Countdown, Day 10: Candyman

Come with me and be immortal.

There’s not a lot of 1990s horror on my list of favorites, but Candyman (1992, dir. Bernard Rose) just has to be included. Its commentary on urban legends and myth-creation, race, urban segregation, and the way the past follows and shapes the present are all thought-provoking and meaningful, especially for its historical moment – immediately after Rodney King and the L.A. riots and well past the mid-20th century Civil Rights movement. Tony Todd’s performance as Candyman is also genuinely creepy.

Earlier countdown entries:

1. Night of the Living Dead, dir. George Romero (1968)
2. Dawn of the Dead, dir. George Romero (1978)
3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, dir. Philip Kaufman (1978)
4. Get Out, dir. Jordan Peele (2017)
5. Hellraiser, dir. Clive Barker (1987)
6. Psycho, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
7. The Birds, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
8. Jaws, dir. Steven Spielberg (1975)
9. Teeth, dir. Mitchell Lichtenstein (2007)