Nearly thirty year's on from the original film, this contemporary sequel/updating is well-mounted if a little dreary. The events of Bernard Rose's superior classic are woven somewhat clumsily into the lore and history of this modern-day story, which makes its point about the gentrification of neglected housing projects effectively but at the expense of a focus on the titular character, and this film sorely misses the charismatic antagonist of Tony Todd, Candyman here being represented as a more supernatural presence in the horror set-pieces which feel shoehorned in. The main performers are reasonable, and this 2021 release is certainly much better than the two forgettable sequels, but like the attempted reboot of A Nightmare On Elm Street, this feels like a missed opportunity to really engage with its central villain.
