Horror Movie Review: Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999)

The third and final (thankfully) Candyman film was released in 1999. Directed by Turi Meyer and starring Tony Todd and Donna D’Errico, the film sees the sinister villain return again to cause chaos during the Day of the Dead holiday.

Candyman is about a legend…a myth…a story to scare children & adults alike. Candyman was a slave who fell in love with the wrong girl. His hand was cut off & a hook was jammed in the stump. Then his body was smeared with honey & he was left to the bees.

The legend goes that if you say his name five times in front of a mirror & then switch off the lights he will come. It’s just a story though…right?

We consider the original a horror classic. A 10/10 horror thanks to its incredible performances, heart-wrenching plot, visceral & bloody gore and some genuinely scary moments. It is one of the best horror films ever made & you can read our full review of it here.

There are many horror movies that didn’t need a sequel. Horror movies that didn’t need an origin story for its villain. Candyman is one of those films yet in 1995 we got that with Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. A flat and bland sequel that did more harm then good in regards to the villain. You can read our full review of that film here.

Which brings us to 1999 & Candyman 3: Day of the Dead. Caroline McKeever (Donna D’Errico), a distant relative of the Candyman (and also Annie daughter from the 2nd film) is trying to change the perception of the Candyman tale. Seemingly a well-known legend now, Caroline wants people to focus on the tragedy of the man not the ghoul. Something that not many people are willing to do.

Caroline doesn’t believe in the legend, she believes in the man so when publicly called out she says his name in front of a mirror five times (it seems as though the light no longer matters).

Candyman returns from the grave with one mission, get Caroline to give herself to him. Something she’s not that keen on obviously. However, once the body count starts to go up she finds she has no choice but to face him & the truth.

Candyman 3: Day of the Dead is the franchise fizzling out in unsurprisingly disappointing style. Here we get the ‘same old, same old’ as nothing new is added to the legend. The same plot, the same scenes, the same dialogue that has lost a lot of its lustre. Even Tony Todd can do little to save this movie from itself.

He delivers a bored & tired portrayal, clearly feeling as uninspired as the script-writers. The rest of the cast are completely forgettable with very little character development. Even when it looks like something may be happening it’s superficial at best.

The low budget shows with locations & set-pieces looking distinctly cheap. The gory moments don’t have any impact & fail to show any originality. It might still be graphic but there is a distinct lack of brutality. This doesn’t feel like a Candyman movie & having Tony Todd repeat the same lines from the last two movies aren’t going to change that.

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