Deconstructing the Candyman Villian

The Candyman was the main antagonist of the 1992 slasher horror movie. The character of Candyman was intentionally designed to be very charismatic and articulate, his main source of fear is the idea of his warped sense of reasoning. The candyman takes the form of a tall, slim, black man, he is seen as much taller than any other of the characters which makes him even more intimidating. He wears a large black trench coat and a hook in place of his right hand. The candyman uses the hook to mutilate his victims and the trench coat is worn to hide the mutilations he suffered before his death. His motivation for his murders is to avenge his unjust death.

The Candyman could easily be pitied due to his back story. The myth of the Candyman first arose in the early 1800s, he was said to have been a painter in Chicago, born to a slave father, he fell in love with a white virgin and impregnated her out of wedlock, when her father found out he ordered for the Candyman's death, he was subsequently beaten and had his right hand chopped off with a rusty knife, he was then covered in honey and stung to death by bees while onlookers chanted 'Candyman'.

The Candyman relates to the themes of many 1990's horror films and reflects real life fears greatly. Candyman contains elements of psychological and paranormal horror as the audience is able to see the main characters perspective as she loses her mind. In the film, the Candyman is an illusion as a result of people's actions and embodiment of people's fear. The film links to real-world horrors such as racism as that is the principle reason for his death as he was lynched for having a sexual relationship with a white woman.

Candyman (1992) Dir. Bernard Rose