New Candyman Movie is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes

This morning saw the first reviews for the new Candyman movie, a “spiritual sequel” to the original 1992 horror movie, and the highly-anticipated movie has already reached a major landmark and is officially Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The review aggregator confirmed the news on social media, noting that the film currently has an 88% rating on the “Tomatometer” with 86 total reviews. Candyman (2021) now sits above all the other movies in the series with the 1992 feature hanging onto its own Certified Fresh rating with a 76% score. The sequels did not do as well with Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh sitting at 27% and Candyman: Day of the Dead achieving just 10%.

Awarding the film a 4 out of 5, ComicBook.com’s Patrick Cavanaugh called the film “hypnotic” and “complex,” further writing: “The original Candyman didn’t entirely earn the same notoriety of the slashers that came before it, despite Tony Todd’s performance earning him and the film legions of fans, with its first sequel being a disappointment and third entry in 1999 heading straight to video. For decades, the franchise and its mythology has been a wealth of untapped potential, with DaCosta and her Candyman finally elevating the figure to his full and horrifying glory, proving how it’s not always the legend itself but the one telling the stories that determines how to strike fear into the hearts of audiences.”

Though Jordan Peele produced and co-wrote the script, filmmaker Nia DaCosta directed the new movie which sees the return of Tony Todd as the titular villain. Franchise newcomers include Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and WandaVision‘s Teyonah Parris.

“It’s a continuation of the first film,” Todd previously revealed to Bloody Disgusting. “Nia DaCosta does a wonderful job directing, Jordan Peele wrote it. It’s in good hands. You know, I was really thrilled to see that A Quiet Place opened strongly, $48 million or something. So that’s a good sign for us. If it’s successful, no one knows what’s going to happen. Maybe there will be more, and maybe that’ll be the end.” He added, “You know, after almost thirty years of carrying that character to conventions and interacting with fans, it’s nice to finally have a new chapter to discuss. And new Funkos! I finally get my own official Funko.”

Candyman will debut in theaters on August 27th.