Candyman (1992)

If you live in the South you've probably heard of the Bell Witch legend and the "game" you play in front of the mirror with the lights out. You spin around a few times and say "I hate the Bell Witch" or "I don't believe in the Bell Witch" or something similar, and she appears and scratches your eyes out or dismembers you or something. When I was 13 I laughed in the face of this kind of folklore and tested fate in my parents bathroom… I swear I saw something, but I definitely didn't lose an eye or anything. This is a film about such urban legends, and how they hide in the dark corners of our mind and grow and change on their own.

They say the Candyman was the the son of a slave from the 1800s who had his hand sawed off and replaced with a hook before being stung to death by bees... all because he fell in love with the wrong girl. Skip to the 1990s and the plantations are now the slums of Chicago and the Candyman lives on, killing people who dare invoke his name (5 times in front of a mirror, of course). Virginia Madsen plays Helen, a grad student writing a thesis on the recent attacks who — just as I did as a teenager — tempts fate in front of the mirror and invites the Candyman into her mind.

This sounds ridiculous, and that's the point. This isn't a thriller (although you might be frightened a few times) and it's not a gore-fest (although there are some well-done special effects). This is a psychological study about how an idea can spread into the fabric of our culture and, for some, overwhelm them to the point of insanity. Throughout the film the Candyman's voice rains down like acidic poetry and slowly takes over Helen's mind until she eventually becomes a part of the legend herself.

Candyman is a great film. The acting, the cinematography, the editing… it's all well done. But what makes it great is the lingering questions that stay with you afterword about how history is made and remembered. And the question of courage and curiosity, when it's just you, a mirror, and a completely dark room.

Candyman. Candyman. Candyman. Candyman…

Awww hell no.