Well, hello again, Candyman — we meet again, though I still haven’t said your name out loud in a mirror five times — and I’m never going to, sorry.
The last time I reviewed the original 1992 film (as released on Blu-ray) helmed by Bernard Rose (Frankenstein, Paperhouse, Immortal Beloved) was also from Shout Factory’s boutique genre label, Scream Factory.
Today, Candyman is being unleashed in not just the 2K Blu-ray edition like last time, but as a 4K and Blu-ray bundle, which is a nice package to have if you want both, or want to split the cost with a friend.
I've said most of what I've had to say in my original December 2018 review of the Blu-ray, but I put in the 4K unrated Director's Cut to see how the film looks this time around, with a new master.
Nothing took my breath away, image quality-wise, as there are some instances of flickering and high grain, particularly during the opening credits and the beginning of the film. There are some crushed blacks later on in the film as well, no doubt due to how the film was lit in the first place, much like the OG The Godfather.
However, that's not to be said that the film doesn't look absolutely amazing in other places, because it does. I just wish it were more uniform. That said, film restoration isn't my calling, and I can't speak to the hurdles that one may face when restoring a film.
Sound is uniformly excellent, and the film is no less enthralling than when it was released in 1992, nor on its subsequent many home video incarnations.
Let's check out the discs and their assorted featurettes:
Bonus Features
DISC ONE (4K UHD — THEATRICAL & UNRATED CUTS):
- NEW 4K Master Of The Original Negative, Supervised And Approved By Writer/Director Bernard Rose And Director Of Photography Anthony B. Richmond (Theatrical Cut) By Arrow Video
- NEW 4K UHD Presentation In Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible) Of Both Cuts Of The Film, The Theatrical R-rated Version And The Unrated Version Featuring Alternate, More Graphic Footage, Presented Via Seamless Branching
- NEW Dolby Atmos Track
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Bernard Rose And Actor Tony Todd (Theatrical Cut)
- Audio Commentary With Authors/Film Historians Stephen Jones And Kim Newman (Theatrical Cut)
- Theatrical Trailer
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY — THEATRICAL CUT):
- NEW Dolby Atmos Track
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Bernard Rose And Actor Tony Todd
- Audio Commentary With Authors/Film Historians Stephen Jones And Kim Newman
- Audio Commentary With Bernard Rose, Author Clive Barker, Producer Alan Poul And Actors Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen And Kasi Lemmons
- Audio Commentary With Bernard Rose, From The Movie Crypt Podcast Hosted By Filmmakers Adam Green And Joe Lynch
- Sweets To The Sweet: The Candyman Mythos – Featuring Interviews With Bernard Rose, Producer Alan Poul, Executive Producer Clive Barker, Actors Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd And Kasi Lemmons
- Clive Barker: Raising Hell – An Interview With Author/Artist/Filmmaker Clive Barker
- The Heart Of Candyman – An Interview With Actor Tony Todd
- Bernard Rose's Storyboards
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
- Screenplay (BD-ROM)
DISC THREE (BLU-RAY — UNRATED CUT):
- NEW Dolby Atmos Track
- NEW Looking Back In The Mirror – An Interview With Actress Vanessa Williams
- Be My Victim – An Interview With Tony Todd
- It Was Always You, Helen – An Interview With Actress Virginia Madsen
- Reflection In The Mirror – An Interview With Actress Kasi Lemmons
- A Kid In Candyman – An Interview With Actor DeJuan Guy
- The Writing On The Wall: The Production Design Of Candyman – An Interview With Production Designer Jane Ann Stewart
- Forbidden Flesh: The Makeup FX Of Candyman – Including Interviews With Special Makeup Effects Artists Bob Keen, Gary J. Tunnicliffe And Mark Coulier
- A Story To Tell: Clive Barker's The Forbidden – Writer Douglas E. Winter On Clive Barker's Seminal Books Of Blood And Candyman's Source Story, The Forbidden
- Urban Legend: Unwrapping Candyman – A Critical Analysis Of The Film With Writers Tananarive Due And Steven Barnes
The bonus features, as you can see, were mostly ported over from the previous Scream Factory Blu-ray release, which also had much better cover art. (My guess is that the company could no longer license that art for some reason, or other.)
Besides the incredible new Dolby Atmos sound and 4K master, the new feature here is the interview with actress Vanessa Williams, who's delightful. I went back and rewatched the other featurettes, and I still love hearing about the original Clive Barker story, the special effects gurus on their work for Candyman, and a thousand times YES to Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes unwrapping the film from their perspective and from a larger sociological lens.
If you'd like to add Candyman 4K & Blu-ray combo release to your home video library, head over to Scream Factory's page for the film here.