Candyman (2021)

                    

Nia DaCosta's Candyman is one of the more pleasant and unexpected surprises of 2021. The titular bogeyman returns to the now gentrified Cabrini Green locale of the original film to wreak havoc. The script by Jordan Peele and his collaborators stays true to the B movie origins of the series. Characterization and acting are just run of the mill, but Ms. DaCosta's mise en scene is compelling throughout.

Ms. DaCosta excels in portraying Chicago as a giant hive in which the Candyman and his angry bees can snare their victims. The Candyman's dispatch of a pair of victims in an art gallery is one of the visual coups of the year. Computer animation is utilized to picture the mythic origins of the Candyman as a shadow puppet show, reminiscent of Kara Walker's cut-paper silhouettes in their display of antebellum horror. Candyman is an exciting and singular work far outstripping previous efforts in this series.

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