Jordan Peele is a master of horror.
At least that is what we are all told to believe.
After winning an Oscar for writing his debut film Get Out, many in the media christened him the greatest thing in the genre with just that one film to back him up.
His follow up, Us, though well-received, had a number of issues.
Peele is now the writer and producer of the upcoming Candyman reboot. Though he is not directing, the studio is using his name as the main marketing point of the film.
In fact, the official synopsis of the film only takes five words to drop his name.
This summer, Oscar® winner Jordan Peele unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend that your friend’s older sibling probably told you about at a sleepover: Candyman.
For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror.
In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright, move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.
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.
The film is directed by Nia DaCosta, who also made the very well-received thriller Little Woods two years ago. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo star it.
Technically it’s not a reboot but a direct continuation of the series. They can say it’s not a reboot all they want, but you don’t bring in new talent like this to an old franchise because you want to keep everything the same.
You can’t tell from watching the trailer, but Tony Todd, who starred in the first three films in the franchise as the title character, returns to play the Candyman once again.
It’s kind of surprising they didn’t recast the role.
Todd is in his mid-60s now. You don’t see too many people in horror films running away from monsters who are AARP members for a reason. Horror villains aren’t ever really supposed to age. They sort of live forever, don’t they?
Candyman hits theaters on June 12.
