SAY HIS NAME
SFX|September 2021
IN RESURRECTING THE CANDYMAN FRANCHISE, DIRECTOR NIA DACOSTA AIMS TO GET A NEW GENERATION HOOKED ON A CLASSIC HORROR VILLAIN
DAVID GROVE
SAY HIS NAME

THE URBAN LEGEND STATES THAT he can only be summoned by saying his name five times while looking into a mirror. After the fifth and final vocalisation, Candyman appears behind the foolish chanter, who’s then killed by a hook attached to the bloody stump of his right arm.

It’s not a real urban legend of course: Clive Barker created Candyman for his 1985 short story “The Forbidden”, and it was then brought to the screen in 1992’s Candyman. That starred Tony Todd as the title character, who haunts the residents of Chicago’s notorious Cabrini-Green housing project, shedding innocent blood for the purpose of perpetuating his gruesome legend. Nearly 30 years later, the once crime-infested area has become a model of gentrification, and the hook-handed killer has receded into the fog of myth. The world Candyman once terrorised no longer exists, so how does the supernatural killer regain his former bloody glory?

Central to figuring that out was Jordan Peele, the Oscar-winning writer/director of Get Out and Us, who co-wrote the script and acts as a producer. But he wasn’t calling the shots on set; that fell to up-and-comer Nia DaCosta, who Peele chose to direct after being impressed by her feature debut, the acclaimed 2018 crime thriller Little Woods.

“I loved the first Candyman, which I think is a terrifying horror film,” DaCosta tells SFX. “My agent got me a meeting with Jordan, and we discovered that we had the same vision for how this film should be made. One of the things that we both love about the first film is that it’s one of the few horror films that attempted to represent the black experience, and we wanted to bring that to this film.

This story is from the September 2021 edition of SFX.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September 2021 edition of SFX.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SFXView All
ANCER MAHAGEMENT
SFX UK

ANCER MAHAGEMENT

WITH A NEW TRILOGY IN SIGHT, WE SPEAK TO THE DIRECTOR OF 28 WEEKS LATER THE ORIGINAL CHILLING SEQUEL TO DANNY BOYLE'S SEMINAL SURVIVAL HORROR

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2024
WHO YA CONNA CALL?
SFX UK

WHO YA CONNA CALL?

BEHIND THE SCENES AT HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS FOR GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
SFX UK

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

THE DEVIL'S HOUR STRIKES TWICE AS THE GENREDEFYING DRAMA RETURNS

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
SCARRY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
SFX UK

SCARRY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

FROM THE RETURN OF EC COMICS TO SCREAM!, THIS YEAR'S HALLOWEEN OFFERS UP HORROR COMICS FOR ALL THE AGES

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
UNDEADS REFLECTIONS
SFX UK

UNDEADS REFLECTIONS

NEIL JORDAN ON BRINGING ANNE RICE'S MODERN VAMPIRE CLASSIC TO SCREEN, 30 YEARS ON

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
MUNSTER MASH!
SFX UK

MUNSTER MASH!

PRODUCTION HELL, SHOCK RECASTING AND HOTLY CONTESTED AUTHORSHIP. AS THE MUNSTERS CELEBRATE THEIR 60TH ANNIVERSARY, WE UNCOVER HOW THE SPOOKY SITCOM WAS ALMOST DEAD ON ARRIVAL

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
COMING TO AMERICA
SFX UK

COMING TO AMERICA

THE MOGWAI LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THEIR SECOND CHAPTER, GREMLINS: THE WILD BATCH

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
BEING HUMAN EVOLUTION
SFX UK

BEING HUMAN EVOLUTION

IT MAY HAVE BEEN AN INSTANT HIT, BUT BBC THREE'S DARKLY COMIC DRAMA ABOUT A HOUSE-SHARING VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF/GHOST TRIO HAD A STRANGE JOURNEY TO THE SCREEN, SERIES CREATOR TOBY WHITHOUSE TELLS SFX

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2024
THE MAINE EVENT
SFX UK

THE MAINE EVENT

THE DARK IS RISING IN SALEM'S LOT AS STEPHEN KING'S DEATHLESS TALE RETURNS TO THE SCREEN

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
WHY DON'T YOU STAY FOR A BITE?
SFX UK

WHY DON'T YOU STAY FOR A BITE?

THE VAMPIRE COMES HOME AS DIRECTOR EUROS LYN WELCOMES SFX TO HIS NEW DARK COMEDY THE RADLEYS

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024