Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

Plot

Coleman Tarrant, the father of New Orleans schoolteacher Annie Tarrant, is murdered while investigating the deaths of three men who were murdered like the victims of Candyman. One year after Coleman's murder, and three years after the Candyman murders in Chicago, Professor Philip Purcell writes a book about the murders and Helen Lyle's involvement. The Candyman murders Purcell in a bathroom after Purcell presents the legend at a book signing. Annie's brother, Ethan, is accused of the murder because of previous confrontations over the subject. One of Tarrant's students sees the Candyman. To disprove the Candyman exists, she invokes his name, summoning him to New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras, where the killings begin in earnest. Her husband, Paul Mckeever, becomes one of Candyman's victims. One of her students, Mathew, disappears, and his classmates believe Candyman is responsible.

The Candyman is revealed to be Daniel Robitaille, son of a slave on the Esplanade Plantation in New Orleans. Chosen by a wealthy landowner to paint a portrait of his daughter Caroline, the intimacy of the setting causes a torrid affair between Daniel and Caroline. Caroline becomes pregnant, and Daniel is reviled. Caroline's father and a lynch mob hunt down Daniel, cut off his right hand, and coat him in honey from a nearby beehive. A small boy tastes the honey and proclaims "Candy Man!"; the crowd seizes the name and shouts it with gusto. The bees swarm over Daniel's body, mortally wounding him. Caroline's father restrains her and taunts Daniel over his disfigurement with her mirror. Daniel gasps the words "Candy Man" before dying. Caroline seizes the mirror and cradles it. It is this mirror that holds the tortured, hateful soul of the Candyman. Caroline flees to New Orleans and hides the mirror in Daniel's birthplace. She gives birth to Daniel's daughter, Isabel, a Creole who is raised by her mother as white. The mirror grants Candy Man his spiritual medium, and imbues his soul with the strength to kill when called upon.

Annie is revealed to be the descendant of Caroline Sullivan and thus also Daniel Robitaille's. Candyman stalks Annie so he may kill her and destroy himself at 12 midnight on Ash Wednesday. After talking with Ethan, Annie visits Honore Thibideaux, who tells her Caroline moved to New Orleans after Daniel's death. Candyman appears and kills him with bees while Annie escapes. At the police station, Candyman slays Detective Ray Levesque, and Ethan is shot dead by a police guard when he tries to escape.

Octavia, Annie's guilt ridden mother, drowns her worries in alcohol. She admits Coleman tried to link the family name to the Candyman but denies he exists. Incensed over her offensive, blatant disbelief of him, the Candyman introduces himself before killing her; Annie flees. Coleman is murdered by the Candyman after seeking to expose the truth. Driven to madness at his search for the mirror, he eventually gives in and calls on the Candyman to justify his search at the expense of his life.

Annie flees to Daniel's birthplace, where she finds Matthew. Annie falls through the stairs into the flooded basement, where she finds the mirror and Candyman. He reveals that the mirror is the source of his resurrection and tries to sacrifice her. Annie destroys the mirror, also destroying the Candyman. The slave quarters crash into the river, but Matthew saves Annie by pulling her out. Several years later, Annie has Paul's daughter, who she named Caroline. After Annie kisses Caroline goodnight and leaves the room, Caroline starts to chant Candyman's name. Annie stops her and tells her to go to bed.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 27% of 15 reviewers gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.4/10. Leonard Klady of Variety called it "a case of diminishing artistic returns but not, thankfully, a victim of the terrible twos". Caryn James of The New York Times called it a "sluggish, predictable, low-rent sequel". Kevin Thomas wrote that the film "overflows with blood and guts, drowning a potent metaphor for African American rage and oppression". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated it D and wrote, "This cloddish sequel undermines its revenge-of-the-repressed premise with racist scare tactics".