Candyman

TheWrap by Elizabeth Weitzman

DaCosta uses a range of thoughtfully considered media to shape their already-sharp script; the film’s violence is equally startling whether it’s depicted graphically and up-close, or through old-fashioned shadow puppets and oral traditions.

Empire by Kambole Campbell

Though it delivers some entertaining comedy and bloodshed, Candyman is clunky and overly instructive in its metaphorical purpose — killing subtext as often as it does anyone foolish enough to summon the eponymous spirit.

IndieWire by Kate Erbland

While DaCosta ably toys with the usual genre trappings — jump scares, things that go bump in the night, eye-popping gore — the filmmaker, directing only her second feature, effectively adds unexpectedly artful touches.

Screen Rant by Mae Abdulbaki

While introducing a few arcs it doesn’t fully explore, Candyman is replete with haunting imagery, disconcerting horror, and thought-provoking themes.

The Associated Press by Mark Kennedy

DaCosta can make a stroll down a well-lit, modern and clean hallway somehow creepy. This is confident, smart filmmaking. There’s a stunning scene in which the Candyman mirrors his prey’s movements and one in an elevator where blood droplets create their own horror-inside-horror.

Total Film by Matt Maytum

Sharp social commentary and slick genre trappings make for thought-provoking entertainment, even if it never entirely hooks you.

RogerEbert.com by Odie Henderson

Candyman caters to fans of the original without sacrificing its own vision and story.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

This film is a very tasty confection of satire and scorn.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

This is horror with grandeur, a movie that pays homage to history and feels so of-the-moment as to seem fresh out of the lab...Candyman, the glossiest horror movie in ages, isn’t just horror. It’s horror that reaches for the Latin in that MGM (which produced the original film and gets co-credit here) logo we see in the opening credits — “Ars gratia artis,” “art for art’s sake.”

IGN by Siddhant Adlakha

Nia DaCosta’s slow-burn sequel makes Candyman feel vital, both building on and course-correcting the movies in the series that came before it.