'Candyman': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about the Jordan Peele slasher
We’ve seen Jordan Peele’s skill as a writer (and director) in his 2017 and 2019 films ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’. Both films solidified his position as a man who can tell layered, witty, and thought-provoking horror stories, and not just a funnyman. And with that in mind, it’s time to hold our breath in for his upcoming venture: ‘Candyman’. Written by Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta of ‘Crossing the Line’ fame, this film is supposedly a “spiritual successor” of the 1992 supernatural horror film of the same name.
Release date:
The film is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2020.
Plot:
The 1992 ‘Candyman’ was based on a short story by Clive Barker called ‘The Forbidden’. In the slasher flick, a graduate student in Chicago, while completing a thesis on urban legends, comes across the legend of Candyman, the ghost of an artist and son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century. Accidentally, she manages to summon Candyman.
The new ‘Candyman’, per IMDb, “returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.”
According to Verge, a synopsis for the 2020 film reads: “With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.”
Cast:
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy
The 33-year-old American actor is famous for his roles in the television series like ‘The Get Down’ and ‘Watchmen’, and films like ‘Baywatch’, ‘The Greatest Showman’, and ‘Aquaman’. He has also worked with Peele before in his horror film ‘Us’.
Teyonah Parris as Brianna Cartwright
The 32-year-old American actor is perhaps most famous for her role as Dawn Chambers in AMC’s ‘Mad Men’. Her role as Coco in the 2014 Justin Simien film ‘Dear White People’ (that inspired the Netflix series) has also earned her critical acclaim.
Director:
Nia DaCosta is a 29-year-old an American screenwriter and director. In a conversation with IGN about the film, she spoke about Peele’s quality of mixing horror with social issues and how gentrification was an important part of the story. She said, “Gentrification is what helped us reimagine the story because Cabrini-Green is gone. The movie from the ‘90s has a vision of Cabrini-Green where it’s sort of on its way to being knocked down, so going back there and seeing what’s happened around that area… what we do in our film is talk about the ghosts that are left behind.”
Writer:
Jordan Peele, of the celebrated Key and Peele duo has proved himself to be a masterful storyteller in the last few years. Speaking to IGN, Peele explained his connection with the 1992 ‘Candyman’: “It was one of the few movies that explored any aspect of the black experience in the horror genre in the ‘90s when I was growing up in that moment. And so it was a perfect example, an iconic example to me of representation in this genre, and a movie that inspired me.”
Trailer:
The trailer that dropped on Thursday, February 27, teases just enough blood and gore to get slasher and horror fans excited. Much like the legend of Bloody Mary, one has to look into a mirror and say Candyman five times (instead of three) and behold: the urban legend is summoned.
The trailer begins with a bunch of highschool girls trying this trick out at their school bathroom. The results seemed underwhelming at first, but soon they realized they were trapped. A scene that follows shows tons of blood all around.
It also introduces us to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Anthony McCoy who visits the now-gentrified neighborhood from the original film. As the trailer progresses, McCoy realizes that his attempt to tell the tale of Candyman through his art was a terrible mistake.
If you like ‘Candyman’, you will also like:
‘Us’, ‘Get Out’, ‘Velvet Buzzsaw, ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, and ‘Detention’.