Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999)

Movie Info

I’m just here to kill some time…

Caroline McKeever (Donna D’Errico) is trying to get over her family’s tragic past.  An art display of her relative’s work Daniel Robitaille (Tony Todd) leads to the return of the Candyman, and Caroline now must stop the murders before police arrest her for the crimes.  With Candyman pursuing his last relative, he must find a way to keep his legend alive!

Directed by Turi Meyer, Candyman 3:  Day of the Dead (sometimes just called Candyman:  Day of the Dead) is a slasher horror film.  A sequel to Candyman:  Farewell to the Flesh from 1995, the film was released straight-to-video and the first film of the franchise not to receive a theatrical release.  It received poor reviews.

Candyman knows how to party

I can’t say I was too excited to see another Candyman after Candyman:  Farewell to the Flesh which was just pretty mundane.  I actually forgot that a third Candyman was made since it was not released in theaters…watching the film, I wish it had remained forgotten.

The story has the daughter of Candyman:  Farewell to the Flesh’s character.  It is the typical set-up (Candyman is summoned, a woman is framed, and the murders start).  It adds a lazy plot of an overacting racist cop and some Candyman worshippers thrown in.  The film is lazy and uninspired…and it isn’t scary or funny.

The acting in the film is awful.  While Tony Todd isn’t bad, he pretty much just brings the same character to a bad movie.  Donna D’errico is a very, very weak “scream queen”.  While the other Candyman films had stronger female leads, she is almost feels like a cheap porn actress version of a lead female.  She has no command of the scenes, and as a result, you kind of want her to be framed.

I love hanging out with my supernatural relatives who are trying to hook up with me?

The film looks cheap.  The first Candyman film was surprisingly cinematic and atmospheric.  The second film was a step down, but didn’t look too bad.  This movie seems to have little budget though a big budget would have demonstrated how poor the script and acting are…it would have been nice if the horror had at least been more jumps.

Candyman was a rather stylized film, Candyman 2 was a typical slasher film, and Candyman 3 is pretty rotten.  The movie makes the other entries in the franchise into high art.  The plot, the acting, and the visuals are all substandard…even Candyman deserves better.  Candyman 3:  Day of the Dead was followed by a relaunch-sequel to the original film called Candyman in 2021.

Related Links:

Candyman (1992)

Candyman:  Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

Candyman (2021)