Candyman: The (not so typical) Slasher

Movie Poster for Candyman

Movie Rundown *Spoiler Warning*

Helen and Bernadette 

Candyman, released in 1992, takes place in Chicago and shows a graduate student, named Helen Lyle. She listens to a student tell her the story of a young woman named Clara. The story was about her babysitting for a family before she was killed by Candyman. Helen is recording the story for research on urban legends that she is doing with her friend Bernadette. There are rumors that Candyman still lives in the rundown projects section of Cabrini Green. A woman who works as a custodian in the same high school as Helens husband tells her about a murder that happened in Cabrini Green of a woman killed with a hook. Later that night Helen and Bernadette are reading old newspapers to discover Helens condo was apart of the Projects. After Helen proves to her friend that her condo was an old Projects house, the two look into the mirror and say Candyman. Bernadette chickens out and doesn't say his name a fifth time, but Helen does. At first nothing happens, but that night when Helen when Trevor, Helens husband, scares her the movie starts to shift in tone. Helen goes to investigate a woman's apartment that was killed by Candyman. Upon the ladies leaving they run into a woman, Ann-Marie, who questions the research they are doing but gives the two important information that she called 9-1-1 for the woman dying in the next apartment over. Later that night Helen hears the back story of Candyman and is brought to tears when she visits the apartment again. She meets a young boy, Jake, who shows her where Candyman is. He leads her to a bathroom near a store and tells her a story of a young boy who was killed in that bathroom. As she enters the bathroom gang leader knocks her over. This gang leader is the supposed killer of the little boy and the woman.

At this point Helen believes Candyman is not real. Once she returns back to work a figure starts to call her name in a ghost-like whisper. The true Candyman approaches her and she passes out. She wakes up in Anne-Marie's bathroom covered in the blood of Anne-Marie's dog. Helen, with a knife in hand, gets attacked by Anne-Marie. She manages to get Anne-Marie off of her and goes to stab her right as police come to take her away. She is arrested and it is reviled that Candyman has baby Anthony. When Helen is released from jail she looks over the pictures again and sees Candyman was behind her when she took a photo of a mirror. Candyman then begins his attack on Helen. Bernadette walks in on the attack and Helen is framed for Bernadette's murder. The attack continues and the Phantom of the Opera like romance begins. Helen is placed omitted to a mental hospital and is being seen if she can stand a trial. Candyman does not applier in the security footage where she saw him. To prove she is not crazy she calls for Candyman once again. This leads to the murder of her doctor by a hook through the chest. Candyman releases her from the restraints and she flees through the window. After her escape she runs home to find her husband cheating on her with one of his students and has moved to her house. Trevor tries to call the hospital but Helen leaves before he can do so.

Candyman 

Candyman continues to taunt Helen like a phantom. Candyman speaks to Helen in whispers as he claims a desire for her. She returns to the apartment to confront Candyman. He demands of her to submit to him so the child will be unharmed. Helen passes out and wakes to find a message on a wall for her. Candyman claims that she is the reincarnated love he has been searching for. In a large pile of old furniture he places baby Anthony. Helen climes into the pile to save him just before it is set on fire. Candyman tries to hold Helen and the baby in the fire have them go to the after life together. However, Helen escapes with Anthony, returning him to his mother and killing Candyman. Helen, dies from her burns and her Ex-Husband Trevor attends the funeral with his mistress. As Helen is lowered into the grave, the community from the projects march towards the funeral, Anne-Marie and Jimmy leading the way. All of them thankful and saddened, Jimmy pulls out Candyman's hook and drops it into her grave. Trevor,  saddened by the loss of his wife sits alone in his bathroom remembering the love he had for Helen. He looks in the mirror and calls for Helen four times. She appears behind him and kills him with Candyman's hook. Trevor's mistress enters the bathroom and screams to find him dead. As the credit zoom in, it is reveled that Helen is depicted in a mural of a woman surrounded by flames with a slash through the wall.

The Backstory of Candyman

The backstory of Candyman was that he was a son of a slave. His family sent him to the best schools and he grew up to be a polite man. He was an artist and was hired by a landowner to paint his virgin daughter. He fell in-love with the daughter and the daughter became pregnant with his child. Her father killed Candyman out of revenge for sleeping with his daughter by sawing off his right hand. The towns people also broke honey-combs and rubbed it all over his body so the bees would attack him. He was stung to death, burned, then his ashes were scattered across Cabrini Green.

Candyman and Carol Clover

Carol Clover discusses in , Her Body Himself, the typical tropes that come along with slashers. One of the key points that Carol Clover makes is that sex sells in horror. In Candyman there is not a lot of scenes with sex and nudity. Sex is implied in several scenes but there are very few with actual nudity. In the beginning of the movie Clara , the babysitter , was running around in her bra and her pants. However, she died before sex. Another time of brief nudity is when Helen knocks out a nurse to steal her clothes but you don't see anything. There are however implied sex scenes. When it's reveled that Trevor is having the affair with his student Trevor walks out of the hall in a robe. It is implied that the two have had sex. Trevor is later killed in the end of the movie. The only other scene with implied sex is when Candyman takes his hook and slowly slips it up Helens skirt. [Link to that scene HERE]. However there are not actual sex scenes. Typical slashers kill off teens (or adults) for having sex as if it's a punishment for being their impurity.