Candyman 2 - Farewell to the Flesh (Reviewed on January 17/00)

Admittedly, I wasn't a big fan of the first Candyman film. For a so-called horror movie, it was awfully slow moving and rather obvious in its execution (no pun intended). So, when I rented the sequel, my expectations were low.

Candyman 2 is esentially a retread of the original. An attractive young woman discovers the secret of Candyman, and much chaos and gore ensues. The only difference in this case is that the film takes place in New Orleans, rather than Chicago.

New Orleans, as a movie setting, has never interested me much. I have no doubt that it's an exciting place to visit, but somehow it doesn't translate well to film. It seems too chaotic somehow; too disorienting. Perhaps that's the mood that the filmmakers were going for, but it didn't work for me.

The scares in Candyman 2 are of the "whoops! I didn't see you there!" variety. And Candyman himself isn't very scary, either. I must confess, however, that I didn't find him scary in the first film either, so I doubt there's much Tony Todd (who plays Candyman) could've done to frighten me.

Candyman 2 was entertaining, I suppose, but a little creativity would likely have elevated it to something more than a b-grade horror movie. Seen the first one? You've seen this one, too.

*1/2 out of ****