Candyman (2021) Film Analysis

The scene opens at thirty minutes and thirty-eight seconds, with character Clive Privler locking the gallery doors, while heavy rain pursues outside, acting as a foreboding pathetic fallacy on what is to come for Clive and Jerrica. The front of the gallery is dark, and dimly lit with the streetlights providing some light. This creates a stark shadow of Clive, which forebodes the ghostly terror to come for him.

The focus cuts to a new shot, which re-introduces Jerrica as she clears glasses away. The lighting is red, harsh and fully saturated, and effectively warns the audience on the danger and murders that are to come. 

As Clive and Jerrica begin to walk around the gallery clearing up, blue light is projected from an art movie screen. In this moment, there is slight comedic relief here, however the blue light creates a fast pace which enhances the building tension as Jerrica approaches the ‘Candyman’ mirror. 

The camera pans round as Jerrica looks in the mirror and turns around as Clive approaches her. The back of Jerrica and face of Clive can be seen in the mirror, which is effective as the angle of Clive in the mirror forebodes the Candyman who is to come. 

There is a particularly powerful close-up as Jerrica attaches her belt to Clive, building tension and highlighting how these characters are attached to each other which is fundamental for the next moments of the scene. 

There is a cut to the protagonist, Anthony McCoy, in a warm setting, creating a contrast as he is in a safe and secure environment which juxtaposes the danger Clive and Jerrica are foreshadowed to be in, building tension successfully. 

The continuous cuts between Anthony in his warm home, and Clive and Jerrica in the harshly lit gallery, builds tension in a seamless and effective way for the audience. 

The close-up shots of Clive and Jerrica’s binded crotches highlights their intimacy and that they are trapped together once danger strikes. 

There is a compelling shot of the couple’s reflection in the ‘Candyman’ mirror as Clive kisses Jerrica’s neck while she repeats the haunting word “Candyman” into the mirror. This successfully builds tension, continuing to forebode what is to come, alongside the blue light which is distilled onto the characters, while the red light can be seen in the reflection of the mirror. This alone enables the audience to infer the murderous horrors that the building tension is alluding to. 

The shot changes to a wide shot once Jerrica has completed the ritual of saying Candyman’s name four times in the mirror. We then see the reflection of the ghostly Candyman murder her in the mirror, where he approaches from the left side. This is primarily where the red light can be seen, which emphasises the danger Candyman represents. 

The Candyman disappears, leaving Clive panicking as Jerrica’s dying body drapes across the floor as she bleeds out. The Candyman reappears as he rips through the art film screen that was previously seen to be projecting a blue film upon it. This slow burning moment builds tension as Clive struggles frantically to remove Jerrica’s belt chain from his crotch, as the Candyman can now be seen getting closer to Clive in the ‘Candyman’ mirror that is reflecting red light in it. The music also successfully creates a building tension as it has a constant ‘vibrating’ quality to it.

Clive successfully unbuckles himself from Jerrica, and there is an overhead/birdseye shot as he runs from the ‘Candyman’ mirror to the gallery door, which he remembers to be locked. The shot progresses to a medium wide shot as Clive is desperately pulling at this door which constantly builds tension and forebodes his death. There are two short and impressive intercut panning shots as Clive is dragged by his ankles from the gallery doors - where the rain continues to act as pathetic fallacy and forebode his death, alongside this dimly lit area - back to the harshly red and blue lit area of the gallery next to the ‘Candyman’ mirror where Jerrica’s dead body resides. 

There is an effective over-the-shoulder shot of Clive being dragged up by the Candyman, which the mirror displays. There is a successful end to the scene at thirty-four minutes and forty-one seconds, as the sound, music and visuals cut once the audience establishes Clive’s death. There is then a final silent shot of the gallery which enables a moment of relief for the audience to simmer in the gruesome events they have seen. 

I found this scene especially successful due to the seamless blending of shots, and how simple and effective the lighting was. The use of dim lighting at the beginning of the scene efficiently forebodes the fate of the characters, even down to Clive’s shadows which mimic the haunting reflections of the Candyman which the audience are soon to experience. I really enjoyed the harsh red and blue lighting, which narrated the scene. The blue light created a face pace to the scene, while the red light simply evoked danger. My favourite moment was the continuous cuts between Anthony and the couple in the gallery, as this enhanced the fast pace, and allowed the tension to build comfortably for the audience. Although this scene was fast, I found the pace comfortable as the film on a whole does move quickly, but fast enough for the audience to pick up on all details. This scene enhances the ominous and terrifying nature of Candyman, as the audience are able to sympathise with Clive and Jerrica, although previously not being presented as the most likeable characters, due to their arrogant natures.