SPEAKER_02 0:04

I'm a firm believer that anything that like moves on its own should be nowhere near your mouth.

SPEAKER_03 0:14

Greetings and salutations and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. We missed you. Really? If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack. A total joke, a waste of time, or a slash.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Totally killer, pun intended.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

My name is Chris and I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Hola Muchachos.

SPEAKER_03 0:40

The Gore Lover Alexis. Hey everyone. The cowardly creeper Ryan. Hiya. And the Scream Queen Paris.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Hey sweets.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

For the second week in a row, we're bringing you a movie you can find on Netflix. Or at least, as of this recording, you can. First, though, we do have some follow-up.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

You guys, I imagine by episode two or three, you probably have bingo, but if you don't, episode four is sure to give you five in a row, because we have some unexpected turns coming this way, I feel in my bones. But we also want to give a shout out to one of our listeners, Joey. He is a UPS driver. He actually tweeted us recently about our April Fool's Day episode. He said, Thank you all for giving me an hour of release while I work. I work for UPS, so it's nice to take my mind away weekly with you all continuously. The eyeball scene in April Fool's Day is definitely something that got burned into my adolescent brain as a kid. Pretty sure I saw this on Up All Night on USA. We just want to recognize people like Joey, uh, who have these definitely essential jobs. Joey's out there delivering packages every day. Um so it's nice that we're able to give back to him in a small way like like uh with a podcast like this.

SPEAKER_04 1:45

Also, you what was it, USA Up All Night?

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Oh, yeah, I remember that.

SPEAKER_04 1:49

That was uh crazy. I remember like and then sometimes they did dinner in a movie on TBS. Does no one remember this? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Oh, I remember this.

SPEAKER_04 1:58

Oh, okay. I did not watch USA.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

They would like to teach you how to make a meal.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Did you watch TBS? I've never had cable ever in my entire life. What?

SPEAKER_01 2:07

That explains a lot.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

Technically, still fascinating. This week we're talking about an early 90s horror film that brought a modern American interpretation to a short story originally written by Clive Barker, who also brought us the likes of Night Breed and Hellraiser. This movie hit theaters a mere five months following the riots at Swarm Del A in the wake of the brutality Rodney King endured at the hands of officers, officers that were acquitted of any wrongdoing in their initial trial. This movie travels to the heart of urban legends and presents itself as an ethereal tale. This week we're talking about the 1992 film Candyman. Now, this movie is in 90s classic, but I'm sure we're in for a few surprises here. Who here just watched this movie for the first time?

SPEAKER_01 2:52

I actually never saw this movie before. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 2:55

Um I'm not actually surprised.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

I actually expected that. You know the deal here. This is my first time seeing this. Really? Come on. Um I mean, I don't know how. I feel like it's something that I wish I knew about sooner, but I didn't even really know much about Candyman going into this.

SPEAKER_04 3:13

Oh my gosh, this gave me all fears when I was younger. Um, and here goes one of your bingo squares. I did watch this with my grandma.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

Your grandma is at this point honestly the light of my life.

SPEAKER_04 3:28

She is the horror queen. Um no, it's like movies that I can't remember, but I know I've seen like way like when I was younger, and that terrified me. Literally have to, you know, her was either her or my mom I watched this with. So definitely shout out to my grandma.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Well, I I'd never seen this movie before. I've known about it like since childhood, probably since it came out. Um, when I was little, I actually had a gay best friend who was my age, and he would bully me mercilessly. We were like more like frenemies. Um, I remember distinctly he would like lock me in the bathroom at his house, and like that bathroom had like a light switch that was on the outside of the bathroom. So he would lock me in there, turn the lights off, and make me say Candyman in the mirror. And I didn't know what it was, but I knew that it was terrifying. But that's really my only point of reference going into this movie.

SPEAKER_04 4:16

Whoa. It was like that in Bloody Mary. Yeah, I was gonna say I was a Bloody Mary girl.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Hey, we still you still are, aren't you? Or just mimosis?

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Uh very very true, very true.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

I have uh I have definitely seen this movie. I think probably based off of our text thread, you know that I consider it uh one of those movies you just like have to watch from the early 90s to the mid-90s. Maybe even lump it in with you know late 90s horror. Like just of the 90s, this is a movie that ranks in the top ten for horror for me. This is one that I probably haven't seen for a good 15 years either.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

This movie in particular, even more differently than so many movies that I've come to consider classics, this movie transcends any like sense of time or decade. This movie scared the hell out of me when I was a kid, and actually, facts, Tony Todd is the reason I don't like deep voices because it creeps me out. I saw this before I saw Willie Wonka in the Chocolate Factory. So in that movie, they have that song The Candyman, and in my mind I'm always thinking the Candyman can because he mixes it with blood and makes the world taste good. And like it's just super creepy. This movie startled me, and I've had a love of it and appreciation for it. I revisited it uh when I was in like back in college, but beyond that watch, just for that like particular course I was working on, I hadn't watched it since the 90s because it scared the crap out of me. But for those of you who hadn't seen it, what were you expecting?

SPEAKER_01 5:48

I actually expected very little. I was sort of anticipating it being a kind of ghost movie where different groups of people would try out this urban legend by saying Candyman five times in the mirror, and then like consequences would happen. I didn't expect it to follow the like one specific character through a a longer narrative, so to speak. Um yeah, so I kind of just went in with a blank slate. I know Tony Todd from the Final Destination series, so that was actually my only point of reference for him. But in that he was really creepy as well. Um but I kind of just went in as like an open book and let the movie guide me, which it did.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

For me, I expected a lot more death than than we ended up with. Yeah. Like I was really I think a lot of times when you have these like killers that appear, you know, maybe don't uh trust the laws of physics. They tend to just have like they front load the movie with like a lot of these deaths so you can kind of see how it happens and stuff like that. Whereas this was a lot more about like urban legend and everything, which is really cool. Um, but I really was expecting like here's five dead people in the beginning, you know what I mean? It it seemed like it was gonna be that. And I also was expecting to be horrified.

SPEAKER_04 7:04

I'd agree because watching this a second time, and I hadn't seen it like everyone else who's seen it before hadn't watched it in years, but it left it was like ingrained in my brain what this movie was about that I didn't need to watch it again um and terrified me. But I really did think there were a lot more deaths in this movie than there actually were. That was surprising.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

Yeah, this is one that I mean when you when you sit back and look at it, I really honestly as an adult remember there being more death and you know, just like you guys would expect. But I think there's something to be said about just the performances we get from the main two characters that kind of carry this whole thing. I don't know what it is about Tony Todd, man, but he scares the hell out of me. We're gonna explore that a little bit further as we go in, but based on the expectations you had, what surprised you? Or, you know, Mac, just from your own history, you know, you consider it a classic. Was there anything that surprised you either then or now as you rew revisit it?

SPEAKER_00 8:01

It's it's interesting to me that like watching it for however many ith time it is for me now, but it's been a it's been a good long while that uh I forgot a lot of the psychological horror aspects, you know, to the film that I I think people are expecting just a straight-up slasher. And you go into if you haven't seen this before, you're gonna go into it just kind of surprised by the the twists and turns that it takes. I don't know if if Ryan and Paris, if you guys feel that way, but even having seen it, I just like forgot about like how psychological this this movie gets. And I think perhaps some of the sequels give you more of that slasher feel to it, or at least a little bit more carnage. And so I kind of mix that in, you know, in my memory bank, and now going back and watching it, it's like I don't know, it's not so much just like guts spilling out all over the place as much as it is like in in the mind. And and that was such just a great surprise. It really kind of elevated for me even more because now it's just a little bit deeper than than I even remembered.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

I also wasn't expecting the psychological element to be so prominent, but the thing that surprised me the most was how female-driven this story was and how packed full of representation it was. I was very pleased. It seemed like something that could be made right now, and I guess it is going to be with Jordan Peel coming out with this this year. But it actually made me super excited to see the remake or reimagining. I'm not really sure how the new movie's gonna play out.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

I've told you guys I'm very excited about the new Candyman, and as I was watching this, I just went through thinking, like, what is Jordan Peel gonna do with this? And and something that I really like that I think probably Alexis picked up on is the music in this.

unknown 9:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 9:41

It's it it almost feels like Jordan Peel did this movie. Like, I I know that's I'm I'm like a big fan of everything he's done so far, especially with the horror movies and everything. And I love the type of style he puts on stuff and then the twists and all these things. And as I was watching this, I was like, did Jordan Peel already make this movie? Like, he's not remaking a simple cut and dry boring movie. Like this movie is interesting and has a lot to it. And like with the music, I was like, dude, this could easily you could have told me this is the remake, honestly. Like it's not outdated at all.

SPEAKER_04 10:13

That music scared me. It really did. It was the choir. It was so good. The choir, it was just like it was powerful. Yes, it really was. I think, and it was purposely put in in certain spots, and it just terrified you. That that was like my thing on here. Scared, obviously, for Candyman and all of the blood and guts that are in this, but the music made it so good.

SPEAKER_03 10:33

A hundred percent. What I what I think I'm most excited about for for the upcoming Candyman, uh, is the fact that Jordan Peel is even taking a step back and just producing instead of directing. And we actually have a female director taking the rins in Nia DeCosta. And I'm really excited to see what they do after after learning about like, you know, taking a look at the cast and learning about the direction they're going, I am so thrilled. And I was at first, you know, a little bummed to know that this movie is being rescheduled for later on this year, but I'm also so happy because I want a theater experience for this. And it's I mean, I think the entire team that you know put their work into that movie is going to deserve that kind of reception. But when I was looking at this movie, there are a lot of themes I didn't really quite pick up on as a kid, obviously. When you look at like just the focus on urban housing projects, right? Like I grew up a street away from projects, and that's something that I was just kind of surrounded by my whole life. And I never really made the connection that most horror takes place in the suburbs or it takes place in the woods or etc. But rarely ever does it take place in a truly urban environment, except for what Jason takes Manhattan. Like that's pretty much the only one you got. That just I think provides this really incredible backdrop for a lot of character development, and to also you know get to know people a little bit better. But as you guys were watching this, how are you feeling?

SPEAKER_04 11:56

I actually was feeling really emotional in this um movie. You know, y'all, I'm not normally like that, but I don't know what it was. I think there's just so many layers to this that I hadn't noticed when I clearly watched it a long time ago. But I think just like the backstory, just I mean, it could easily be transferred into today. So I think it was just, you know, having this person that had an injustice to him when he was younger. So I'm like, okay, am I on Candy Man's side or am I not on Candyman's side? And then I'm like, okay, no one's believing, you know, this woman that's in here. They're just thinking she's crazy. I'm like, oh my gosh, why is anyone believing her? So it's just like brought up a lot of emotions. Um, there's a few things I've been watching lately too that I've been doing at. Made you softer. Yes. My boyfriend put it in a good really good way. I don't like movies or shows or anything that are like super injustice into the um protagonist.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:54

I don't know what it is and I feel bad. I've cried during Watchmen. It's it's horrible. Did you cry during this movie? No. Okay, good. But only because I was doing a puzzle at the same time. A puzzle? A puzzle, yeah. Probably to get away from it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

While I was watching this movie, I was actually pretty scared for a lot of it, which isn't something I can say about most horror movies, but it did make me feel fear. Uh, but I was also getting vibes from other things that I've seen. Like there were elements of like Phantom of the Opera in this storyline.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

100%.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

As well as like, I don't know if you guys have seen it, but David Bowie and the Labyrinth, there was a lot of that going on in my mind as well.

SPEAKER_03 13:30

Uh no, actually, uh a big reason why Tony Todd even agreed to do this movie Paris is because he was seeking his own Phantom of the Opera kind of role. So he brought a lot of that energy to it.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Well, damn, he did. I found it interesting to watch a uh, you know, watch a bad guy who just truly enjoyed some of the like malevolence that he brought to it. Like he like enjoyed the the physical pain that he was causing or that he had, you know, had inflicted on him. And uh I feel like a lot of times you just get like uh you know, you get an antagonist that's just trying to get out of it and trying to escape while they're also committing some some gross deeds, and he's like just really in the mix, really soaking up the blood and just loving every second of it.

SPEAKER_03 14:12

Oh my god, especially with his quote, uh even just in the opening moments of the movie, with my hook for a hand, I'll split you from your groin to your gullet. And it's like those words of face face value, right? You know, just think about Scream that came out four years later, you know, ghost faces on the phone, I'll gut you like a fish. Those words without a particular kind of voice feel a little hollow, feel kind of empty. There's something about the vocal delivery that's like it throughout this entire movie, through almost every character that just really sells it 100%.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

I think the word gullet definitely adds a certain gravitas and weight to this, to this uh opening.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

Oh, for sure. So we know Paris and we know Alexis were a little startled throughout this movie. Max not scared of anything ever, but maybe it'll be different. How did you guys feel? Uh, were you did you find anything in this frightening?

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Ooh, I was definitely scared during this movie. And I know that part of it came from the expectation of fear for myself because I know that this is a scary movie. It's not like one person has told me that plenty of people throughout life randomly have told me. So I definitely went in expecting to be afraid and I wasn't let down. A lot of it was just super stressful, and then when it gets into the psychological stuff, it definitely threw me off. I thought we were just going for guy popping up behind you in the bathroom, and we didn't. And so that just made it worse and worse. And I was I was genuinely afraid, and I kind of wish I would have been able to see this in theaters because I think it would have been really good at that time to see it like the first time. Dolby.

SPEAKER_04 15:40

Oh, yeah, with your with the seat shaking. Yes. Vibrating chairs for the win. That's what she said.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Hey, let me let me go ahead and clarify that when I first watched this, I was definitely a teenager. And I'm kind of like Michael Scott, you know, I'm not it's not that I was scared, but it's not that I'm superstitious, it's just that I'm a little stitchious. Little office reference. So yeah, I remember I remember watching this, and I was like, it doesn't the idea of it doesn't scare me. I'm not worried about this, you know, Candyman showing up at my house or anything. But I'm not gonna say his name in the mirror when the with the lights out. I'm not gonna do the Bloody Mary thing. I was never, never into that. Not taking a chance.

SPEAKER_02 16:18

Have you guys ever said either Bloody Mary or Candyman into the mirror?

SPEAKER_03 16:23

Oh, never. Hell no. Hell and now. I was raised Catholic. Why would I do this? I mean, I'm not religious, but like have the origins.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Exactly. A little stitchious. I was bullied into doing it and lived to tell the tale.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

I did Bloody Mary because I didn't know anything about it. I was just told that it was scary. Um, but you guys know how I feel about mirrors, and I think they're creepy. So you can say anything into a mirror five times, and I guarantee you'll feel some some chills on the back of your neck. I mean, Parrish does have a mirror behind him right now.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Oh, I have a really cute mirror. It's very elaborate.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Uh, this is neither the time nor the place to test my theory.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Oh, yeah. You should pick something completely benign and say it five times into that mirror. Oh, I'm definitely not doing that right now.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

You could just say hacker slash five times into the mirror and see what happens.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

Yeah, say hacker slash five times into a mirror and you'll get a Ryan popping up as a brunch ready. I would be a gift, okay? You'd be excited.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

If you say it five times with the lights out, she shows up and reviews your wardrobe.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

So I think something that sets apart this movie, uh, obviously from a lot of the horror that we've talked about so far, and even you know, from horror at large, is the storytelling behind it. Now, has anybody read the original story that this is based on uh based on? Of course not.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Obviously not.

SPEAKER_03 17:43

No, but I love to. So it's a short story that's contained in in a bigger book, but I'm just gonna paint the picture for you guys. Like Barker's story originally revolved around themes of the British class system, right? So this is taking place in Liverpool, where he's from, and the director actually chose very specifically to adapt it to Cabrini Green, so the public housing development in Chicago, because he wanted to actually take a real piece and real footnote of American history. One of the things that's really interesting is there's like a documentary available on YouTube. He's looking at like the the murder, right, of indigenous people in America, you know, as the as the country was being colonized. And then he looks at slavery and he says like these two events aren't tangential to American history, they are the real history of America. So he took that kind of backdrop and then took a lot of the dynamics that he saw that were playing out in America. His name is Bernard Rose, and he decided to adapt Clive's story to make it fit in an American way. So, you know, you have that and you have Tony Todd bringing what he brought into the role. How do you guys feel about how this movie stands out from other horror?

SPEAKER_04 18:55

During this time, a lot of I mean, it's 90s horror. We've been on in the train, you know, I love it. A lot of it's like kind of funny, just you know, high school. I mean, we talked about this um in our last episode, but a lot of it's, you know, kids and you know, teenagers in high school in the mid like, you know, different classes is in, you know, these are the jocks, these are this, and this is doing social class. And like you said, Chris, before it's taking in an urban environment, which I've never really seen in horror, which I thought was really neat.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

I feel like it stands out really as a a performance piece for a lot of these actors, um, given the the time period that it came out, and there were a notable amount of like women acting in this movie as well as like black actors in this film as well. And I can't think of one that didn't give a great performance. So it really kind of showcases talent that wasn't necessarily given a platform in like the horror genre at the time.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

Yeah, I agree. I mean, aside from the performances here, like it's it definitely has some elements that other scary movies have, right? Like, I mean, someone that thinks they're going crazy while stuff is happening, like that's not something we haven't seen before. But I think the way this movie comes together is pretty original, and and it's not a thing where I was watching it and I kept thinking, oh, that reminds me of this movie or another movie. So I I think it stands the test of being original.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Yeah, this is it's such a crazy setting inside the film, but outside the film in in this time period in the US, which is I mean, it's just a wild time with just unrest and honestly like revolution happening socially. That I don't think another film like this exists in horror at this time, at least that can kind of capture the the feeling of the country. I mean, it only goes into maybe like the shallow section of the pool, which is still deeper than most anything else um in horror probably really wanted to even get into when it comes to what's going on, you know, racially and with inequality and everything. And it it could have gone you know much deeper, but I think we would have had to leave a realm of horror to do that. We would have been just in drama to really do it justice. But I think it gave it just enough enough depth uh to really kind of feel what's what's happening in America in the late 80s and early 90s.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

Oh, for sure. And to be clear, you guys, like this movie is not without its controversy. So when you think about it, this movie as it was being produced, you know, really a lot of the production happened in 1991, which was in everything when with Rodney King was happening and trials happening in April. So you have these two elements ex like coexisting and kind of running in a parallel line, but realistically, the NAACP gave their blessing for this movie to be made, but that did not mean that it was well received or free or like you know, perceived to be free of any prejudice or blatant stereotypes and things like that. One other thing that uh Bernard Rose really focused on was showing that within projects, you don't just have gang member gang members, you don't have just the stereotypes that people have come to expect and why they're scared to pass those areas. It's just full of American families who are trying to survive. And realistically, looking at the way this movie breaks it down, it shows that while the original story breaks down class barriers, in America, those same class barriers are drawn against racial lines. And guys, we're not the expert on it for our listeners. Like obviously, we're not the experts. We've grown up in a very different America. While some of us were younger when this movie and the events of that time were taking place, you know, our life has been different. So get the historical context, do some research. We'll drop some links in the show notes to places where you can learn more. But this movie is an incredible milestone within that history. Now, this movie does a ton of interesting things, but one of the most interesting things it does is its approach to its ending. How do you guys feel about it?

SPEAKER_00 23:01

I think it delivered on what it promised. And you can't really give a lot of detail without some spoilers. But let's just say it let legends be legends.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

I feel like the ending was unpredictable yet appropriate. There was a little bit of foreshadowing throughout the movie that kind of led to the inevitable conclusion. Uh, but the the very end, um, and of course I'm breaking the ending down into several different parts to really confuse our listeners.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Oh, we all know that there are like 20 different parts to an ending. You're good. It's been well established in our in our canon.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

Good, good. The very end of the film, I actually wrote in my notes that it was cute. Um, I feel like it was like a nice little cherry on top. Uh, but we can talk a little bit more about that in more detail to kind of explain why I thought that was cute um after the spoiler cut.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

Yeah, I agree totally that like you pretty much got what you expected, I think, at the end, not that you could predict it, but you wanted something out of it. And and I think what they gave us satisfied that. There was some things where I was like, I don't really put these things together and we can totally talk about that. But overall, I think it was a successful ending.

SPEAKER_04 24:07

Also very confused, so don't worry. Um, I'd love for you guys to break down the ending of the thing.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

I have a couple questions. There's some there's some logistics that are questionable, but yeah, and I'm not because I'm thinking too literally of it.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

I was just like confused on it all. But I mean, it definitely was one of those endings where I'm like, okay, this is great. It wasn't what I expected. Um, and it just grasped me toward the end instead of being like, Oh, I know it happens. And I couldn't recall the ending. So I was like, all right, I'm in for a ride.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

The ending gave me such great satisfaction, and I'm particularly uh referencing the end end, probably the section that uh Paris thought was cute, but even the pre-ending to the ending, um, I think that's where you guys had some questions, and I totally understand that. There's a note that I have about there about something being explained in a way that is vague at best, but we'll we'll get there and it's okay. Um, but I think the bigger question here is despite that ending and despite some of the logistical questions you may have, is this something that you're ever gonna watch again?

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Can I blow you guys away and say yes? I would then watch this.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

I'm right there with you, Ryan. I feel like this uh lands itself as a classic, which everyone else already knew.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Yeah, it's literally we're the only two people left that didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

Appreciate your validation, man. I mean, you gave Scream 2 a hack, so I mean all bets were off, really.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

Are you going to uh watch all of the Candyman movies before the new Candyman movie comes out? Like back to back?

SPEAKER_04 25:37

Alexis will. You know I will.

SPEAKER_03 25:39

I'll do it with you, Alexis. To be clear, this is this might be one of those cases where it's like quit while you're ahead, watch the good like that'd be like me telling you to watch every single Halloween movie before Halloween Kills comes out later this year. Maybe don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Okay, but question are the sequels worth watching for someone that doesn't know.

SPEAKER_03 26:01

I haven't seen them. Maybe something our listeners have to tell us.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

Yeah, I think we we shouldn't answer that. We should ask.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

Yeah, if you guys want to let us know, specifically let me know. Tweet me. Tell me if it's Candyman 2 is worth seeing.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

All right, well, there's plenty that we have said. There's so much more that we have to unpack because this in particular, I think, is going to stoke a lot of uh very specific discussion about some logistics and some of the way that these things uh play out. But let's go ahead and start making our way to our ratings. Now, before we score this movie, and I'm really anxious to see how this goes. Um, Alexis, how many people died?

SPEAKER_04 26:37

We had uh number six, not six six six, but uh a candyman six. Just still less than I expected. Six lits. There you go. That's a candy. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Quality over quantity.

SPEAKER_03 26:51

I agree. And Ryan, good luck coming up with the candy for this. How many of those deaths were animals?

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Oh, we had a had a rough one here. Um, there is one, it's not like done on screen, but it's not good. I'm just this is just a forewarning. But like, you know, you won't cry, but it's pretty rough. No pun intended.

SPEAKER_04 27:13

It was so graphic.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:14

Let's go ahead and make our way into our scoring then. Candyman from 1992. Was it a candy hack or a candy slash?

SPEAKER_01 27:23

Everybody get out your bingo cards because I'm giving this movie a slash. Yes. Oh. Shocking. This movie was very good. Like, and also I didn't have any questions about the ending, so I'm excited to talk about that. Um I love that it was like a female-driven story. It focused on women, it focused on people of color, people that don't get represented enough. It told so many different good stories within the story. Uh, the fashion was great. At one point, Helen is wearing a turtleneck on top of a turtleneck.

SPEAKER_03 27:51

Double turtleneck is a power move.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

It really is. Tony Todd's performance was like truly incredible. There's the an initial scene where Candyman like really makes his presence known. And I actually was watching this using like a really nice speaker system, and the bass in his voice literally had me like clutching my pearls and my mouth agape, and I would just like stayed like that for a solid like six minutes while the scene unfolded. So this is definitely a slash. I'm gonna watch it again. Uh, it's now in probably my top 10 favorite horror movies of all time. Uh, and I'm really glad that I watched it.

SPEAKER_03 28:23

I'd like to make a motion requesting that we film Paris watching every movie so we can get great gift reactions.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Is this gonna be a universal slash, you guys?

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Let's see how far we can go with it because I'm also gonna give it a slash. As you've mentioned, this movie is is definitely classic. It's really well made. The acting is incredible, and not just because Tony Todd is in three different versions of Star Trek, um, he was also great in those, just saying. Um, but yeah, I mean, this movie, like so many details are are really well done, but Tony Todd, good god, man, his his portrayal of the candyman earns this movie a slash all on its own.

SPEAKER_04 29:05

And I am going to agree. Um, I totally give this movie a slash. Not that I'm comparing this to Saw, but it has that very like, although the women in here are like students, they're not policemen. I feel like they're investigating this and you're finding things, and there's a backstory, and it makes sense. And I just love that kind of narration in a movie where you have like this mystery, you have a psychological thriller, you have horror, and you have so much gore in this. And it it's it's great. It's a terrifier level kind of gore. And I will say Tony Todd was a pre-terrifier and was the first one to come up with the hot dog slice. It's totally true. I thought about that so many times during this movie. He just needs to go up a little bit more, but you know what? You gotta start somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

But you gotta stop at the gullet. He didn't even need a hacksaw, he was able to just do it with a hook. Look how big and strong he is.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

So talented. Um, I think if I didn't give this a slash, you guys would actually kick me off the podcast. Um, which I'm cool with. I I really enjoyed this movie. As we've talked about recently, this 90s horror, it's the perfect place for me. I wish that I had been alive sooner to see this in theaters. I wish that I had seen it sooner. I think for a lot of people, this is that movie that you saw right at the time where it became like the scariest movie you've ever seen. Like for me, mine was the ring, and it has nothing really to do with the movie. It's just you see it at the right time. We all have that type of horror movie. And I wish this was mine. Like, I wish I had earlier memories tied to this movie. That sounds crazy. But I I just loved it. It was so great. I loved that it was in an urban setting. Um, Helen was amazing. I love the camera work, like the overhead shots of the city that happened very frequently in this, not just during the title sequence. So, so nice. Music was beautiful. I love the real people that appeared to be in this film, like especially in the projects and everything, people that maybe some people don't expect or do expect. I I just I can't I can come up with things that are not perfect, but this is a really, really good movie through and through.

SPEAKER_03 31:14

Can I make you really happy, Ryan? Sure. The production actually hired people who actually lived in uh the projects to be in the movie. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Which is what you should do.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

So that group of kids who are out there as they as Helen and and Bernie approached, yeah, they were actually residents.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

I love it. That's that's that's how you should do things when you do them like this.

SPEAKER_04 31:34

Side note, did they actually uh film there? They did. Only three days, but they did.

SPEAKER_03 31:39

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Ryan, I feel like you made a good point. Like, I'm mad that it took me this long to see this movie.

SPEAKER_03 31:44

Well, it's all about the journey, folks, and welcome to Hacker Slash. Your journey into seeing movies you should have seen a decade ago. Thanks for having us. So this movie is a lot of things, um, but I think the best way to describe it right is just beautifully executed, enchanting, but simultaneously haunting. Tony Todd is just unrelentlessly terrifying. But I think what I love most about this is the love and care that went into the storytelling and went into the production. You know, I haven't seen anything else from Bernard Rose, but I wish I had. I absolutely love his work, but the specific moments that I love the most were just showing what life is like, right? So when the women are going to investigate, right, and they're seeing this place for the first time and they meet the neighbor, but you're saying I dialed 911 and no one came. And that just speaks a lot about just where we were and honestly where we still are in so many parts of our country. But I think for that, this movie is timeless, and for that, it's a universal slash. So there you have it, folks. Pull out your bingo cards. Somehow we ended up wrap it up in the last episode of the month. Uh, Candyman from 1992 is a universal slash. It is available on Netflix, so do yourself a favor. All of us recommend it. Go check it out, and then join us, please, for the second half because we have so much to talk about. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Candyman, candyman, candyman, candyman, candyman. I wish the candyman would run up on me.

SPEAKER_05 33:30

Shit.

SPEAKER_03 33:38

Alright, welcome back, folks. Hope you had your bingo cards ready because Candyman from 1992 just earned a universal slash. Now, before we get into the specifics and before we explore what made this movie so incredible, Alexis, please the gore score.

SPEAKER_04 33:54

Oh, was this movie bloody? So we're gonna give it a high gore score. Blood everywhere sounds crazy. Every scene is super bloody. I think everyone can agree with that. Whether you see what happens or not, there's a point where Helen just wakes up and she's covered in blood, and then you see the poor dog's head.

SPEAKER_05 34:17

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 34:18

That was the saddest thing.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Yeah, it took me a really long time to really like see what the head was. So I think my TV was a little bit too dark for this movie. That's a random thing, but TV brightness, it's a struggle because you want it light during the day and dark at night. But anyway, so I saw the head and didn't realize it was the dog. And then as the scene continued, I was like, oh my god, no.

SPEAKER_04 34:39

It was tough. You're like, I have to report a death now, and a really bad one, not just like someone barking off camera. But that move that was crazy. I mean, there's just blood everywhere in this movie, and it's so cool to see something like this, but it's still not be overly gory. Yeah. Like to me, I was like, hell yeah, this is crazy and gory, but I never was like, okay, they're doing it too much.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

It's like terrifier gore, but it doesn't make you uncomfortable in the way that Terrifier did.

SPEAKER_03 35:06

Just because the vibes aren't sexual.

SPEAKER_02 35:07

Yeah. I know that Terrifier didn't make you uncomfortable, Alexis. Alexis is like, what are you talking about? Uncomfortable? Who got uncomfortable? Yes. But like in general, like this movie is super bloody and gory, but but not like I have to look away from the screen right now in that way.

SPEAKER_04 35:22

I do wish though, like I'm I I mean, I get his deaths were like they were brutal, they were like it was crazy, but like to me, they all seemed like they were the same.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

Yeah. A lot of stab a little hook through the heart.

SPEAKER_01 35:37

Listen, he has a brand.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Yeah. I know. He is on brand. This is true. I admire that consistency. Hook him, then you know, fall backwards out of a window. Fly backwards out of a window.

SPEAKER_04 35:49

That was cool. I was like, whoa, what just happened? The effects in this. I will admit, the effects for like the first scene when you see the bees coming out, probably not the best thing I've ever seen. But the effects for when Tony opens up his jacket and then you see these like ribs. Oh my god, terrifying. So good, terrifying. And the bees coming out, oh my gosh, that was like my favorite thing to like actually. I felt really weird staring at that. I'm like, mmm, and pause. Wow, this is cool. Because I wasn't expecting that. I didn't think that that would happen. Classic Alexis. Yeah, classic.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

It reminded me of the Exorcist a lot. I don't know if you guys got the same vibe.

SPEAKER_03 36:31

I didn't get Exorcist vibes, but I do acknowledge where the tone is similar because it's all very spiritual. Like Candyman himself is referring to the people who believe in him as his congregation, right? He's almost like a villainous deity. And that was that was really cool. But I think, you know, when you look at like some of the gore that Alexis was talking about, right? So like the bees coming out, things like that. I think what really did it for me was Trevor at the end. It was just the like most like fulfilling kill for me. Like I actually felt good about it.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

Chris, the congregation line, like calling the people that believe in him the congregation, that word is something that means different things to different people. And using that word to describe the people that follow him in this setting is so genius. It's so intentional, I think. And like when he said it, I was like, man, it's it's perfect because it brings in this amount of of like you said, like there's a spiritual part of it, and and it changes his whole like aura and it like changes his relationship. And it's like, is he like living in this building with these people? Like, who is he? What does he do? It's it's so good.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

He is certainly napping there when he's not watching Anthony. Yeah, what was it? The nap? I don't know, but it was great.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

He was just noozing, kind of cute like. I know I actually kind of secretly love him, but you guys know me.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

Supernatural ghosts also have to take naps. Don't you all know this? Come on.

SPEAKER_03 38:00

Okay, so Ryan, in a competition between Freddie and Candyman, which one would you go with?

SPEAKER_02 38:05

I knew you were gonna say that. Freddie, I love Freddie. Oh really, though? Well, Freddie, yeah, Freddie does it's I just I like Freddie. I I quite enjoy Candyman, but Candyman just burned in a fire. You know, he didn't really do it for me. It ended real quick with Candyman.

SPEAKER_04 38:23

Plus he takes naps, so that's where Freddie can get him. Come on, there you go. Freddie already won.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

I I do love though how he like brought it to that that supernatural level. I mean, the whole thing about him being this myth and having life just simply because people believe in him. You know, just that their bel he's like Santa Claus. He only exists if everyone continues to believe in him.

SPEAKER_03 38:43

Or like Freddie Krueger.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

Right, right. It's it's power though. I mean, he's like demanding a sacrifice, demanding that Helen, you know, turn herself over to him, give herself fully to him, and that he'll give her an everlasting afterlife. It's like super biblical. That's hot.

SPEAKER_02 39:02

The line, come be my victim. Oh my gosh. It was killing me. I it was like sending chills down my spine. Like it's not just like, come to my side. Like it's it's not like a normal way to bring somebody in like a bad person would. It's literally like uh there's no, I'm not gonna pretend here, come be my victim. Like, I am here, I'm going to kill you. I want you on my side.

SPEAKER_04 39:25

It's a nice uh Tinder, you know, profile line.

SPEAKER_03 39:29

Oh, yeah. We don't actually recommend you use that, but okay. No, let us know if you do.

SPEAKER_04 39:36

Um, I have a question for you guys though. So, like, no, I think this is where I'm confused, and he has this backstory where he had an injustice done to him and his ashes were scattered on these projects. So I don't understand because it seems like you guys are saying like these he's protecting these people or this is his congregation, but those were the people that also like killed him.

SPEAKER_02 40:00

It's not so much that he I think is protecting the people, but it's that the people believing him in him is what keeps him alive.

SPEAKER_04 40:08

Oh, yeah, because he was saying to her, you don't believe in me, let me show you.

SPEAKER_02 40:11

Um yeah, and when she came like asking questions and doing all the stuff, he was saying, like, you're messing with the people that believe in me. And it's not because those are his people necessarily, but they're the ones that believe in him and that keep his um legend going and keep him there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:27

But question also, then the kid is where I'm confused because the kid's like, Yeah, I'll go get the candyman for you. And is it the actual guy that comes in just had saw her go in? In the bathroom? Yeah, or did he bring that guy showed up.

SPEAKER_02 40:43

No, I think that was somebody trying to teach her a lesson. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Yeah. Yeah, the kid was gonna bring her to where he thought he lived because he had heard the story about him attacking the other kid in that bathroom. And so when she went to go scope out the bathroom, that's when the false candyman uh showed up. But it does uh once again, giving life to Candyman with with myth.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Yeah, and I think something like what what I got from it was like, this is our neighborhood, like this is like a well, what are you doing here type of thing? And it wasn't her first time there.

SPEAKER_04 41:13

Yeah, I get that too. Yeah, that was a powerful scene. Because you know, I wasn't expecting anything to happen, and then when she gets knocked out, I'm like, oh wow, and it's not the candyman.

SPEAKER_03 41:24

And the fine mist of blood spraying from the back of her head when she gets hit.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Oh yeah. I mean, speaking of gore, that bathroom was so fucking disgusting.

SPEAKER_04 41:32

Yeah, oh my god. It was a saw bathroom. Nightmares. It was pre-saw. Saw's getting all these um like influences from other movies, I'm noticing. It's almost like it's your favorite movie.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

I mean, you know a bathroom is disgusting when they lift the toilet seat and you're relieved that it's full of bees. Right.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

So true.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

Did anyone else think that their writing on the wall was made with literal human feces?

SPEAKER_02 41:56

Oh, I definitely did because when she opened the door, you could like see it from the side, and it was definitely 3D, man. It was definitely gross.

SPEAKER_00 42:02

It had a texture to it.

SPEAKER_03 42:03

It had some volume.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:05

I thought it was like bloody, like some sort of like dried blood guts kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 42:10

It was bloody shit, actually.

SPEAKER_01 42:12

Yeah. There was one gore-related scene that might fly under the radar, but uh one of the times when they um inject Helen with a sedative, which it happens a few times, um, but during one of them, the audio that they put with the injection sounded like they were puncturing a needle through like cardboard or something. And I like felt that in my skin. It was so gross.

SPEAKER_04 42:33

Yeah, all the sound effects are great in this, especially when they take a hook. Yeah, especially when it was a doctor.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

You could feel that hook go in and just so for me, the bees, when his mouth is full of bees and he like leans down, and I guess it you're supposed to think that he's like breeding the bees into her, yeah, something like that. But the sound effects they used during that, I was just like, ugh. I like it, you didn't see anything, but you could feel it.

SPEAKER_05 42:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:59

There is a particular sound effect, and pardon me, friends, it's not as cool as the ones that you're describing, but the one sound effect that really got me was when she is in the police station having to strip, and she goes to take off her bra and you can feel it unstick to her skin.

SPEAKER_05 43:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Oh and then it plops on the floor.

SPEAKER_03 43:15

Let's be clear. Had this been any other circumstance, and that was just like a sweaty bra instead of a bloody bra, can you imagine the relief she would have felt in that moment? That is very true. That's so true. No, but the the audio in this movie is absolutely incredible. And what I love is like Rose specifically chose the type of score and then worked with Philip Glass to achieve it. And this actually like a quote from him the score in a horror movie tells you when you're supposed to be scared, which is the same thing to me as telling me I'm not going to be scared. So even in that, like his decision from the onset was to subvert anything you've ever expected a horror movie to do to you.

SPEAKER_04 43:54

I just love it. It was so good. I mean, you knew something was gonna happen and you're just like and it's building up. Even some scenes I w still wasn't expecting it at all. Like the whole doctor getting killed, I didn't expect that.

SPEAKER_05 44:06

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:07

I was like, man, she's gonna look real dumb when she looks in that mirror and says Candyman five times and nothing happens. It's gonna be real silly. It was not silly.

SPEAKER_03 44:16

So a question for uh Ryan, you know, you said in terms of the ending, you had some questions, some logistical questions. What were those questions?

SPEAKER_02 44:24

I think my biggest thing is is that I don't understand how he died in the fire. I don't understand how the person that literally shows up in a room, you know, under a desk. Like if we're if we're going on the assumption, which I think is correct, that that Helen is not crazy and it's not just her, and he is a thing that exists that comes in. Um I just don't understand how he died in the fire like that. It doesn't make sense to me. Couldn't crawl through it. Yeah, but also he doesn't follow the laws of physics, so he could just go somewhere else. Like, like I it didn't make sense to me that he perished in the end of this film.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

I mean, it's my interpretation that Candyman is a sexy ghost and and he kind of does what he wants. I think the the death and the end and the fire was more like symbolic for just the sake of the movie because obviously there's two sequels. The candyman's obviously not dead. Um, but I also think that he sort of transferred his haunting and like his essence into Helen when they like made out with all those bees.

SPEAKER_02 45:35

Yeah. Real sexy kiss there.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

He gave her the bee.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Yeah. So Paris, do you think he's a he's a candy daddy then?

SPEAKER_01 45:43

Oh, Tony Todd is iconic. He is six foot five, he has gorgeous bone structure, flawless skin. When he first showed up in that uh parking garage and he like starts walking down in that like dramatic fur coat, I was like, first of all, that's a look. Second of all, I'm terrified. And he was like, specifically, I remember like looking because he was off in the distance at first, like his mouth wasn't moving, but you could still hear his voice like booming in your soul. Um, and I was like, okay, so he's like under some sort of he's like doing some kind of like hypnosis brainwashing thing with her right now, and that was just like so potent to me.

SPEAKER_02 46:16

Oh, also Helen, super fine. That girl Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Talk about beautiful skin.

SPEAKER_02 46:22

Oh my god, she was gorgeous. She looked good in this movie, even when she was going crazy. I was like, I'm still into crazy Helen.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

Yeah, can we talk about how she actually almost didn't even get cast in this movie? Really? She auditioned to be Bernadette, and then they decided that Bernadette should be a black character. And so she was just like on the sidelines. And if she hadn't taken it, they were gonna try to get Sandra Bullock. Oh, thank God that didn't happen. To be clear, Sandra Bullock was relatively unknown at this time.

SPEAKER_00 46:49

Yeah, this is before speed. So can I add to that symbolism uh discussion though, with the uh the fire at the end? Because I think the important part about why he dies at the end is because it's his congregation that's choosing to burn him and be done with him.

SPEAKER_02 47:06

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 47:07

I can go I can go with that.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

It's an effigy. Indeed.

SPEAKER_04 47:10

Maybe because that he took one of their own.

SPEAKER_00 47:12

He's taken many of their own and they're done with it.

SPEAKER_03 47:14

They're trying to take the power back.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Yeah. It was like a purge, it was a cleansing.

SPEAKER_03 47:18

I also saw it because like if you guys look at what they're trying to tell you, right? Helen's supposed to be a reincarnation of the woman he fell in love with. Hence why when you look at the painting on the wall, it's supposed to vaguely resemble her, and that's what's it like that resemblance is vague at best. This is kind of like a stretch there. Um, but I think not only was it the congregation turning their back on him, but it was the love of his life and the love of his afterlife refusing to join him. Ends up joining him anyway, it's a little bit too late at this point. But I think all those things just really kind of shook him to his core.

SPEAKER_04 47:52

All right, that makes a little bit more sense.

SPEAKER_03 47:54

But hey, you know, don't play with fire kids.

SPEAKER_02 47:57

I was so happy the baby made it at the end. I was ready to be heartbroken over that child. Like, oh gosh, the way she was just like wailing and screaming for him. Oh my gosh, I was so happy when he got out alive. It was beautiful. And also the instantly uh bald head of Helen at the same time as well. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 48:16

Okay, so bad. Did anyone else get Star Wars Episode 3 vibes? Anakin Skywalker losing the high ground?

SPEAKER_02 48:23

I got the doll from Rugrats that was missing a lot of hair.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

That's actually the same vibe I got too.

SPEAKER_02 48:29

Cynthia vibes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:31

She was just bald and burned. Did Candyman take care of that baby for like that full month? Was he there like holding it and cradling it and like you know, burping it and stuff?

SPEAKER_03 48:40

I was thinking, does he have baby formula? I want to see a Netflix series on adventures with Candyman.

SPEAKER_04 48:47

He did a lot of things. Also, was he the one putting the razors in there in the candy?

SPEAKER_01 48:53

Oh yeah, is that where that came from? Did this movie like start that urban legend of razor blades in Halloween candy?

SPEAKER_03 48:59

No, that started back in like the way back.

SPEAKER_04 49:02

Back in the way back generation. Speaking of that scene though, I think that has to be um visually one of my favorites. I think when I was um younger, the I do remember like the gist of this entire movie, but I really remember from when I was younger is her crawling through the medicine cabinet. And I have been afraid of that since.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

That's spooky.

SPEAKER_04 49:23

But when she's doing this investigation, you're just like waiting for like something to happen. You're waiting for something to happen, you're waiting for something to happen. It's keeping you on edge. And because you've watched plenty of horror movies, you know that's gonna happen. But when she comes through that um like painting on the wall of his mouth, I thought that was super symbolic. I thought it was super amazing just to have that because you're not expecting it. And then it's just like this she sits up and it's like this holy shit moment for her. Like, wow.

SPEAKER_03 49:52

Yeah, so good.

SPEAKER_04 49:53

Yeah, no, that was mine. What did you guys like visually?

SPEAKER_03 49:56

That whole scene, it it made me feel so many things, Alexis. And it gave me like a tunnel of love vibes. But in that whole scene leading up to that, man, I thought, like, for damn sure, if I lived there, I'd be so pissed at this white girl coming in here with her camera saying, Oh, look at this graffiti. This is great. Let me take a picture. Like she's a fucking tourist. Yeah, exactly. But also, she for damn sure should have fixed that medicine cabinet. At her house? Yeah. Why would she not fix that?

SPEAKER_02 50:25

Oh, I would be not in that apartment until it was fixed. Like, and she knocked the other side through. There's not even there's nothing there. Uh it's been a little bit more.

SPEAKER_04 50:36

That's how his uh mistress snuck in and out. Go. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 50:41

Did you guys notice the second time, like towards the end when she went through the mirror again? It was like the hole was like 15 times larger.

SPEAKER_02 50:48

Yeah, it was way easier to get through.

SPEAKER_01 50:50

I looked over to my boyfriend, I was like, is that hole bigger? And he's like, Yeah, the camera needed to get through this time.

SPEAKER_02 50:55

That whole thing stressed me out so much, like her crawling through there and like just all the weird things going on and taking pictures and then knowing that she's like in a project, like literally in the projects next to somebody else's b uh apartment. It's so weird.

SPEAKER_03 51:10

I also loved Emory showing up and calling her out. You don't belong going through people's apartments and things. It's like, yeah, the fucking audacity you have, madam, just wandering around in here poking your head and things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:22

Like, who are you? Um, visually, one of my favorite elements was like when she was like hypnotized by the Candyman, you know, like she got all dreamy and the light would hit her a certain way, and it was always just these really, really nice scenes, and then you knew something was about to go real wrong every single time.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

And it started with when she first hears the origin story of Candyman, where she's like holding the cigarette, then it just has like the band of light right on her eyes. It reminded me of um Angelica Houston as Morticia Adams in the Adams family movies.

SPEAKER_04 51:53

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 51:56

But did you guys think that the guy at the table telling that story looked like the kombucha girl? Yes, almost like the long hair.

SPEAKER_03 52:03

He was like, I didn't even make that connection in my mind because I was equating him to the penguin in the Michael Keaton Batman movie. But very that too. The kombucha girl. Yeah, no, that is that is spot on.

SPEAKER_00 52:16

They did some really cool things with light and shadow in this in the movie. Like uh she's talking to the young kid uh like in the hallway, and there's like lattice work or something that's like shining light through onto her face, so like half of her face is is normally lit, and the other half has like this light shining through the lattice onto it. It's like super interesting the stuff they were able to do. Like I just kept like thinking, you know, when you're not like totally sucked into the story, every now and then you'd be like, oh wow, that's like super crazy that shot that they got out of it.

SPEAKER_03 52:45

When we look at the visuals, this is obviously super stunning. I think my favorite element visually was the bonfire. There was something about the flames wicking against Helen's body while she's trying to climb out with that baby, and then you see that the baby did get a little bit burned on the scalp. That whole thing was just absolutely, absolutely stunning. Not to mention how absolutely gorgeous she looked in those like kind of like trance scenes that you're talking about, Ryan. When we look at this mo at this movie, there are a lot of shining moments, and I do have a couple small little complaints that I just want to get out of the way now because this movie it isn't perfect. I have a question for you guys. This shit took place in Indiana, all right? The um opening scene with the babysitter. What kind of foreplay is taking a dude up to a bathroom to say fucking candyman five times in a mirror? Oh yeah, and then just sending him back downstairs. Legit Midwest shit. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 53:36

Listen, she's a little freaky. We're not gonna kink shame her.

SPEAKER_03 53:40

No one's ever gotten past four.

SPEAKER_02 53:42

Well, he didn't either. The line that was like, she decided she was gonna give him something she hasn't given anyone else. I was like, a blowjob? What are we talking about here? That's that's what was getting set up in my mind, but that's obviously not what happened.

SPEAKER_04 53:57

I thought for some reason, I thought there was this elaborate scheme in the beginning that she was setting this guy up and she knew Candyman, but little did I know that's not a part of it.

SPEAKER_02 54:07

Young, young, dumb, and horny.

SPEAKER_04 54:09

That's always goes for a lot of 90s films, yeah, but teenagers. Also, I'm glad that everyone looked their age in this one, and we were out of high school and we were in college. Very true.

SPEAKER_02 54:22

Although in the in the class, the bell rings and he's like, Oh, that's lunch, and I was like, that doesn't happen in college, but okay. But uh students having affairs with their professors does happen in college, and I was perfect. We all saw it coming and knew it was gonna happen, and then we get that sweet revenge at the end. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 54:40

Yo, she called him out on it. Yeah, she saw it coming. She was like, So you're gonna tell me about this girl?

SPEAKER_02 54:46

To be fair, he did say, Yeah, what do you want me to tell you? She's in love with me. He wasn't lying, he wasn't wrong.

SPEAKER_03 54:51

Nah, he's just still a prick.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

But did you fuck her?

SPEAKER_03 54:54

Very true.

SPEAKER_00 54:55

He has a terrible taste in women, and that woman had a terrible taste in any kind of design aesthetic.

SPEAKER_03 55:01

Also, terrible taste in sheer material top, so her nips poking out of the bat uh out of the uh blouse. Oh, you weren't a fan. Come on. I was a fan.

SPEAKER_01 55:10

Her nips were on the outside of that shirt.

SPEAKER_02 55:12

I was a fan. You guys know the deal. But I will say this is a lesson to men that think that younger women are better for them. This is this movie is exactly what your life will turn into. Okay. She was pissed because he wouldn't come out of the bathroom when literally his ex-wife just died.

SPEAKER_00 55:29

Yeah, he's like, I'm trying to take a poop, dude. Give me five minutes.

SPEAKER_03 55:32

That's what I'm thinking. If he's trying to take a shit. And he's in there thinking about all the times that Helen really cutely ran around the kitchen to get things ready for him. And then you have this broad like smacking her hand with a knife like she's a fucking idiot, throwing meat around. Like she probably doesn't really know how to cook that well.

SPEAKER_01 55:48

She was like 19.

SPEAKER_02 55:50

She's got a lot of attitude. Don't leave your wife for a younger woman. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 55:53

I do wonder, like, when they filmed that scene, did they have to like ice her up a little bit beforehand, you know, to really make things shine through?

SPEAKER_04 55:59

I was totally thinking they either iced her up or rubbed her a little bit. First off, you can ice yourself. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:06

Well, the makeup department comes over and they have ice cubes just like ready to go.

SPEAKER_03 56:10

Is this like uh the fluffer in porn?

SPEAKER_00 56:12

Yeah, right. Oh, yeah. Get me the icer. The ice man coming. Sorry.

SPEAKER_03 56:17

The sequel to Candyman. Look, that's the biggest thing I can complain about, so I feel pretty good about it. But did anything stand out to you was like a little question mark or something that you wish would have been done differently in this movie?

SPEAKER_01 56:28

For me, two things. One, they were very deliberate in not showing Helen's titties, and then they just like showed one randomly towards the end, and I was like, oh, so now they're gonna show her titty? Okay, work, girl. Do you but as much as I love Candyman as a character, the point where he's like floating above her in the bed and just like floating around that hospital room, I thought that was a little bit goofy, but it also kind of like played into his character. I feel like he had a flair for the dramatic, so I wasn't so mad about it, but it was a bit goofy.

SPEAKER_02 56:57

I love that part.

SPEAKER_01 56:57

I mean, he is an artiste, and then when he like flies out the window, hear me out. I feel like Candyman has definite gay energy. The character may not be gay, the actor may not be gay, but he has a flair for the dramatic. That fur coat was a look, and that bone structure, he looked like Electra Abundance from pose.

SPEAKER_02 57:14

Oh my god. I think you're not giving like the the pimp vibes enough credit, honestly. I agree, yeah. With the shoes, the fur coat, it was very intentional.

SPEAKER_01 57:24

Listen, he can pimp me out anytime. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 57:28

You did say that he was gorgeous and iconic, but you never did say that he's a daddy.

SPEAKER_01 57:34

It's implied.

SPEAKER_00 57:35

He's heavily a daddy. Candy daddy.

SPEAKER_03 57:37

He's candy daddy.

SPEAKER_00 57:38

Does he show up and is he like trick or treat?

SPEAKER_04 57:41

I'll trick your treat. This is an Halloween. My fall point was like what we discussed before. It was how did he die in the fire? But like I get the symbolism behind it still to me doesn't make sense, but you know, there's two more other movies. I guess I will have to explore.

SPEAKER_01 57:58

The initial like parking garage scene where she comes face to face with Candyman for the first time. The speaker I use is a home pod, so the bass in it is really powerful. And when you first hear his voice, like the audio effects that they chose to make it so distinct, like I literally felt his voice in my rib cage and just like clutched my chest while the whole scene played out. Um, and it was just like such a ride because she's in the parking garage, he's approaching her slowly, like clearly, like not afraid, not even he's like, I'm in full control of this situation, and you're gonna listen to everything I have to say. And also I have gorgeous bone structure, so pay attention. And then the next thing you know, she like wakes up covered in blood. There's like a missing baby, there's a dead dog. She slashes a girl with a butcher knife in self-defense, and I was just like, this escalated so quickly, but like the sequence of it all was so well done, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 58:47

Yeah, I mean, she basically got the supernatural version of a roofie.

SPEAKER_01 58:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:51

From a guy in a fur coat.

SPEAKER_02 58:53

It's also really cool, I think, like in that scene for her to for him to be playing on like humanity the way he does, you know, like he didn't kill the baby, he didn't kill her, he didn't kill the other woman, but you know, he knows that like he puts her in a room full of blood, the woman's gonna freak out, the baby's gone, like all these things, and he continues to do that, like play on that like human instinct where it's gonna end up looking like you did it. Maybe it's because you pick up the knife and do something, maybe because people are gonna walk in right at the right time, like whatever it is. And it's so much cooler to see that rather than literally someone popping up in a bathroom and killing people over and over again. Because that's totally what I thought we were gonna get here. And I'm so happy that it went a completely different route.

SPEAKER_00 59:38

I mean, I I definitely took it as he was influencing them and then they actually committed the crime, but hallucinated something else.

SPEAKER_01 59:47

Yeah, I did too.

SPEAKER_02 59:48

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 59:49

Almost like possession.

SPEAKER_03 59:54

Yeah, I didn't think that.

SPEAKER_02 59:56

Oh, I thought he did it, and he just like sets them up. Yeah, it's a he frames them.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:00

I felt it like he was taking control of them, and then they would do these things like completely not realizing what was happening, and then boom, they wake up.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:10

Maybe. Hmm, the power of interpretation. Interesting. Yeah, I like it both ways.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:16

It works, it's it's vague, but I feel like whatever way you interpret it works.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:21

I will say that one of Helen's funniest moments was the point where she goes back to the house, fucking Stacey is paid painting her home, Pepto Abysmal Pink, but then she tells Trevor, it's over. Like, was that a moment of realization for her, or does she actually have the nerve to think she was actually making a decision here? Or does she just think that like one hadn't already been made on her behalf?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:42

See, the way I saw that was she was saying, It's over, like everything with her life, and that's when she decided she was just gonna die. Not the relationship. But maybe I can see it. That makes me feel better.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:54

However, definitely not how I picked up on it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:57

Interesting. I didn't even have a question. That's so funny, but yeah, you make a good point. Hmm. But I I also in that moment was like super stressed because I was thinking, like, she she was like, You're all I have. Like, literally, where would you go if you're on the run and like there's this other woman in your house, you know? Like, you can't just go to a friend's house and show up and I mean technically her only friend is dead. Exactly, exactly. Like, it would be such a stressful moment, and she really didn't have anywhere else to go except to go see the candy man.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:27

Just to be clear, guys, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are manipulated by a supernatural ghost and you are friend for a murder and also exp break out of your mental institution and you have not already killed me, I'll cover for you. Come on over, let's do it. Thanks, Chris.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:44

Just to be clear, that is not an open invitation for all of us, just Chris. Don't call me with that shit. Oh, can we talk about the child actor? He was so good. Jake. And I hate children.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:56

Oh, can we also talk about the fact that they gave him a totally inappropriate name? Nobody in this neighborhood names their child Jake. And his real name is Dewan, which is much more appropriate.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:06

I mean, that kid, he seemed like he was like a 50-year-old man trapped inside that little body. Like he had seen things, his acting was just so natural. I was very impressed by him.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:17

When that precious little angel is sitting in the the uh precinct drinking his cup of water, he loved Candyman ain't real? Then takes a takes a sip of that water as if you know a grown-ass man will be sipping whiskey like, oh shit, what's my life even?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:31

Oh, that was whiskey.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:33

It was so good.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:34

When he said the candyman was gonna come for him, did you think it was the guy that was in the bathroom?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

Like the wannabe candyman?

SPEAKER_04 1:02:44

IRL Candyman, or was it Candyman? I think he's just afraid either way. Okay, yeah. I think this is where I got too deep, and I'm like, well, what is this?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:54

Yeah, I think he was just afraid of every interpretation of Candyman, ghost or otherwise.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:59

I thought it was like, hey, I'm snitching on you guys. That's why it was the IRL Candyman.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:05

Can we talk about the story that the the little kid told Helen about how allegedly Candyman cut off the penis of a kid with special needs in that bathroom and left him to death?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:16

Oh, yeah. How'd I forget about that?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:17

That was bloody.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:18

What the fuck?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:20

Yeah. And then he was like, can't go back from there. Yeah, they found it floating in a toilet. Can't fix that. Better off dead.

unknown 1:03:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:28

They did not pull any punches with like the audacity of Candyman and his kills. They were just so gruesome.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:35

I also just wanted to talk about like the bees of it all. I personally hate bees so much, partially because when I was younger, I fell down in the grass and I landed on a bee and it stung my palm. But my mom just saw me like crying because I fell in the grass. So she was like, get up, you're fine. And ever since then, bees have just like been very horrific to me.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:52

Oh, Gwen.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:54

Well, she didn't know. But the scene where they both have bees on their face, that was so horrific because they were like in their mouth. They were real bees, right? Like that wasn't special effects. Those were bees.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:05

They had to have been real.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:06

That was wild.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:07

We'll find out.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:08

I mean, I'm sure they didn't have real bees in their mouth.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:12

I saw bees in the mouth.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:13

You've also seen a human get cut in half with a hex on terrifier. Very true.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:21

Anything is possible.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:23

It's true. I don't know. Maybe I'm not scared of bees because every time I see one, I imagine that they're just like this cute, chubby little thing with a smile on its face. But in your mouth, Mac? I you know, I just imagine it's lost. Like it's in there going like, uh hi, can I can I get out?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:37

Hi.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:38

You know, just like I just imagine this cute little thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:41

I'm a firm believer that anything that like moves on its own should be nowhere near your mouth.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:45

I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:46

Like a bug in your mouth? Uh anything? No, no, thank you.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:50

I think uh after this movie, this is how uh bees got in uh onto the endangered species list.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:56

Oh my god. So I think the topic of bees is a good way to uh segue us here. Mac has a lot of educational points for us about how this movie was made, but guys, embrace yourselves because this is uh it's gonna get interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:12

Hopefully. We want to make it an interesting one for for all of you and for our listeners. So, number one, the murder via removable medicine cabinet thing that they do, based on real life.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:24

Fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:25

Yeah, so true. Fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:26

Fact. That's horrifying and probably real.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:29

Can I tell you I didn't know that uh they basically just cut a hole in the wall for you to have a a medicine cabinet? Yeah. I had no idea until recently someone removed one, and I was like, wait, there's just a hole in the drywall back there? I had no idea. Anyway, sorry.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:43

Yeah, so this is fact. Uh there were actually several crimes in Chicago committed because of this fact. Uh which is insane to me to imagine someone pushing in your your uh medicine cabinet and hopping in and saying hello or goodbye, I guess in this case.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:57

Again, quite literally some Midwest shit.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:59

And now I'm afraid. Of my own medicine cabinet. You you should look into it. Check out your medicine cabinet.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:04

I may never open my medicine cabinet ever again, honestly. After this movie.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:08

I think ours is under the stairs. If it was that one. Ew. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:12

Yeah. Okay. So Virginia Madsen, who plays Helen, was actually professionally hypnotized to get into that trance-like state that you all liked.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:21

Fiction. Uh fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:22

I want this to be true, so I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:25

I like it. You know? Um, yeah, so they actually did employ a professional hypnotist. So the director was not a fan of people screaming. He found it annoying. He said it's an effing, horrible noise, too. So instead, they wanted her to be in this like cool trance-like state and actually hired a professional hypnotist. So far to the point where she even had a day of filming that she couldn't recall, and then suddenly was not a fan of being hypnotized. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:54

Oh, dude, no, thank you. That's so creepy. Supernaturally roofied again. Method acting.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:00

Yeah, that's method acting, alright.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:02

Number three. There was a real serial killer called Candyman.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:06

Hmm. I feel like this is where you trip us up, but I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:09

I'm gonna say fiction, because that's just like a corny name unless you're Tony Todd.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:14

I'm gonna go fact because serial killers often have the worst names ever.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:18

Like the Doodler.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:20

Yeah, it's it's it's a fact. Shit. There was a real serial killer called Candyman, but for a good reason. So this guy's name, Dean Coral, he raped and murdered nearly 30 boys back in the early 70s, but he lured them in with candy from his family's candy factory.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:36

Of course.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:36

Isn't that lovely? Yeah, you shouldn't do that. That's bad. This kills the human. Alright, and number four, our favorite topic tonight, Tony Todd, Candyman's actor, made over $20,000 from being stun by the bees in the film.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:51

This is where you trip us up. It was only $10,000, but um, I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:57

I guess I want him to be compensated if he was stung, so fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:01

This one's very hard because I'm sure that there were real bees used in filming, but I also don't believe that they were like in his mouth. And maybe Helen would have the same situation. I'm going fiction.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:12

Interesting. Because it's a fact. He actually negotiated to get a thousand dollars per sting. And I think he was stung something like 23 times. So that's boom. 20 grand.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:23

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:24

Just for accidentally getting stung by a bee.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:27

But can we talk about the logistics of these bees? Because Ryan, there were real bees in his mouth. So he actually wore a special, like, um like a dental dam. Yeah. I mean, one bee did kind of get past him. Over 200,000 bees were used in the production of this film, and Virginia was actually allergic to bees. So in that whole scene, they had to get 12 hour, specifically 12-hour old bees. So they looked old enough. Uh they were less likely to sting because their stinger wasn't fully formed. So they would just kind of qu crawl around on you. You also had to take like Queen Bee pheromones and pepper them all over where he where they wanted the bees to go on her body. It was insane. Dude, I'm stressed. That sounds insane.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:13

That's so elaborate.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:14

That's why this movie is fucking awesome.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:16

But also, shout out to whoever wrote that contract with that thousand per thousand per sting.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:21

Oh, that's brilliant negotiation. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:24

Aren't you aren't you glad that we now have like CGI and stuff so you don't have to be like, so we're making a movie in which we're gonna have to put bees in your mouth. How do you feel?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:31

No, it was way cooler when they did it.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:33

So she was all like, oh no, I can't do that. I'm allergic to bees. And they're like, oh, you're mainly allergic to wasps. We'll just have a paramedic around, it'll be fine. Uh but Tony Todd was like, yo, nobody has had bees in their mouth. I'm doing it.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:48

It is kind of funny that they told her she wasn't allergic. They didn't believe her. They're like, we just think you're scared. And so she had like she actually went to the hospital and got allergy testing done, which is nuts to me. Like she had to like prove it that I'm actually allergic to things.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:01

I mean, nobody believed anything she said.

unknown 1:10:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:03

That's true. And thus ends our fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:07

Thank you so much for that educational ride. You guys fared pretty well overall. I got them all right. Nice.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:12

Hey, you've been doing research.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:14

I almost got 100%. Alright, folks. Now clearly we all have some some uh pretty high praise for Candyman, and we've talked about a lot here, but the conversation doesn't stop here by any means. We, for one, I know cannot wait to hear what your thoughts are as a listener. Uh, there's a lot of ways you can reach out to us, so please don't hesitate to. Again, this was your last episode for Bingo. I can't wait to see it go through your cards. Again, the first 10 uh to bingo will get a scare package, but the first person um to get bingo, period, uh, is gonna get some super swag from us, and I'm looking forward to that now. Keep in mind you can reach out to us uh in a number of ways. If you got bingo, it's at bingo at hackerslash.com, or you can just find us on our website, www.hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:59

And on our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:03

And if you have a really good Candyman voice, you can hit us up at our Hackerslash Hotline. Either text us, call us, leave us a voicemail, or an audio message. Our number is 757-606-0128.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:14

And if you too have said Candyman into the mirror five times in a row and survived, please send us an email to feedback at hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:22

We'll see you next time. Bye.