Candyman (1992)

Dir: Bernard Rose

Genuinely creepy little film with Virginia Madsen as a graduate student researching urban legends. She focuses, in particular, on the subject of the Candyman, a hook-handed killer who appears in the mirror if you say his name five times. The first half of the movie is intelligent, gorgeously shot and eerie as fuck, as writer/director Rose (also responsible for the underrated "Paperhouse") creates a dark canvas on which to paint his nightmares. Sadly, he stretches our disbelief just a little too far in the second half, but even this is redeemed by Tony Todd's terrifying performance as the titular ghoul and some genuinely shocking special FX. Although it isn't perfect, "Candyman" is far stronger than average and still has the power to unsettle in its own way. Never comfortable viewing and its stylised depiction of urban entropy is really quite beautiful, in a strange sort of way. ***