Instead of cutting to flashbacks and clips from the original Candyman to link the new story, Nia DaCosta's horror feature used haunting shadow puppetry to tell the story. This introduced many ghoulish characters complicating the dark lore. The exclusive video below is from io9, where Jordan Peele and DaCosta discuss the creation of the film.
Advertisement
Candyman's transformation into its title spirit was not a unique event. The film explored the Candyman concept as a folkloric idea that was born out of the many instances of anti-Black violence and racism that have been systematically repeated throughout American history. The gruesome murders of Chicagoans by Candyman are even more disturbing than the movie's latest version. DaCostas Candyman gave you a glimpse into the stories of other victims and gives a little more insight into the process of bringing them to life.
This exclusive preview of Candymans home-release featurette features Ian Cooper, Ian Peele and DaCosta. They discuss how they came up with the idea of using shadow puppets to save footage. However, it quickly became apparent that these scenes could be so much more to enhance the film. Although puppetry may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of art forms that enhance horror, it was something all three film's creators felt made the story more powerful. Peele describes the timelessness of puppetry in the video. This kind of storytelling gives you a sense of tribalism, with the fire crackling behind them.
Candyman is now available for digital viewing. It will also be available on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on November 16.
Are you curious about where our RSS feed went. The new one can be found here.
