Grad students Helen and Bernie are gathering information for their masters thesis concerning urban legends when Helen runs across the tale of Candyman, a demon who can be conjured by saying his name five times in front of a mirror. Further research leads Helen to Cabrini Green, a frightening ghetto project where everyone not only knows about Candyman but believe in him, and fear him. Helen does not believe in the legend of Candyman, until Candyman comes looking for her. When Bernie is brutally murdered and a baby goes missing from the projects, Helen is arrested, having been found at the scene of both crimes, covered in blood and wielding a weapon. No one believes her claims, that it was Candyman who committed the crimes. But Candyman offers her a bargain: her life in exchange for the baby's, who is still alive. Cruelly abandoned by her cheating jerk of a husband and pursued by the police, Helen returns to the projects for a final showdown with Candyman.<br /><br />Based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden," Candyman is a combination of the Bloody Mary legend, the Guy Fawkes celebration and The Phantom of the Opera. Virginia Madsen as Helen is beautiful and tragic and also damn scary when she wants to be. Tony Todd as Candyman is both horrific and tragic, evoking true, dark, Gothic horror whenever he appears on the screen. This is a stunningly original film, heavy with dread and never once going in for cheap scares. The acting is flawless, the musical score is creepy as hell, filled with ghostly organ music which sets just the right tone of sadness and fear. The setting of Cabrini Green is frighteningly convincing - it's a scary enough place without Candyman, filled with hopelessness and the constant threat of death. The violence is brutal and bloody, so be warned.<br /><br />This is not your typical teenage slasher film. Anyone with an appreciation for urban myths and legends, and for Clive Barker's excellent morbid imagination should not miss this film. It is a genuinely dark, moving tale of love, blood and horror, boasting realistic, three-dimensional characters instead of the usual one dimensional meat puppets for the horror grinder. <br /><br />See it at least once!