Candyman is a supernatural slasher film directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld and also DaCosta. The film is a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and the fourth film in the Candyman film series.
In 2019, twenty-seven years after the events of the first film, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) lives in Chicago with his girlfriend, art gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris). Brianna's brother Troy shares with them the urban legend of Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen), a graduate student who went on a killing spree in the early 1990's. Lyle's rampage culminated in a bonfire outside Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing project, where she attempted to sacrifice a baby in the fire. The residents were able to rescue the child before Helen perished in the fire in an apparent act of self-immolation.
Desperate for a creative spark to turn his career around, Anthony roams around the Cabrini-Green housing project for inspiration. There, he eventually meets William Burke, a laundromat owner who introduces him to the story of the Candyman (Tony Todd). When Burke was a child he had a frightening encounter with a hook-handed man named Sherman Fields. Police believed Fields put a razor blade in a piece of candy that was given to a white girl. Young William inadvertently alerted the police to Sherman's presence inside the walls of one of the Cabrini-Green towers, leading them to beat Fields to death. When children continued to receive candy with razor blades inside, Sherman Fields was exonerated. Since then, the legend implies that if somebody says "Candyman" five times to a mirror, he will appear and kill the summoner.
CATRIN HEDSTRÖMCandyman editor, Catrin Hedström joins us while on location for her current collaborative effort with director Nia DaCosta, Marvel Studios' The Marvels. The Swedish native first met DaCosta when she was studying at NYU. Since then, the two have gone on to work together on the British crime drama series, Top Boy (2019) and the film, Little Woods (2018).
Editing CandymanIn our discussion with Candyman editor, Catrin Hedström, we talk about:
- Connecting to the original Candyman film
- The uncelebrated beauty of cross dissolves
- Grounding the audience to a character
- Using wide shots and negative space to create "room" for Candyman
- Her preference for scary soundscapes over using stings
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