Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned!  Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 18 is the sequel, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh!

Candyman is one of the best horror films to come out of the 90’s. (A special edition is being released by Scream Factory on November 20, 2018 and you owe it to yourself to pick it up.) Starring the aweome Tony Todd, Candyman is a boogeyman that can be summoned by chanting his name five times. Killed in 1890 by a lynch mob, Candyman has his hand cut off and replaced by a hook. In Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, the movie shifts from Chicago to New Orleans where the legend of Candyman is expanded. The movie however struggles to live up to the original. Despite having a more than capable cast and one hell of a director, Bill Condon, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh sort of just meanders along with Candyman stalking a descendent of the woman he loved before he was murdered.

Where Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh does get good is during the flashback scenes explaining the Candyman’s origin. Normally over explaining your boogeyman can hurt a film (see; Jason Goes To Hell for what not to do), Candyman’s origin is sad and terrifying. Of course it all works because of Todd’s sympathetic and scary villain. The kills are fun, the film is well made, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh just never really takes off.

The video presentation is a lot like the film, just ok. It does look sharper in hi-def but the softer colors and some crush issues hamper the overall quality of the video transfer.

The audio however is great. The score creeps through and is highly effective. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh does suffer from quite a few jump scares but the awesome audio mix makes them sound really good.

On the extras side, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is not a collector’s edition but it does offer some really good extras. First up is an interview with the amazing Tony Todd. I have had the privilege to have conducted an interview with him, (it hasn’t seen the light of day yet, because unfortunately I think it was lost when our hard drive crashed a year ago…I will check with our producer and double check because it was a lot of fun.) and here he does not disappoint, fun and extremely charismatic it is a great watch.  Veronica Cartwright also provides a solid interview with some truly great moments from her career. Bill Condon supplies a commentary that is well spoken and Condon keeps the track moving along.

Film: C+

Video: B-

Audio: A

Extras: A

Overall: B

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh had a tough time following up on a classic horror film, while the film is not great, it has its moments. Those looking to continue the Candyman saga should be pleased to know that Scream Factory has done a great job bringing Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh to Blu-Ray.