Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bill Condon
Produced by	Clive Barker Gregg Fienberg Sigurjón Sighvatsson
Written by	Clive Barker Rand Ravich Mark Kruger
Starring	Tony Todd Kelly Rowan Bill Nunn William O'Leary with Timothy Carhart as 'Paul McKeever' and Veronica Cartwright as 'Octavia'
Music by	Philip Glass
Cinematography	Tobias A. Schliessler
Edited by	Virginia Katz
Distributed by	Gramercy Pictures PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Release dates	March 17, 1995 (1995-03-17)
Running time	95 mins
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$13,940,383 (sub-total)

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is the 1995 sequel to the horror 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.

Plot

The father of New Orleans schoolteacher Annie Tarrant (Rowan) was murdered in a Candyman-like fashion some years prior. When Professor Philip Purcell is murdered in a bathroom by Candyman after presenting the legend at a book signing and calling him forth, Annie's brother is accused of the murder (since his furious public confrontation of Purcell over the subject) and one of her students starts to see the Candyman. In order to disprove to herself that the Candyman exists, she says his name five times in front of a mirror, summoning him to New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras, where the killings begin in earnest. Her husband Paul Mckeever becoming one of Candyman's new victims. The film's climax reveals more details of the Candyman's genesis, and his reason for stalking Annie.

The Candyman

The Candyman is revealed to be Daniel Robitaille (Todd), son of a slave on the Esplanade Plantation in New Orleans. Chosen by a wealthy landowner to paint a portrait of his daughter Caroline, the intimacy of the setting causes a torrid affair between Daniel and Caroline. The relationship results in Caroline becoming pregnant, and Daniel being reviled.

After being tortured by the bigoted lynch mob, Daniel is chased out of the town and hunted across the fields by Caroline's father and an angry mob, and tortured by having his right hand sawed off with a rusty arborist saw blade and being coated in fresh honey from a nearby beehive. A small boy tastes the honey, and proclaims "Candy Man!", whereupon the crowd seizes the name and shouts it with gusto. The bees then swarm over Daniel's body, mortally wounding him. Caroline enters the scene, and is restrained as her father taunts Daniel (over how he now looks) with her mirror to which Daniel gasps the words "Candy Man" before dying. Caroline seizes upon the mirror, and cradles it. It is this mirror that holds the tortured, hateful soul of the Candyman; the only remnant of her lover, Caroline hides the mirror in Daniel's birthplace. After this, she gives birth to Daniel's daughter named Isabel. Isabel is born Creole but she is raised by her mother as white.

The mirror grants Candy Man his spiritual medium, and imbues his soul with the strength to kill when called upon.

Sweets to the Sweet

Annie is revealed to be the Great-Great-Granddaughter of Caroline Sullivan. It also means she is Daniel Robitaille's descendant. Candyman stalks Annie so that he may kill her and destroy himself at 12 Midnight on Ash Wednesday. This is possibly to secure their resurrection into the afterlife, a running theme throughout the Candyman series.

Octavia is Annie's guilt ridden mother who drowns her worries and the existence of the Candyman in booze and in lies. She later admits that Coleman tried to link the family name with "that monster" and denies that Candyman exists and he is related to her bloodline. Incensed over her offensive blatant disbelief of him, he introduces himself as she meets her end at his bloody hook.

Coleman was Annie's father; he was murdered by the Candyman after seeking to expose the truth. Driven to madness at his search for the mirror, he eventually gives in and calls on the Candyman to justify his search at the expense of his life.

Ethan is Annie's brother and a law student who drops out of college after Coleman's murder. He confesses to the murder of Dr. Purcell, whom Candyman killed in a bar restroom, to keep the secret of the Candyman from getting to his sister. He, like his father, is killed but not by the Candyman. He is shot while trying to flee the police station after Candyman slays a detective.

Cast

Reception

• 27% of reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film positive reviews.^[1]

See also

• Candyman (film)
• Candyman 3: Day of the Dead

References

External links

• Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh at AllMovie
• Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh at the Internet Movie Database