Cult horror classic 'Candyman' set for a remake

The movie which made a generation of teenagers afraid of bathroom mirrors (and bees) is set for a remake.

According to horror movie site Bloody Disgusting, Jordan Peele, the writer and comedian turned director of hit movie Get Out, is currently in talks to produce a remake of Candyman via his Monkeypaw Productions.

The original movie emerged in 1992 during a glut of slasher movies, helmed by Bernard Rose, and starring Tony Todd as the vengeful spectre, alongside Virginia Madsen.

It ended up spawning a trilogy of movies, but was originally based on The Forbidden, a short story by horror maven Clive Barker, who set his original story in his hometown of Liverpool (the movie was transplanted to Chicago).

Peele could be just the man to reboot it too, with Get Out having been lauded for its searing commentary on race.

Barker’s story dealt with the urban legend of a murdered artist, the son of a slave who became prosperous but was attacked by a lynch mob after he fathered a child with a white woman.

His hand was cut off, and he was then smeared with honey and stung to death by bees.

Dubbed the Candyman, legend had it that the vengeful artist could be summoned by saying his name five times in the mirror, with the summoner then being hacked to death by a hooked hand.

Though not a box office smash – it made $25 million – it later became something of a cult hit on home video, and was praised among critics for being more nuanced and intelligent than other slasher movies of the time.

Peele, meanwhile, is currently working on social thriller Us, set to star Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker.

It’s due out in March next year.

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