I have been a huge Clive Barker fan since I saw Nightbreed on VHS in 1991. The year after, in 1992, Candyman was released into the theaters. Even though my parents allowed me to watch whatever I wanted, they did not want to have the stigma of taking a twelve year old child to an R-rated horror film. They had no problem taking to see the R-rated action film Terminator 2, so I don't know what their deal was. I have never seen a stigma like that before, but by judging what some of my friends' parents would and wouldn't allow them to see, I can see why my parents may have thought otherwise.
I would end up seeing Candyman when it was released on VHS, but I would not have the pleasure of experiencing the film on the big screen.
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh was released in 1995 and I would miss out on that one in the theaters too because I was forced to go to a family party. I caught that on VHS as well.
I didn't have to worry about missing Candyman 3: Day of the Dead in the theaters because it bypassed theaters, in the U.S. anyway, and went straight to cable. Yes, the final entry in the Candyman series was a true sequel, unlike the Hellraiser DTVs, but was relegated to Showtime or Cinemax or one of the premium cable channels.
I remember getting together with a group of my friends, heading to the house of the friend who had that cable channel, it was usually me but not this time, and watching the film. Boy was it bad.
Sure we had Tony Todd returning once again as the titular character and he was menacing as ever, but the film just couldn't stand next to Todd. The film was a low budget affair, which should never be a knock towards a film, but this film was cheap. It didn't seem like they spent money on anything. To top off the film was a terrible performance by Donna D'Errico, a Playboy Playmate trying to break into acting. She is really bad in this film and brings the film down with her.
My friends and I had fun that night. Sure, the film was awful, but you get us together and we could rip a film apart with the best of them.
I plan on reviewing the film in the future. Hopefully it will be better than what I remember. Here is the trailer to tide you over.
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