Candyman III: Day of the Dead

THE STORY: This won't take too long. Not one of the characters in this movie have any other traits but the caricatures they're painted in. Its strictly a paint by numbers movie. Its fairly easy to guess what's going to happen way before it does.

One of these days I'm going to have to back track and review the two previous Candyman movies. When I do that I'll probably have to update this review because I know I'll find more stuff out...but for those of you who don't know who Candyman is, here's the short and sweet version...Candyman is the ghost of the son of a former slave. He was a talented artist and was hired to paint portraits of a rich white chick back in the 1890's. They fell in love, but the affair was discovered. The white people killed him for it, by cutting off one of his hands, smearing him with honeycombs and letting bees sting him. then they burnt him at the stake. As he died they all chanted "Candyman" ('cuz of the honey I guess) His spirit wanted revenge. Whenever someone says his name five times into a mirror he appears and well, kills them. So I wonder how its known that any of his victims said his name. It seems like no one lives to talk about it.

In modern day LA the last of Candyman's living descendants, Caroline is a talented artist. She knows of the story of Candyman...he was her Great-Great Grandfather. Caroline's troubles begin when her paintings are featured in a gallery owned by her friend Miguel. The paintings are all of her great-great grandfather and his lover, and Miguel uses the Candyman angle to promote them. This displeases Caroline because she wants to show what kind of a man he was...a good man, and a great painter. Not keep the urban legend of his vengeful spirit alive. But its close to the "Day of the Dead" festival in the Latino community and Miguel is milking it for all he can get. Since Caroline denies the legend, Miguel suckers her into saying Candyman five times....this is supposed to summon his spirit. He gets her to do this at the Gallery opening in front of the art lovers, and a friend of his, David, comes in dressed as Candyman to scare the patrons.

Caroline is pissed about his trick. But that night sees the real Candyman! He appears to her and uses his catch phrase "Be my victim!". Caroline passes out in a subway (alone at night. In the middle of the 'hood. Right) When she awakens on a bench  the next day she sees visions of Candyman killing Miguel and his girlfriend. Rushing back to the Gallery she finds them dead, of course. Enter two racist cops, Craft and some other jerk. They're blatant about being racist too. They make racist remarks to a black cop, Matthews and pretty much get away with it. Uh, right. There are racist cops to be sure, but these guys might as well come to work with white sheets on. There's no f***ing way I'll believe that the police department in LA would let them get away with behavior like that. Even if their bosses were racist these guys are too out front to not have embarrassed the department. (Its said at the end of the movie that craft had a history of disciplinary, alcohol and psychological problems....yet they still have this guy on the force for YEARS? That's f***ed up!)

David is listed as a suspect to the crime, but there's no real proof that he did it because the weapon isn't found. David's pretty upset about this and he goes to see Caroline. He tells her that he's innocent and that someone stole the paintings from the Gallery the night before. Caroline figures if they can find the gang that took them they'll find the murderers. So like a good Schoolboy Duo they go seek the perpetrators. Det. Craft has been keeping tabs on Caroline though and is pissed off to see that she's hanging out with David who is a Latino. Craft wants Caroline himself.

The movie gets kind of slow. David takes her to meet Tino, a friend of his that knows everything that occurs on the streets. He takes her to meet his grandmother who is some kind of witch. (David also has a young daughter. His wife died a few years ago he says) Caroline sees visions of Candyman every so often and he urges her to join him in death. She also confides in David that her mother was killed by Candyman because she summoned him. She has nightmares about it and indeed, in a few of Candyman's appearances to her, Caroline's dead mom is with him, urging her to join them. Candyman kidnaps David and has him prisoner. Then he kills Caroline's roommate, Tamera in front of her. Well, we all knew Tamera was dead meat when the movie first started! Caroline is blamed for the crime and Craft and his partner the Other Jerk arrest her. But while in the police car alone with the Other Jerk, Candyman shows up and rips his gut open. Caroline escapes and tries to find and save David and recover the paintings. David's grandmother tells her that evil cannot exist without good (duh) and that she must destroy the good (?) in Candyman to get rid of his evil. Caroline guesses that she must destroy her paintings that portray the good side of Candyman. Lucky for her that Tino has found one of the gang that took the paintings. Caroline meets with him and goes with this weird looking punk rock Marilyn Mason type dude to where he says they put the paintings.

How the hell does this chick survive? I wouldn't go anywhere with this nut job, yet she does! To a secluded warehouse. At night. There she finds the paintings and a whole gaggle of weirdoes! They tie her up and tell her that they worship Candyman. Then they do the stupidest thing they could have done....they say Candyman five times. Guess what happens. Yep. Candyman shows up, rips everyone but Caroline to shreds and disappears. But he takes the paintings with him!

Having no choice, Caroline goes to Candyman's lair, in an abandoned building in the 'hood. The cops are looking for her. Craft is acting really insane and when Detective Matthews tries to restrain him, Craft uses more racial insults. Matthews then beats his ass, knocking him out. When we next see Craft he's packing his stuff at the police station. Finally his behavior has gotten him fired! Well, Caroline confronts Candyman. David is hurt and unconscious.Candyman tells her that if she'll willingly join him in death, he'll let David go. Caroline almost submits, then changes her mind and destroys the paintings. Candyman "dies" because of this. Then she tries to help David get out of there. Craft shows up (how he knew where she'd be is a mystery...if he knew about this place why didn't he come here earlier and get David? he's still a suspect!) Craft has Candyman's hook (or a hook just like it) and blames Caroline for his misfortune and for hanging with Latinos in general. He plans to kill her for the murders. She tells him Candyman did it, but he says "I'm Candyman". Before he can strike, Matthews shows up and shoots him. Craft dies muttering Candyman. Just then Caroline has one last vision of her mother telling her she must destroy the legend to destroy Candyman. So Caroline tells Matthews that Craft was the one that killed all of the others, not Candyman.

This is bought hook, line and sinker! At a press conference we see Matthews telling the media that Craft was a crazy person and he committed all of the Candyman murders. Um....right.

Trust me, you'll know when this flick starts that Craft and the Other Jerk are dead men. you'll even figure out that craft is going to get the blame for the murders. I knew this early on because somehow Caroline had to be absolved of them. This movie is not scary, folks. Candyman always kills people in the same manner, with his hook, and you know who is going to die as soon as you see them. Also, Candyman needs some new dialogue. He says the same things over and over and over. "Be my victim", "Join me in Death" etc. To be honest, since he never attacks Caroline I wondered why she even bothered to stop when he appears to her several times. He just keeps saying his tired lines. I'd have walked right past him. Obviously he can't kill her for some reason unless she dies willingly. This made me mad at Caroline for even being afraid of him.  I still don't get it why her mother tells her how to destroy Candyman's legend. Her mom's ghost seemed HAPPY with Candyman! Tony Todd was Candyman in this movie as he was in the first two. Mr. Todd looks kind of tired throughout the whole thing, too, like he's just here to get his damn check. I don't blame him. All he had to do was say the same thing a dozen times. They don't even show him killing the group of weirdoes. we just see Caroline scream and here flesh ripping. I hope that wasn't supposed to shock me. Tony Todd also has played various aliens on Star Trek, notably Worf's klingon brother, Kurn.

Best Lines: "Be my victim!"-You'll here that a lot.

1.) If Caroline really believes in Candyman how can she let Miguel talk her into saying his name five times? Its not like she has to say it. If you really believed in Dracula would you go sleep in his castle?

2.) The two racist cops are really over the top. They don't hide their racism at all. Now I know that LA cops have been, well, racist...but these guys reach cartoon like levels in it. Its a wonder that they're allowed to be cops. Also, I don't think that two cops like that would want to go into any 'hood where the people know what they're like. Seriously. Someone would eventually get tired of their [unwrite] and bust a cap in their asses. Well, Candyman busts a hook into one of them.

3.) The weirdoes that have stolen Caroline's paintings worship Candyman and summon him. Uh....isn't that really stupid? If they're so into Candyman they must know that he always starts slicing people up when summoned. Wouldn't be easier to just put a gun in your mouth an pull the trigger? What did they think? That Candyman was going to have a beer with them and discuss the afterlife and poetry?

4.) Perhaps I'm jaded,. but I don't see a woman that looks like Caroline wandering around the inner city by herself...at night. Like she does when she leaves Miguel's gallery.

NUDITY AND SEX: Miguel's girlfriend is seen nude. Candyman's former love is seen nude in flashbacks and the ghost of Caroline's mom appears nude...a lot! Caroline also is in a shower and takes her shirt off once, but its filmed in a way that doesn't show anything.

HUH?: What is the deal with Candyman, anyway? Why does he want to kill Caroline so badly? If she's his last living descendant wouldn't it better that she lives? What does he get out of it? Company? He's already got Caroline's mother! I have to ask this too...Caroline's mother died when she summoned Candyman. Why didn't he kill Caroline then? After all when Caroline summons him he kills everyone AROUND Caroline.

How the hell did they pin the Candyman murders on Craft? Caroline was the only person there when Candyman killed Tamera. She was also alone with Craft's partner when Candyman killed him and Craft was inside Caroline's building, presumably within sight of other police officers. For that matter when Miguel was killed Craft probably had witnesses to support the fact that he was somewhere else. There's really no evidence that I can think of that would support Craft's guilt in the murders. Did the police work with Caroline to frame Craft? That's the only thing I can think of....because Caroline is the only person with a reason to make people think it wasn't really Candyman that killed all those people!

Did Caroline tell anyone that the weirdoes that stole the painting were murdered by Candyman or did she just leave those bodies for the rats?

I watched the Candyman movies out of order, but I had to add this after watching the second movie...is Caroline the daughter of the heroine in Candyman II? It seems that way...but Caroline's in her twenties in this flick! I never saw any indication that this was the future and Candyman II seemed to be only a few years (movie time) before this flick. How the heck did Caroline grow up so damn fast?

THE TALLY: I really like Candyman...really...out of all of the magic-ghost- killer-guys in the movies I think Candyman is actually scary...he doesn't crack jokes or kill people in ridiculous ways. He seems cold and dignified. Too bad this movie didn't actually do anything new with him.There's nothing in this movie to write home about. The Inferno can only give it a two devil rating and that's being generous. Too much candy will give you a toothache.