Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bill Condon
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by Clive Barker
Starring
Music by Philip Glass
Cinematography Tobias A. Schliessler
Edited by Virginia Katz
Production
company
Lava Productions[1]
Distributed by Gramercy Pictures[1]
Release date
  • March 17, 1995 (1995-03-17)
Running time
 95 minutes[1]
Country United States[2]
Language English
Box office $13.9 million (US)[3]

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is a 1995 American horror film and a sequel to the 1992 film Candyman, an adaptation of the Clive Barker short story "The Forbidden". It stars Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, William O'Leary, Bill Nunn, Matt Clark and Veronica Cartwright. It was directed by Bill Condon and written by Rand Ravich and Mark Kruger from a story by Barker. Barker executive produced. The sequel, Candyman: Day of the Dead, was released in 1999.

Plot

Coleman Tarrant, the father of New Orleans schoolteacher Annie Tarrant, is murdered while investigating the deaths of three men in a manner similar to the Candyman legend. One year later — and three years after the Candyman murders in Chicago — Professor Philip Purcell writes a book about the latter case. Candyman kills Purcell in a public bathroom following a book signing. Annie's brother, Ethan, is accused of Purcell's murder because of previous confrontations between the two over the subject. After one of Annie's students claims to have seen the Candyman, she tries to discredit the legend by invoking his name. Annie summons Candyman to New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras, where the killings begin in earnest. Her husband, Paul Mckeever, becomes one of Candyman's victims, while one of her students, Matthew, disappears.

The Candyman is revealed to be Daniel Robitaille, son of a slave on a plantation in New Orleans. Daniel was chosen by a wealthy landowner to paint a portrait of his daughter Caroline, resulting in an affair between the two. After Caroline became pregnant, Caroline's father organized a lynch mob to hunt down Daniel, cut off his right hand, and coat him in honey from a nearby beehive. A small boy tasted the honey and proclaimed "Candy Man!"; the crowd chanted the name as Daniel was stung to death. Caroline's father taunted the disfigured Daniel with Caroline's mirror, leading to the mirror containing Candyman's soul. Caroline hid the mirror in Daniel's birthplace before giving birth to his daughter, Isabel, a Creole who is raised by her mother as white. The mirror grants Candyman his ability to kill when called upon.

Annie is revealed to be the descendant of Daniel and Caroline. Candyman stalks Annie so he may kill her and himself at midnight on Ash Wednesday. After talking with Ethan, Annie visits Honore Thibideaux, who tells her Caroline moved to New Orleans after Daniel's death. Candyman appears and kills him with bees while Annie escapes. At the police station, Candyman slays a detective interrogating Ethan, who is shot dead when he tries to escape. Octavia, Annie's guilt-ridden mother, admits Coleman tried to link their family to Candyman but denies he exists. Incensed by her disbelief of him, the Candyman introduces himself before killing her; Annie flees. It is revealed that Coleman, driven to madness at his search for the mirror, eventually gave in and summoned Candyman to justify his search at the expense of his life.

Annie flees to Daniel's birthplace, where she finds Matthew. She falls through the stairs into the flooded basement, where she finds the mirror and Candyman. He reveals that the mirror is the source of his resurrection and tries to sacrifice her. Annie destroys the mirror, destroying Candyman in the process. The slave quarters crash into the river, but Matthew saves Annie by pulling her out. Several years later, Annie has Paul's daughter, who she has named Caroline. After Annie kisses Caroline goodnight and leaves the room, Caroline starts to chant Candyman's name. Annie stops her and tells her to go to bed.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 25% of 16 reviewers gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.3/10.[4] Leonard Klady of Variety called it "a case of diminishing artistic returns but not, thankfully, a victim of the terrible twos".[5] Caryn James of The New York Times called it a "sluggish, predictable, low-rent sequel".[6] Kevin Thomas wrote that the film "overflows with blood and guts, drowning a potent metaphor for African American rage and oppression".[7] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated it D and wrote, "This cloddish sequel undermines its revenge-of-the-repressed premise with racist scare tactics".[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Candyman Farewell to the Flesh (1995)". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  5. ↑ Klady, Leonard (March 16, 1995). "Review: 'Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh'". Variety. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ James, Caryn (March 18, 1995). "Candyman Farewell to the Flesh (1995)". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  7. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (March 20, 1995). "MOVIE REVIEW : This Time the 'Candyman' Turns Up in New Orleans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (April 7, 1995). "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
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