1992 is the year when the peak of Gothic horror "The Four Hundred Years of Vampire Zombies" was born. In the same year, another unpopular low-budget thriller "Candy Man" also broke out. It also follows the line of fantasy and romance, and it is also the CP routine of a very beautiful heroine and a terrifying monster, but Candyman cleverly combines urban horror legends with the real Chicago and black issues, and the implication is deeper than "stunning". The film also produced a kind of aesthetic poetry, which is a little freshness in the thrillers of that era.
In 2021, 30 years later, "Candy Man 2", written by Jordan Peele, the director of "Escape from the Deadly Town", should have been expected, but unfortunately after its release, the reputation was mixed, especially domestic audiences generally gave low scores . The reason is that "political correctness" has become so obsessed that film creation is no longer pure. Looking back at the 1992 version of Candyman, although all aspects are a little thin and naive, without the interference of "political correctness", the screenwriter and director have room to play. The film turns the horror deeply buried in the mind from invisible to concrete, and from concrete to invisible. The main line is very clear, and the worship of terror and deification is convincing. In contrast to the new version of Candyman, black comrades are all bitter and hated, their self-reflection is not in-depth and thorough, the transition between fear and hatred is very unnatural, and the final horror transformation is unconvincing. But it is undeniable that although the director of "Candyman" (2021) is young, he has excellent performance in photography composition, lighting scheduling, detail processing and atmosphere contrast, especially the composition design of each scene. It took a lot of thought, and it also revealed a little bit of the style and shadow of "Escape from the Deadly Town".
Originally admired Jordan Peele, because his director and screenwriter "Escape from the Deadly Town" belongs to the excellent work in the thriller. Although the plot involves racial issues, because it needs to be naturally integrated into the plot, it seems reasonable and not overwhelming. Perhaps the previous attempt was just a test, but in the later work "We", "political correctness" became more and more straightforward and concrete, without any cover up. But all things are in moderation, and there must be something to hate about poor people. Putting aside the complicated historical and social reasons, blindly exaggerating and sympathizing with the victims will make the audience feel uncomfortable or even disgusted.
In a word, from "Candy Man 1" (1992) to "Candy Man 2" (2021), it can reflect the changes and trends of many values in the beautiful country over the past 30 years, some of which have reached the point of obsession. But this trend has become mainstream, and as for how it will go in the future, only bystanders can tell.
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