tracks). Also is a 24 minute making of featurette that concludes with Tony Todd trying to invoke the spirit of the Candyman. Heh heh. There's also a 10 minute featurette on the great Clive Barker and a 5 minute reel of storyboard montages set against the moody Phillip Glass score. The scenes we see boards for are the "Bee Kiss" scene and the "Bonfire" scene. Also are three, seemingly random trailers for Creature Features, Darkness Falls and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Good features, but a disappointing overall presentaion bogs it down a bit. Still, with such a great movie, you really can't go wrong!
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Director
Bernard Rose
Cast
Virginia Madsen
Tony Todd
Xander Berkeley
Kasi Lemmon
Vanessa Williams
Screenplay
Bernard Rose
Tagline
"We dare you to say his name five times!"
Country
USA
Classification
R
Year
1992
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Format
NTSC
Region Coding
1
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
16x9 Enhanced
Yes
Running Time
99 minutes
Year Released
2004
Packaging
Keep Case
Extra Features
Audio Commentary
2 Featurettes
Animated Storyboards
3 Movie Trailers
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This Version On DVD
Region 1: Buy Me Now
Other Versions On DVD
Region 0: Not Available
Region 1: Buy Me Now
Region 2: Not Available
Region 3: Not Available
Region 4: Buy Me Now
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If you find any errors in this review, know of any other versions of this DVD available or no longer available, send us an e-mail so we can get the word out to the horror community.
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