Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

Directed by Bill Condon. Starring Kelly Rowan, William O’Leary, Veronica Cartwright, Timothy Carhart, Tony Todd, Bill Nunn, David Gianopoulos, Matt Clark, Michael Culkin, Joshua Gibran Mayweather, Randy Oglesby. [R]

The action moves from the Chicago projects to New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras for this weak, disjointed sequel. Todd remains effective as the vengeful bogeyman of folklore, but everyone else either struggles to invest their characters with sufficient empathy and motivation, or they’re just meat bags waiting for the hook. Rowan plays the daughter of a presumed victim of the Candyman who uncovers a few secrets while her brother (O’Leary) is, ahem, on the hook for a different murder; naturally, she encounters the “real” Candyman along the way and her family tree proves to have a high mortality rate. Routine slashings abound, and it’s surprisingly low on atmosphere considering the setting and mythology (the latter of which is more than a little confused, especially in connection to the first film); director Condon would go on to helm Gods and Monsters and Kinsey, but he also had a couple of Twilight movies in him—expect the latter level of value. The only other actor to reprise their role from the original is Culkin, so you know his character’s not long for this world. Philip Glass’ Gothic-doused music is better than the movie deserves.

32/100