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Helen (Virginia Madsen), an academic writing a book on a mythical killer known as the Candyman, decides to visit a run-down housing project where the legend is still very much part of the residents' lives. As she questions the locals about their beliefs, she hears stories of how the Candyman will apparently be summoned into corporeal existence if anyone speaks his name five times in a row. This proves too much of a temptation for the ever-curious Helen, who says the names and thereby unleashes a murderous force more powerful and more real than she ever expected. From .co.uk ----------- Based on a story by Clive Barker and skillfully written and directed by Bernard Rose, Candyman rises above most horror films by eerily suggesting that some urban legends--in this case a particularly frightening one--have a spooky basis in reality. The legend of the Candyman is a potent one around the high-rise tenements of Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing complex, where the residents speak of a dark, ominous figure who appears when his victims say his name five times in front of a mirror, then mercilessly slashes them to death. Upon learning that the Candyman is rumoured to live in one of the vacant tenements, a University of Illinois researcher (Virginia Madsen ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Virginia%20Madsen+-ntsc )) investigates a recent murder at Cabrini-Green. She learns that the Candyman (played by Tony Todd ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Tony%20Todd+-ntsc )) is both unreal and chillingly real--a supernatural force of evil empowered by those who believe in his legend. He is a killer made by the belief of others, and the young researcher's investigation is a threat to his existence. What happens next? We wouldn't dare spoil the chills, but rest assured that writer-director Rose has tapped into a wellspring of urban angst and fear, and Candyman serves up its gruesome frights with a refreshing dose of intelligence. --Jeff Shannon