Helen Lyle is a student who investigates urban myths for a school project. She ignores warnings and ventures into a dangerous neighborhood to research the Candyman legend. Her obsession with the project leads her to summon Candyman, putting herself in danger. Candyman is a killer who appears when summoned five times in a mirror and slaughters his victims. He takes an interest in Helen and tempts her with the promise of immortality if she dies. The film uses point of view shots and ominous choir music to create an eerie atmosphere and give the audience a sense of vulnerability.

1. CANDYMAN FILM REVIEW
(1992)

2. Helen Lyle
Helen is a student who investigates myths for her project. She takes risks by going to a bad
neighbourhood ignoring the resident’s advice to stay away as it’s dangerous. Especially when
she decides to break into someone’s premises where Candyman murdered a lady. By
becoming obsessed and intrigued by her project, she eventually see’s Candyman which puts
her in a vulnerable position as she becomes Candyman’s victim which leads to her being
killed.

3. Daniel Robitaille/ Candyman
Candyman is the antagonist in the film.
When summoned five times in a mirror,
he appears and slashes his victims which
makes him a very deadly killer. When
Helen summons him, he has particular
interest in her and tempts her to escape
life which is to die and be like him,
immortal.

4. How this film can be adapted in my horror
trailer
When one of the witnesses heard the screams from a lady that was murdered by
Candyman, the use of a choir singing in the background created an eerie
atmosphere. The music presented here could also be used in my horror trailer.
One scene in my horror trailer is located in a church. When the killer comes in,
he puts a hand on Nicole’s shoulder which causes her to bleed. When Nicole
see’s blood on her hands would be when the choir sings which enhances the
eerie atmosphere.
Also, the use of point of view shots were evident in Candyman when the two
students which were Helen Lyle and her friend Bernadette break into the
premises where the lady was murdered by Candyman. This gives the audience
the perspective of the characters which makes us feel connected to them like
we are with them in their situation. To relate this to my horror film, I would
use the point of view shot when Nicole looks down from the crucifix to her
hands which will be very impactful. Additionally, point of view shots are
conventional in horrors because in ‘Friday the 13th’ they used this through the
perspective of the killer which gives the sense of vulnerability to the victims.

5. How this film can be adapted in my horror trailer
The final girl who is called Jessica in my horror trailer
could imitate Helen Lyle’s characteristics. Perhaps,
Jessica could try to investigate who is behind the mask
that kills her friends. To do this, I could present her
trying to search up Lila (who was murdered by the killer)
on the computer before the scene where she walks in the
park (see script for information).
The mise en scene presented in the bad neighbourhood
could be adapted in our horror trailer. The use of graffiti
emphasises that the area is dangerous and there is crime. In
my horror trailer, I plan to have my characters at a bridge
which is also where the first murder occurs. Also, I have
recently looked at bridges that we could use and they
successfully meet our standards as graffiti connotes
(explained above) the vulnerability that the characters
would be in.