“Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” (1995) takes a long time to make an argument that it needs to exist. Director Bill Condon (the “Twilight” saga) proves he can make a competent Barkerian horror flick, but writers Rand Ravich and Mark Kruger – working from Clive Barker’s story – repeat the same beats as 1992’s original.
To the Big Easy
The action moves to New Orleans. So Candyman (Tony Todd) has roots there as well as Chicago, but the logistics are never explained. The sequel often looks striking, though, especially in a final act where a ratty old slave-quarters building gets flooded.
It’s not a special-effects film to the degree of the original or the “Hellraisers.” But it goes that route a couple of times in respectable old-school fashion where you think “How many people got stung by bees on that shot?”
From Aug. 25-27, we’re looking back at the first three “Candyman” films, leading up to the release of the fourth entry.
“Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” (1995)
Director: Bill Condon
Writers: Rand Ravich, Mark Kruger (screenplay); Clive Barker (story)
Stars: Kelly Rowan, Tony Todd, William O’Leary
Candyman’s origin of being brutally murdered for loving a white woman, Caroline (Caroline Barclay), gets a robust flashback telling here. If someone watched “Farewell to the Flesh” thinking it is the first of the series, they’d get all the information they need.
Everything is retold, and no reference is made to the Chicago events. I wondered if this was a prequel, since Candyman is killed at the end of the original. But I guess it’s a simple matter where he can be called forth from the mirror whenever.
A who’s-who of the B-list
“Farewell” boasts a who’s-who of people you’ve seen before – as in “Who’s that person? I’ve seen them somewhere.” Kelly Rowan, later the mom on “The O.C.,” has the lead role as art teacher Annie.
Her brother, Ethan (William O’Leary, “Hot Shots!”), is accused of a couple Candyman murders. Annie’s husband (Timothy Carhart, “Beverly Hills Cop III”) and mother (Veronica Cartwright, “Alien”) don’t want her to keep digging.
The lead detective (a hammy David Gianopoulos) acts like he’s sharp stuff because he finds people at murder scenes and assumes they did it. Luckily, since both Ethan and Annie are framed, the New Orleans police are confused.
And I was happy to see this instance that almost never happens in “wrongfully accused” yarns: The frame-job is captured on video, and an officer actually watches the video!
Southern (lack of) comfort
So Annie is able to move about more freely than Helen in the first movie. Moving about often involves fleeing through crowds of Mardi Gras revelers. Russell Buchanan’s radio man voiceover as Kingfisher rubbed me the wrong way – too much Southern stereotype, not enough Southern flavor.
Still, the costumes and rowdiness are such that I’d believe it’s a real Fat Tuesday. “Farewell” – which repurposes Philip Glass’ score but moves it further back in the mix — is filmed in the Big Easy, so that helps.
The urban black experience is again a subtext that doesn’t get scratched for deeper layers. New Orleans’ inner-city issues seem much the same as Chicago’s, to judge by this film series.
I will grant the sequel this, though: The main characters end up with a closer connection to Candyman than those in the original.
The argument for “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh’s” existence was built on style from the beginning. Because of the final act, it makes a fair case. But if you watch it soon after the first one, you’ll experience déjà vu.