2021’s “Candyman” is a not a remake but a reboot to the franchise (much like 2018’s “Halloween”). The original 90s horror flick was awful but this is just painful. Few horror films are as boring and uninspired as the new “Candyman”. The original was a rip-off of “A Nightmare On Elm Street” while this feels like a rip-off of “A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge”.

“Candyman” follows Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II “Aquaman”). He’s an artist in Chicago that becomes obsessed with the legends of ‘Candyman’ (including the events of the original film). His perception of reality starts to collapse as the days go by.

Since this film follows on from the events of the older instalments, many be wondering if the original Candyman actor, Tony Todd appears. I don’t want to spoil anything but let’s just say that you might be a little disappointed with some of the creative choices. The characters in this movie are just absolutely terrible. The Candyman character has never been interesting and at this point, I’m just tired of seeing him. The other characters are just so darn annoying that I honestly just wanted Candyman to come in and slice them all so I wouldn’t have to hear their boring dialog.

“Candyman” tries to deal with complexities of issues such as racism, gentrification and poverty but it’s so badly written that it’s just a total chore to watch. The “Candyman” franchise should never have been a franchise. The first film was bad and it wasn’t even original. The sequels have just brought unneeded misery. The horror genre needs innovation and there are some innovators. Unfortunately, they are often drowned out by people resurrecting old ideas and bringing nothing new to the table. “Candyman” is just horrible on every possible level. This is lazy, unintelligent, self-indulgent and just a total waste of time.