Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Blu-ray Movie Review

Mirror, mirror on the wall, why am I talking to you?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 26, 2014

What is it with characters in horror movies? They know there’s some evil force out to get them, and what do they do? Well, things like poking around dark rooms, engaging in carnal activities out of doors, and—in the case of Candyman and its sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh—tempting fate (and/or myth) by reciting the villain’s name five times in front of a mirror, something that purportedly brings the nefarious spirit to murderous “life.” A producer friend of mine who was once watching an old swashbuckler with a big battle on a ship turned to me and asked, “Why do they always run up?”, meaning why do characters go to a place where there’s no escape, rather than using some common sense and getting the heck out of Dodge (and/or a boat). It’s probably pointless to wonder too much about such lapses of logic in horror films, for without people doing stupid things, there probably wouldn’t be many horror films. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh has a rather interesting creative staff, having sprung from the pen of Clive Barker, and featuring the helming debut of future heavyweight Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2). Minimalist icon Philip Glass also contributed the score, as he did for the first Candyman outing. While this is a sequel, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh also functions as an origin story, courtesy of a sequence that explains exactly who (and/or what) the Candyman is, while simultaneously tying the character in to the film’s main damsel in distress, teacher Annie Tarrant (Kelly Rowan).

It’s never a good sign when a word’s etymology turns out to be one of the more interesting things about a film’s plot. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh contains a recurring New Orleans disc jockey who’s preparing the masses for the upcoming Mardi Gras celebration, which is when he gives the (somewhat fanciful) “real” meaning of the word ‘carnival,’ which this DJ states means “farewell to the flesh.” (The actual meaning, while similar, is actually more like “setting flesh aside,” i.e., getting into the Lenten spirit of denial, albeit by celebrating first.) New Orleans provides a suitably Gothic setting for this follow-up, and Condon uses the locale well for the most part, weaving the merry making of Mardi Gras into the overall carnage that erupts once Candyman (Tony Todd, reprising his role from the first film) shows up on the scene.

The film actually starts with a skeptic author debunking the myth of the Candyman on a book tour, and any aficionado of horror films is going to know how that one turns out. What's interesting about this opening sequence is how it gives the entire origin story of the Candyman, albeit in brief, detailing the horrific story of a black slave named Daniel Robitaille who was a gifted painter and who was summoned by his owner to paint the owner's daughter. A romance ensued, with the daughter getting pregnant, leading to a lynch mob taking its revenge in a rather gruesome fashion on Daniel. The author maintains that as horrible as that story is, it simply provided fodder for later murderers who adopted the Candyman persona in order to mask their involvement in various crimes. While this disbelieving victim is eviscerated in the first of the film’s several kill scenes, an angry young man named Ethan Tarrant (William O’Leary) is arrested for the murder due to having accosted the author in a bar, seemingly convinced that the writer was complicit in the death of Ethan’s father. Despite the fact that the crime scene is very bloody indeed, and Ethan is more or less spotless, the cops think they’ve got their man. Though it’s not really explained how, Ethan’s sister Annie (Kelly Rowan) is alerted and abandons her teaching job momentarily to rush to her brother’s aid.

Annie is convinced Ethan isn’t divulging salient information he knows, not just about the murder of the author but also about their father’s death, and she sets out to do some investigating of her own, along with her doting husband Paul (Timothy Carhart). She’s also dealing with her mother Octavia (Veronica Cartwright), who is nursing her grief over her husband’s death with liberal amounts of alcohol. As if that weren't enough, Annie is also attempting to shepherd some of the underprivileged kids at the school where she works, including a young boy who keeps drawing pictures of what he insists happened to the Candyman long ago.

The film kind of trundles along as Annie seeks to get to the bottom of the whole Candyman myth, something that is ostensibly made easier when the hook-armed slicer and dicer shows up to tell Annie that she and he have a “connection.” Every time the Candyman appears around Annie, two things happen: she goes into a kind of somnambulistic trance (not Rowan’s finest acting moments, it must be stated), and (more importantly, since this is a horror film) people get savagely killed. That of course leads the dunderheaded police to believe that Annie is their real culprit, though oddly they keep Ethan imprisoned.

Unfortunately there’s both too little and (way) too much going on in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh for it to ever have the resonance it seems to be aiming for. Daniel’s backstory is quite interesting, even if it’s rote and derivative (something that didn’t stop American Horror Story: Coven from resurrecting it in a way). But there’s no real mystery here, for any good armchair sleuth is going to draw certain parallels between Annie and Daniel that the film takes entirely too long to finally overtly detail. That leaves most of the shock value handed over to completely ridiculous and increasingly annoying jump cuts, replete with surging LFE booming from the soundtrack, just to ensure a startle effect is forthcoming.

Somewhat strangely given the film’s opening scene, the whole Daniel Robitaille saga is revisited in the film’s final half hour, with an extended flashback that actually shows the horrors that have previously only been described. That sets up the film’s expectedly hyperbolic climax, replete with the little “sting” at the end indicating a sequel might be forthcoming (it was, albeit straight to video). There are some decently gruesome effects sprinkled throughout Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, but the film itself is kind of a slog, perhaps accelerating the idea that a more accurate soubriquet might have been Farewell to a Franchise.

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Elements utilized for this transfer are in generally fine shape, though there are a few isolated moments of minus density and minor flecks that show up. The overall look here is on the soft side, something that keeps detail from popping in all but the most brightly lit scenes. For this reason, detail and fine detail are best in moments like the outdoor flashback late in the film showing Daniel's tribulations at the hands of the lynch mob. Colors look natural and are quite vivid at times, with the all important reds especially nicely saturated. There are passing issues with crush in a number of dark scenes (like Annie's entrance into the shrine behind the Sno-cone stand—don't ask). On the plus side, there are no issues with noise or compression artifacts despite the film's overall very dark demeanor, and there are likewise no signs of intrusive filtering.

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh features both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track as well as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The 5.1 track nicely opens up Philip Glass' moodily effective score, while also providing a wider soundstage for the increasingly silly shock effects the accompany the many jump cuts in the film. Dialogue is presented very cleanly and clearly and all elements are prioritized very well. There are no issues with dropouts or other damage to report.

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Director Bill Condon. Condon talks about how his style of commentary sometimes draws brickbats on internet review sites (well, you know how those people can be), but he offers a nice combination of background information and nuggets about the filming. Some of his comments about the then nascent realm of digital effects are quite interesting, as are his discussions of how Philip Glass scored both the first film and this one.


• The Candyman Legacy with Tony Todd (1080p; 25:55). Todd sits down for an animated and informative interview where he discusses his career and the part that the Candyman films played in it.


• Down Memory Lane with Veronica Cartwright (1080p; 10:44) does similar service for the celebrated character actress, who admits sheepishly that Candyman wasn't exactly the type of film she wanted to be in. Cartwright has appeared in some fantastic classic films (like Alien and The Birds) and she offers some fun anecdotes here.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:54)

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Make no mistake about it, there are some scares to be had in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, but quite often they're relatively cheap ones that come courtesy of hoary tropes like jump cuts attended by booming sound effects. The odd thing is that the Candyman himself becomes almost sympathetic in a way as the story progresses, removing even more of a sense of dread. Still, this film has its ardent fans, and they will be pleased to know that technical merits here are generally very strong. As is becoming the norm, Scream Factory has also included a nice (if somewhat less numerous than usual) assortment of supplements.