We’ve been waiting what feels like forever and finally, finally the Candyman trailer is here in all its glory. At the risk of overselling it, this is the best horror trailer I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, it’s up there with the trailer for Jordan Peele’s Us, which is funny considering he’s a producer on this flick and the clip itself utilizes something that trailer did very well — in an even more brilliant way this time around.
From director Nia DaCosta (who’s not even 30 yet, so she’s already doing better at life than the rest of us by a long shot), this rebootquel of the still annoyingly underrated Bernard Rose film is tantalizingly described as a “contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.” The lengthy official synopsis is as follows:
For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.
With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; HBO’s Euphoria, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.
Peele and DaCosta co-wrote the screenplay with producer Win Rosenfeld, of Peele’s own Monkeypaw Productions (who handled Get Out and Us). This new Candyman is based off both Rose’s movie and Clive Barker short story “The Forbidden.” And it’s definitely a horror movie, in spite of what the mainstream media might tell you (are we seriously having this discussion again? Candyman is terrifying, simple as).
The trailer, which you can check out for yourself below, is something very special indeed. Slickly, genuinely stomach-churning, and atmospheric, it utilizes none other than Destiny’s Child mega-hit “Say My Name,” similarly to how the trailer for Us reworked Luniz classic “I Got 5 On It,” to super creepy effect. There will probably be those who decry it for showing too much but this is the perfect appetizer for what looks to be a horrifying thrill ride of a horror movie.
Tony Todd is returning and, although it’s not official yet, the glimpses of Candyman himself that we’re offered in this trailer suggest he’ll be pulling on the coat and hook once more, even if we only get fleeting glimpses of him. Considering Abdul-Mateen II’s character is a fan rather than the actual Candyman himself (at least, not at first) also hints that Todd will be portraying his most famous character once more. But we’ll have to wait a few more months to see for sure. In the meantime, we can watch this trailer over and over again.
Also See: Tony Todd Dishes on His Role in the Candyman Remake
Candyman hits theaters on June 12. Stay tuned to Wicked Horror for all the must-know info in the meantime.
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