Candyman: Day of the Dead

Director - Turi Meyer (Sleepstalker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Starring - Donna D'Errico (Escape from Area 51, Reno 911!), Tony Todd (Candyman, Night of the Living Dead), Mark Adair-Rios (Charmed, Encino Man)

Release Date - 1999

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Repeat his name five times if you dare"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I miss the video store age.  I never lived in an area with a Blockbuster or Hollywood Video.  Instead, my area had Dewey's Video and the short lived Buck's Video.  Dewey's was the far superior video store but Buck's was where you went if you were looking for games.  I spent a lot of time browsing the tapes at Dewey's and as I got older I spent most of my time on the right side of his store where he housed the sci-fi and horror tapes.  I remember looking at the VHS artwork for movies like the Leprechaun series, several releases from Full Moon, and the last two Candyman films.  I had watched the Candyman trilogy several times growing up but I don't remember a lot about the third film Day of the Dead.  When Vestron Video announced the release of the film on blu I used this as an excuse to revisit all three films.  I want to thank Vestron for sending Day of the Dead over for review.  

     The film follows Caroline (D'Errico) who discovers she is the descendant of Daniel Robitaille, the Candyman.  She has several of his paintings and is putting them in an exhibit to showcase that he isn't the monster many believe him to be.  However, the owner of the gallery wants to use the legend around him to cash in on his name.  This proves to be a poor choice when saying his name five times in front of a mirror awakens him sending him on another bloody rampage as he tries to convince his distant relative to join him.

     Day of the Dead is by far the weakest of the trilogy but it could have been something really enjoyable.  I love the lore that was brought to Candyman in Farewell to the Flesh but Day of the Dead is unable to build upon it.  Instead, it delivers the same story while changing the location from New Orleans to Los Angeles.  I wanted to love it, especially after watching the first two films, but I couldn't.  The repetitive nature of the story made it a bit of a drag.  The acting in this one is solid but it is reminiscent of the original Candyman.  The cast, Todd included, is great while the female lead just wasn't doing it for me.  I loved the entire cast and the characters they brought to life.  Todd once again doesn't disappoint and knocks it out of the park but D'Errico's performance is very underwhelming.  A few scenes are worthwhile but most of her scenes are awkward and forced much like Madsen's in the original.  Candyman relies on strong female leads and she doesn't do it for me.  The story for this one is basically Farewell to the Flesh but the setting is changed from NOLA to LA with the focus of African American struggle in 90s America is swapped with Latin American struggles in late 90s America.  The small changes is not enough to make the film feel new or a proper continuation of the story.  It's repetitive and predictable.  It's clearly a cash grab on the property with no heart of passion put into the writing of this follow up.  Finally, the film has some horrible visual effects and decent practical effects but nothing that really stands out for viewers.  Farewell to the Flesh really did raise the bar for the series and this one just rushed through it.  Overall, Candyman: Day of the Dead is just a quick cash grab on a property that has a decent fan base.  It's just a regurgitated story with some minor changes that gives viewers nothing substantial to hold on to.  Collectors and fans of the first two Candyman films will want this release for their collections but someone looking for something enjoyable to watch will be disappointed.