Set in New Orleans this sequel opens with a lecture on the Candyman myth, presented by Professor Philip Purcell, who doesn't believe that he is real. Afterwards he is confronted by Ethan Tarrant, a young man who blames Purcell for the death of his father. He was obsessed with the Candyman and a series of murders some believed were committed by him before being killed in a similar fashion himself. Soon afterwards Purcell is killed by the Candyman and Ethan is arrested. Ethan's sister Annie, a school teacher is called and soon finds herself dragged into the Candyman story. To prove to her pupils that he is just a myth she says 'Candyman' five times while looking into a mirror. Nothing happens at first but after a visit to her old home, an abandoned plantation house, she is faced by the hook-handed man. He kills her husband and tells her that she will be with him. Trying to find a way to stop him she starts to look into the history of the Candyman and discovers a shocking link to her own family.
This isn't as good as the original film but to my mind it is still pretty good. I liked how it further explored the origins of the Candyman and his link to Annie. Tony Todd does a great job bringing the character to life; he has a real presence and manages to be menacing and sympathetic at the same time the more we learn about Candyman's origin the more sympathetic the character becomes. That doesn't mean he doesn't do some very unpleasant things; when he kills with his hook it is brutal and bloody. The way bees come from his body is also rather disturbing. Kelly Rowan does a fine job as Annie and the rest of the cast are pretty good too. As with the first film the music of Phillip Glass adds to the atmosphere. The tension mounts nicely towards the end but the final way Candyman is defeated is a little disappointing and requires us to accept that a certain item has been hanging on the wall of an abandoned building for well over a hundred years! Overall though I'd say that this is a solid enough horror sequel with some good scares.
This isn't as good as the original film but to my mind it is still pretty good. I liked how it further explored the origins of the Candyman and his link to Annie. Tony Todd does a great job bringing the character to life; he has a real presence and manages to be menacing and sympathetic at the same time the more we learn about Candyman's origin the more sympathetic the character becomes. That doesn't mean he doesn't do some very unpleasant things; when he kills with his hook it is brutal and bloody. The way bees come from his body is also rather disturbing. Kelly Rowan does a fine job as Annie and the rest of the cast are pretty good too. As with the first film the music of Phillip Glass adds to the atmosphere. The tension mounts nicely towards the end but the final way Candyman is defeated is a little disappointing and requires us to accept that a certain item has been hanging on the wall of an abandoned building for well over a hundred years! Overall though I'd say that this is a solid enough horror sequel with some good scares.