Candyman (1992)

Hook and honey: pain and pleasure coalesce

By: JWBM

This film was a dark and intense force when it was released in the early '90s. There are certainly dated attributes of the time going on here, though what separates it from your typical horror of a few years earlier in the '80s, is it's not doing them on purpose, or putting them in your face either. It's not a fun movie, or one you walk away with an invigorating feeling like others that were pure surface entertainment. Like some of Clive Barker's other stories turned films—such as the primal and evil-drenched "Hellraiser"—it's at the complete end of the spectrum of being sinister, violent, sadistic, and engrossing for all the wrong reasons of what we should be watching at the cinema. It's guaranteed you're going to see something that's going to challenge your senses for better or worse—that's for sure.

This is a simple tale of an urban legend. A go-for-glory graduate student: Helen—attempting to make a splash with her thesis—picks a local Chicago tale to stir up the past with a man with hook for a hand and a fondness for bees and murder. She finds herself in a housing project called Cabrini-Green that's outwardly stricken by neglect and inwardly full of graffiti, drugs, and broken dreams. Soon she gets more than she bargained for when she looks to be the prime suspect when a few people's insides end up as a crimson interior paint job gone wrong. Is it her blind and obsessive ambition to get her work to the masses, or the work of some other supernatural horror? The story is both tight and loose in that it can be calculated, and then in the next breath blurry and just out of grasp. In one instance, you'll feel the moment by moment, and then in the next feel a jarring disconnect to this nightmare of an experience. I feel this works for how ambiguous the plot is regarding this establishment that either uses an urban legend as a reasoning for their troubles and woes, or it's the real deal and it's as terrifying as it seems in both regards.

The setting in Chicago is as much a character as anyone else in the story. There are frequent aerial shots to show the bustling traffic and momentum, accompanied with Phillip Glass' organ, choir, and piano-centric score to give an ominous and haunting reminder as to what's to come. It's unlike any other horror music that's out there: both harmonious and hypnotic; minimalistic yet personable; it's everything this film needed to create this heavy-handed ambiance that you can't shake even after the credits. The film has this strange dreamlike atmosphere throughout: a surreal feeling where the air is lighter, shadows and sounds extend past their usual scientific scope, and the dreary possibilities are endless; like looking into a mirror of a mirror of a mirror that's each showing further happenings and events that are interconnected and just as weird and threatening as the next.

This has a heavy, oppressive tone, though it's also mixed with some every day realism. The difference between this and other urban legends is it acts more out in the open compared to your typical mysterious ghost-like figure in the shadows. It's capable of creating an apprehensive presence with one of the characters alone to the dark like any good horror tale, but also be equally unsettling with people around in broad light. It slowly creeps, no doubt, but it also pops out in a glorious feat of blood and gore to show you it's alive and ready for distasteful action. It's the contrast of being in an everyday setting such as a waiting room, or walking to a store, then suddenly finding yourself swimming against the current of a blood filled tidal wave that came crashing down in a place you once found comfortable and non-eventful. What you won't find here is compromise for any of your typical safety barriers.

Tony Todd—as the Candyman himself—pulls off one of the most memorable villains of the '90s with a display that breathes all that is dark and supernatural. His character has a graceful way of dishing out some of the worst pain and torment imaginable, while also being this strangely gravitating force sent from the deep realms of a bleak abyss that you can't wait till he emerges again. His voice has an unmistakable cadence to it that seems to surround you from all sides and pull you in like a predator that enjoys the hunt with a pleasurable chuckle and a smooth grin.

What's great about this film is when it goes for something you can count on it to have a slow build to get under your skin, then suddenly take it even further to make one jump out of their skin and flee with vulnerable terror. There's no higher meaning or purpose here, except cool and intriguing ideas refined to an expert degree. And, well, of course, to scare the living crap out of you. It has an unshakable, foreboding atmosphere that lingers with you after. You know it's not real, but the filmmakers made you think otherwise. That's real magic right there.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Bernard Rose (Paperhouse, Chicago Joe and the Showgirl)
Actors: Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Man Bites Dog (1992)

Behaviorists take note; casual viewers be forewarned

By: JWBM

This is a loose combination of satire and comedy that's as dark as they come. Going in, one's skin should be impenetrable to the point of being armor plated. The main character candidly jokes about thievery and murder—kids, elderly, midgets—then goes out to celebrate after over a round of drinks. It's cold, it's savage, it's everything the 99% of the population doesn't want to grow up to be, though one can't pull their eyes and ears away for what mayhem and devastation happens next. I mean, take the title: the phrase was coined over a hundred years ago and still persists to this day as to what's favored on the local news. Death and destruction gives rise, it creates fear, it establishes an odd sensation that can become obsessive and replayed in loops. It begs the question: Is that what we want to see? It's what sells, right? I'm here writing about it and you're here reading about it. Consider this round on me.

"Man Bites Dog" comes as a cross between a mockumentary and reality TV episode before the popularity sunk in. Instead of listening to a pretty and practiced newsperson reporting the heinous crimes after the fact, you get to experience them one ugly moment at a time and with motivations to boot. A crew of three follows around a charming Belgium, French-speaking gentleman, who has a lovable mother and grandparents, but also happens to be a professional thief and remorseless serial killer. Benoit, or Ben, as his friends call him, is an anomaly: a sort of likable jerk that's looking for some relatability in acts that are ultimately unrelatable.

Benoit is openly caring and giving to those held closely to his dark heart, but also ruthless and blindly hateful to anyone else convenient enough to shoot or strangle. He's always dressed to perfection. This allows him to go undetected—going as far as taking out a postman in broad day light, and a lonely elderly women at your everyday apartment building. He's full of a strange wit, grab-your-attention anecdotes, and a certain code to it all. But like a spider who carefully places his web to the wind, he tends to control the situation and express bullying demands once someone gets snared.

A portion of "Man Bites Dog" feels structured, while the rest feels loosely improvised. The main actor—Benoit, who uses his real name like the rest of the actors—gives nuance to the character and truly pulls off the many moods of this dominating personality that envelopes those around him into a whirlwind of his unorthodox lifestyle. The rest of the cast, let's just say, are typically thrown in front of the camera and have their ups and downs. Like any candid feature, you get it all: whether it's being shocking or entertaining one moment, light-hearted the next, or just "is." To help solidify the mood of a documentary, it has this unrefined black and white quality, not to mention a share of the shots seem to be predominately real locations.

Once the lights are turned on you won't believe it happened, but with its strengths and imperfections combined, it has a certain swaying power while it pans out. It goes beyond just a simple gimmick to sell another video tape; it has a developed nature to it, and tends to innovate within itself. This is a truly unique venture that came and went with its black magic, but managed to leave a memorable mark behind still being transcribed to this day. It's depraved, it's eye-opening, it's hilarious, it's everything you shouldn't be admitting to being captivated by. But here we are basking in its dark aura. Another round, please. This one is on you.



Rating: 9/10

Director: Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Benoit Poelvoorde
Actors: Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Waxwork II (1992)

Slap stickin' and time travelin'

This is a direct continuation from the events in the first film, though Deborah Foreman is replaced by a head-taller, not-so-look-alike Monika Schnarre as Sarah, not to mention Zach Galligan returns as Mark but looks noticeably older and gained a few pounds. After the two leave the fiery scene from the first, the animated severed hand escapes from one of the zombie sets and follows Sarah home, only to kill her abusive father, aptly wearing a scummy wife-beater. Now, a court case is being filed against her for the act, and no one believes her when the naive Sarah actually tells them the hand did it. In the meantime they find a "cartagrian time-door opener" in Mark's grandfather's secret attic that holds all kinds of strange relics, and decide to use it to find evidence for Sarah's innocence. And, of course, stumble into some adventure in the meantime.

"Waxwork II," pushing away from its title, is a sort of "Friday the 13th" TV series, meets "The Monster Squad," meets "Bill & Ted," and still manages to have some of its own distinction in the end. From Frankenstein to poltergeists to aliens to medieval black magic, the duo has to outrun, outwit and overtake evil wherever the small time contraption takes them. The last half being a place in a King Arthur-like setting where they have to stop an diabolical, shape-shifting man named Scarabis (Alexander Godunov) who's trying to take over the King of England's throne, but find themselves in predicaments of incestuous pre-arranged marriage and rat infested prisons. Definitely the coolest scene in the movie involves Mark sword fighting Scarabis back and forth between different worlds from "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Jack the Ripper," "Nosferatu," "Godzilla" and more zombies of the "Dawn of the Dead" kind. It makes you wish they included a few more segments or stayed a while longer while at it after having to sit through the nearly throwaway medieval story that's better left up to the "Excalibur"s to flesh out a richer adventure.

"Waxwork II" is edging more on simple fun than serious challenge, which makes the picture a little light in its load. The comedy is made to be cartoonish at points--such as a bag-o-salt being thrown at the exposed ribs of Bruce Campbell's character--the bloodshed is less gory than the first and there aren't as many build ups for atmosphere rather than setting the stage for zingers. The tone slightly shifts as it gets all biblical with a universe of Cartagra being a place where good and evil battle it out in what's referred to as "God's Nintendo game." The Devil and God--though never shown--have at it with time warriors, and what those warriors do there--Mark and Sarah included--can have a detrimental effect on Earth if evil wins.

This has less mysteriousness than the first and essentially causes you think in the now, which isn't always so enthralling to put you on the edge of your seat in anticipation. This has some slapstick, the time travel idea to create fresh places and there are numerous homages given for the meantime. Nods to other films can be a great tool to hook in an audience to relive nostalgia, though this doesn't always feel like it does something more creative than what they're emulating like the first film was capable of. This is still a decent companion piece to the original film, though I've found over the years it's not as replete on its own as it could have been. The concept is definitely cool--this is just before "Army of Darkness" and even "Sliders"--though I often find myself thinking more of where to go than where the filmmakers took me.

Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Anthony Hickox (Sundown)
Stars: Zach Galligan, Monika Schnarre, Bruce Campbell, Alexander Godunov
Link: IMDB