‘Candyman’ horror remake may just hook you in

Above : The remake of the 1992 horror film “Candyman” opens on Friday. (Photo/Universal Pictures)

When the original “Candyman” was released in 1992, it proved to be a variation on the Clive Barker story on which it was based.

While Barker’s story, “The Forbidden,” was set in Liverpool, England, and focused on the British class system, the movie – written and directed by Bernard Rose – moved the setting to Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing projects and focused on America’s relationship with race.

Now we have a new “Candyman,” which again is set in Cabrini-Green (only a section of which is still standing). Though directed and co-written by Nia DaCosta , this new version was co-written and co-produced by Jordan Peele , so of course race is still central to the plot, this time with themes of social class added in as well.

Tony Todd , who plays the title character in both movies (as well as the two sequels, 1995’s “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” and 1999’s “Candyman: Day of the Dead”), was happy that Peele was involved. He described Peele in an interview as “someone with intelligence who’s going to be thoughtful and dig into the whole racial makeup of who the Candyman is and why he existed in the first place.”

That origin story, in short, involves a man named Daniel Robitaille, an African-American artist living in the 19th century. After an affair with a white woman, he is is killed by a lynch mob and returns as a vengeful spirit who is summoned when someone says his name five times while looking in a mirror.

The advance reviews so far are overwhelmingly positive. Here are a few:

Richard Roeper , Chicago Sun-Times: “From the opening moments of Nia DaCosta’s gory yet strikingly beautiful and socially relevant ‘Candyman,’ it’s clear we’re in for an especially haunting and just plain entertaining thrill ride.”

Elizabeth Weitzman , The Wrap: “Rose’s version is long overdue for a contemporary revision. It’s hard to imagine one with more searing impact than this.”

Owen Gleiberman , Variety: “One reason this ‘Candyman’ never feels like a formula slasher film, even during the murders, is that DaCosta stages them with a spurting operatic dread that evokes the grandiloquent sadism of mid-period De Palma.”

So go, see the movie. And enjoy. Just stay away from any mirrors.