[Fantasia Review] ‘Brain Freeze’ Thaws Out Zombie Formula with Smart Commentary and Humor

With Nia DaCosta‘s franchise relaunch Candyman finally coming to theaters on August 27, 2021, Bloody Disgusting has been provided with a series of video interviews that shed some new light on the film this week. We had previously shared a chat with co-writer/producer Jordan Peele, and now we’ve got some insights directly from director Nia DaCosta herself.

“The story of Candyman is perennial, and that’s part of the reason why it’s exciting to tell it in any time period. Part of the origin of the story itself, within the context of the first film, in the 1890s to now, what we’re talking about… the cycles of violence, and how history repeats itself, how we collectively grieve, and collectively process trauma, which is through stories. So I think it’s always a time to tell a story like Candyman, which is kind of the tragedy of the tale in the first place,” DaCosta notes in the video, talking about the social relevance of the series.

DaCosta continues, “I wanted to show how prevalent, and common, these horrific events are. And how they are… there’s a straight line from Daniel Robitaille to Anthony [McCoy], and all the people in between. So for me it was really necessary to take inspiration from real life, but also not co-opt a story and put it in our narrative. So that was a balance to strike.”

Anthony McCoy, for those who may be wondering, is the new leading character played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in this year’s sequel to the original classic, and DaCosta digs a bit into the character. “He’s an artist… and he’s had a bit of a creative block for two years. Part of that is because he’s grappling with his identity. Not just as a person, but as an artist working in a very white industry. So the film sees him kind of go on this journey of self actualization, sort of a coming-of-age, but with the added weight of this history that he uncovers.”

The repetition of the name “Candyman” is of course what brings the character back to life, and that idea is at the forefront of DaCosta’s vision for a new take on the Candyman legend.

“With Candyman… talking about unwilling martyrs… I wanted to make sure that, in the rush to sort of process what happened, and to choose a side, and to create a sense of something horrifying… that we don’t forget the life of the person who was harmed… who was killed. A martyr is a powerful symbol. A monster is a powerful symbol. At the end of the day, if the name isn’t remembered, then what are we really talking about? The name, the person, the life that was lost, that’s most important. In Candyman it’s ‘say his name,’ ‘say his name,’ ‘say his name.’ People say ‘Candyman’ but they don’t say the name of Daniel Robitaille or Anthony McCoy. And so that was commentary on that, and on what’s happening in the movement now, which is so powerful. Which is like, say the name of the person, say Breonna Taylor, say Jacob Blake, which is really powerful and really important, and what I wanted to talk about. He’s not a monster. He’s not a martyr. He’s Daniel Robitaille. He’s a painter who lost his life.”

“I wanted to talk about humanity,” DaCosta adds.

For more from Nia DaCosta, you can watch the full video interview down below.

In this year’s Candyman…

“For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.”

“With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.”