5 Huge Mistakes That Killed The Candyman Reboot
2. It's So Damn Rushed (Especially The Final Act)
Alarm bells went off as soon as the film's run-time was revealed. 90 minutes is not long enough for this movie.
After all, it is a horror film that aimed to mix social commentary with a slasher story-line and in order to do both these elements justice, it needed a longer run-time than this. Predictably, Candyman (2021) does suffer a lot from this compressed length.
The film's short length doesn't give it enough time to explore the potentially thought-provoking themes, develop its characters or provide a well-structured slasher story-line, and few of the scenes are really given time to breathe.
This problem is particularly prevalent in the film's atrocious third act, which rushes through many huge reveals and unexpected developments.
For example, the ending shows Anthony transforming into the latest incarnation of the Candyman and this is orchestrated by a supporting character named Burke (Colman Domingo), who wants Candyman to become an instrument of vengeance.
This is a very interesting idea, but since it's so rushed and under-explained - for example, it's not even clear how Burke arranged Anthony's transformation - it doesn't feel earned in the slightest.