Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

Gumbo, honey, and a pinch of blood

By: JWBM

This is a series known for compounding general fears: from its blind-sided, hook-to-backside attacks; making the sight of an innocent ol' bee a deadly act in itself; and generating additional fear to those lost and dilapidated areas few ventured into before, but now are forced to endure them.

From Cabrini-Green in Chicago to the French Quarter in New Orleans, this film is more of an origin story to interweave past and present characters. Ethan Tarrant—who's father was viciously killed years earlier—is now the prime suspect when an author of the Candyman stories ends up as a gory decoration on the floor of the men's room in a seedy Louisiana bar. His sister, Annie—a middle school teacher—makes a grave mistake by calling upon Candyman in front of her whole class in order to relieve tensions with one of her so called "strange" students with a penchant for dark artwork. Soon, the boy ends up missing and Annie ends up scrambling to find him while also attempting to put the pieces together before any more people meet the end of a meat hook.

There are certain films that still hold up and become rewatchable again and again for particular reasons: whether that be something as simple, though alluring, as the setting the filmmakers put you in, or be it something as gravitating as the story and what transpires from scene to scene. The second installment was actually the first film I saw of the series back in the '90s when it came out on VHS. It seemed like a new concept that got stuck with me over the years. Then I saw the first film that started it all. "Farewell to the Flesh" has most of the same general aspects as the '92 film, along with a return of key players—from main villain, Tony Todd, to composer, Philip Glass—though as far as progressing the momentum forward, I feel like it made some steps backwards.

Instead of being a unique and different take on the slasher genre, this treats it like one of the pack: a by-the-numbers feature that's not terrible by any means, though not always adventurous either outside of its formulaic trappings. This doesn't seem to have the same flow as the first film that—while loose at points—was still an edge-of-your-seat affair that never lost its sense of mystery or terror. The difference is like being cornered against a wall with a lunatic hovering their finger just over the trigger of an AK-47. Whereas the second film is like being held up with a Walther PPK and an aim-this-way-that-way, unfocused attitude from the gunman. "Jaws" taught us that if you make it seem like your villain is anywhere and everywhere, your audience is always with you and searching. Instead, Candyman makes sudden appearances when it suddenly suits the occasionally disjointed plot. You could actually safely take a snack break and return to where you left off without skipping a beat; or, say, being capable of making the hair prematurely white.

The biggest shortcoming of "Farewell to the Flesh" is how it feels less ambiguous to the first—could it be all inside Helen's head, or the real deal?—and more towards a formula of a one-body-down-another-to-go, main-character-must-dodge-the-murder-weapon feature. It does go into different avenues: such as giving sympathy to its monster, having the main actress show some genuine emotion from time to time, and giving an attempt at some personality to the old and festive city of New Orleans with a flavor of its own. Though with all things considered, it never fully steps out of the shadow of the first film to be an equal or greater force.

Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Bill Condon (Sister, Sister; Murder 101)
Actors: Kelly Rowan, Tony Todd, William O'Leary
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

The Omen (TV pilot - 1995)

Scientifically evil

By: JWBM

Instead of being born to evil, or being just another relative to Damien Thorn, the premise of this short lived '90s TV pilot is going for a kind of "ER" meets "Outbreak" vibe, though with a sort of unexplainable possession angle to tie in the mediums. The tone is going for a cross between scientific and spiritual, with it being more of the former. An evil force is capable of traveling from person to person with mixed results: some inexplicably die, some live long enough to do some kind of malicious deed, and others fully embrace the force and turn into evil masterminds to carry out maximum chaos and carnage. A hard-nosed reporter who's wife mysteriously died years earlier, a professor of epidemiology, an all-knowing old man on the hunt, and a nurse recently in a coma find themselves with a commonality at a hospital in Boston that has a military secret about to be unleashed if not for some keen intervention.

Not all TV pilots are fully fleshed out. Like a potential date, they are essentially an overview of what's to come: it might not be love at first sight, though great things may come from it if you stick around from some initial characteristics that stand out. I feel like the filmmakers here gave it their best go for the material at hand. The story has a steady pace to it, the actors show some feeling behind their roles, and there's potential for more to come. The action at points felt a little rocky, such as a reporter going from do-what-it-takes-to-get-the-scoop, to John McClane responsive and being a pivotal force to stop dark entities from having their way. The biggest hang-up, though, is that this has little to do with "The Omen" franchise. It was a wild and fresh idea from anything before, no doubt, however it feels like it was also trying desperately to keep up with the times of what was happening in '95 with the medical and scientific approach over a more good versus evil one of the '70s when the first was released. Yet, it still felt more entertaining than the fourth in the series if that tells you anything.

Rating: 5/10

Director: Jack Sholder (The Hidden, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2)
Actors: Brett Cullen, William Sadler, Chelsea Field
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link