Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

Dir: Bill Condon

This beautifully shot, unfairly maligned sequel sees Tony Todd reprising the titular role; an executed slave who is brought back to vengeful life through mirrors if you stare at your reflection and say his name five times. A New Orleans schoolteacher (Kelly Rowan) finds herself dragged into his world unexpectedly when her father and brother become obsessed with the legend of Candyman. Director Condon brings his almost ludicrously stylised vision of New Orleans to life with flamboyant lighting and some very outlandish sets/costumes. Todd is terrifying as ever and Rowan plays a decent enough foil. The script pans out skillfully and provides enough substance to prevent this from just being a parade of flashy visuals. There are even one or two good shocks in amongst the several zillion cynical false scares. It's obvious from these that Condon perhaps isn't a horror director at heart and is playing to the genre's conventions, but he does it a damn sight more admirably than most and "Farewell to the Flesh" is a nifty little shocker that could happily stand alone without being part of the Candyman franchise. ***