2:17 p.m., October 5, 2021
It is the must-see horror film of the fall, topped the French box office last Wednesday, the day of its release. candy man, the sequel to the eponymous masterpiece by Bernard Rose from 1992, continues the film adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker, telling the story today of a painter in need of recognition who devotes his next exposure to an urban legend that haunts the city of Chicago … Thirty years later, the croquemitaine crocheted is still rife! Written and produced by Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us), the feature film turns out to be eminently political, using myth to denounce ordinary racism and police violence. Director Nia DaCosta looks back on the genesis of the project.
“I was shooting a series in the UK when I was presented with the project for this sequel thirty years later. candy man (1992), by Bernard Rose. I thought about what I could bring to the mythology created by Clive Barker, I should not pass up the opportunity to work with Jordan Peele. I enjoyed all the times we sat down to discuss the concept, exchange ideas on writing, directing or editing. Personally, I was excited to participate in this adventure because I grew up with the croquemitaine Candyman, moreover I never dared to pronounce his name five times in front of a mirror. I am a sissy! (Laughs)
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It was necessary to show respect for all the individuals who suffer this kind of discrimination every day.
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More seriously, if he is invoked on several occasions, it is so as not to forget the lynching of which he was the object, the suffering he endured. Granting a political dimension to this complex character seemed legitimate to me because he is a victim of racism and police violence. I am convinced that horror cinema makes it possible to tackle social issues. Just look at the career of a master like George A. Romero who over the decades exorcised his anxieties about the world he lived in. But I won’t say that filming the opening scene which shows the assault on candy man was nice. I thought about what George Floyd had gone through. It was necessary to show respect for all the individuals who experience this kind of discrimination every day.
This is why I used shadow theater for certain sequences, in order to suggest rather than show. Obviously, I had to use the mirror motif, which meant bypassing a whole series of technical constraints! Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays the main role, an artist in search of identity. Myself, I am an African-American female director who loves horror. I have the impression that I am alone in this category! There is still a long way to go… But I am happy because I have been working for a year on The Marvels, the sequel to Captain Marvel (2019), for Disney. “
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