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
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 17, 1995 (1995-03-17)
Running time
 95 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $13.9 million (US)[1]

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is the 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

Three years after the events of Candyman Coleman Tarrant, the father of New Orleans schoolteacher Annie Tarrant (Rowan), was murdered in a Candyman-like fashion after trying to solve the murders of three men, who were murdered like the victims of Candyman. One year after the murder of Coleman, and three years after the Candyman murders in Chicago, Professor Philip Purcell is murdered in a bathroom by Candyman, after presenting the legend at a book signing of his book based on the myth, and Helen Lyle's involvement with the murders in Chicago, and calling him forth. Annie's brother, Ethan, 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. One of her students, Mathew, disappears with his classmates believing that Candyman is responsible. 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 Cabrini Green Chicago. 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 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 flees to New Orleans and 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. After talking with Ethan, Annie visits a man named Honore Thibideaux, who tells her that Caroline moved to New Orleans after Daniels death. Candyman then appears and kills him with bees while Annie escapes. At the police station, Candyman slays Detective Ray Levesque, and Ethan is shot dead by a police guard when he tries to escape.

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 that he is related to her bloodline. Incensed over her offensive blatant disbelief of him, he introduces himself as she meets her end, when he stabs her with his bloody hook, while Annie flees.

Coleman 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.

Annie flees to the birthplace of Daniel where she finds Matthew. Annie then falls through the stairs and into the flooded basement where she finds the mirror and Candyman. He reveals to her that the mirror is the source of his resurrection and tries to sacrifice her, but Annie destroys the mirror which also destroys Candyman and causes the slave quarters to crash into the river. However, Annie is saved by Matthew and his friends who pull her out just in time.

Several years later, Annie is shown to have Paul's daughter who she named Caroline. After Annie kisses Caroline goodnight and leaves the room, Caroline starts to chant Candyman's name but is stopped by Annie who then tells her to go to bed.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 27% of 15 reviewers gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.4/10.[2] Leonard Klady of Variety called it "a case of diminishing artistic returns but not, thankfully, a victim of the terrible twos".[3] Caryn James of The New York Times called it a "sluggish, predictable, low-rent sequel".[4] Kevin Thomas wrote that the film "overflows with blood and guts, drowning a potent metaphor for African American rage and oppression".[5] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated it D and wrote, "This cloddish sequel undermines its revenge-of-the-repressed premise with racist scare tactics".[6]

References

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