SILVER

During research for her thesis project on myths and urban legends, Chicago grad student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) learns of the “Candyman,” a ghostly killer with a hooked hand who slays whoever says his name five times in front of a mirror. Teaming up with classmate Bernadette Walsh (Kasi Lemmons, shortly before directing EVE’S BAYOU), Helen’s investigation leads her to the Cabrini-Green housing projects, where the sinister spirit supposedly resides, but she deduces that the legend is simply a coping mechanism by the residents — that is, until the Candyman himself pays her a visit. English director Bernard Rose transposed Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden” from its Liverpool setting to Chicago, using the lens of a nightmare-inducing horror film to explore the racial divisions and gentrification rampant in America due to the legacy of white supremacy. At the center of the film is Tony Todd’s staggering performance as the Candyman, a controversial role in a controversial film that eventually won over even the N.A.A.C.P., which boasted that Black audiences finally had their own Freddy Krueger. DIR/SCR Bernard Rose, from the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker; PROD Steve Golin, Sigurjón Sighvatsson, Alan Poul. U.S., 1992, color, 99 min. RATED R

In Memoriam: Tony Todd (1954–2024)