The Candyman is back, and he’s hooked on revenge! As the Day of the Dead celebration approaches the barrio of East Los Angeles, the tortured ghost is intent upon bringing his family together in a bloody reunion beyond the grave. Challenged to confront the horrifying legend of her ancestor, Caroline (Donna D’Errico, “Baywatch”) must come face to face with the monster who has destroyed her past — and now wants to steal her future — in this third installment of the electrifying Candyman series.
For thoughts on Candyman III: Day Of The Dead, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Candyman III: Day Of The Dead finally makes its Blu-Ray debut with a 1080p transfer that is overall a pleasant affair but not a knockout. While I have no specific details about the transfer, this appears to be derived from a dated master that has not had a huge amount of work done to it. From scene to scene the film can look either incredibly clear and nuanced or a bit soft and lacking fine detail. The transfer is naturally filmic with some decent detail in the intricate production design, texture of clothing and gnarly bits of gore. Colors do not particularly make an impression, appearing a bit washed out at points, and the black levels are passable in their depth. There are numerous specks of print damage present in the transfer. It is readily apparent that you are watching an HD transfer, but do not expect to be blown away with the quality. This is the best that the film has ever looked on home entertainment, but a new scan could have done wonders to make it more consistently great.
Audio Quality
Lionsgate Home Entertainment brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that beautifully reproduces the film sonically. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming though clearly without being stepped on by the score or sound effects. The environmental effects are delineated nicely from the hustle and bustle of the Day of the Dead celebrations to the buzzing of the bees. The movie is accompanied by a distinctive soundtrack that sounds great here. This is a track that represents the film in a very satisfying way. Optional English, English (SDH) and Spanish subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Host Michael Felsher from Red Shirt Pictures conducts an interview with Director-Cowriter Turi Meyer and Producer-Cowriter Al Septien in which they discuss the careers, how they got involved with this material, the elements of their pitch that they think landed them the job, collaborating with Tony Todd, various cameos from family and crew members, the elements of the movie that still drive them crazy and more. This might be more fun than watching the movie for some.
- Isolated Score Selections Featuring An Interview with Composer Adam Gorgoni: Host Michael Felsher from Red Shirt Pictures conducts an interview with Gorgoni in which he discusses his background, his father’s contributions to some classic tunes, what drew him to film music, the evolution of modern music, how he got involved with this project, what he wanted to accomplish on this movie and more. As noted in the title, there are also sections where you can appreciate the score.
- On The Hook: An excellent new 10-minute interview with Tony Todd in which he reflects on his legacy as Candyman, his initial hesitation about playing the character, the bungled release of Candyman II, the script for Day of the Dead, his grand subway entrance, his regret with not taking a specific prop that was offered to him, his issues with the script, working with the bees, the film’s legacy and more. Pro-tip: do not stop watching once the credits start rolling.
- A Bloody Legacy: A great new 25-minute interview with Special Prosthetic Effects Designer Gary J. Tunnicliffe in which he dives into his background, how Fangoria influenced his life, returning to the Candyman series with this entry, working with Tony Todd, the design of the hook, how they achieved certain special effects, the cast members he was excited to work with, his most indelible memories and more.
- Decay & Design: A new 19-minute interview with Director of Photography Michael Wojciechowski and Production Designer Marc Greville-Masson in which they share wild memories from the set, talk about their backgrounds, what they wanted to achieve with this project, the freedom they had from the studio, the care that went into the settings, working with Tony Todd and more.
- English & German Trailers: Two-and-a-half minutes worth of trailers are provided here.
- Home Video Promo: The minute-long video promo is provided which draws parallels to some much more successful films.
- Home Video Trailer: The minute-long home video trailer is provided here.
- Still Gallery: A five-minute collection of still images are provided here.
Final Thoughts
Candyman III: Day Of The Dead is simply not a good movie. This direct-to-video affair accelerates the steep decline in quality from the first outing with its meandering story and wooden performances. One area where you cannot fault the film is the dedicated performance from the one-and-only Tony Todd, who brings some much needed energy to this feature. Lionsgate Home Entertainment and Vestron Video have released a new Blu-Ray featuring a decent enough A/V presentation and a stellar assortment of special features. As a matter of fact, the supplemental package is the reason to get this release, as the interview from Todd and meaty explorations with the rest of the team are not to be missed. For those who need to complete their series, this release is relatively inexpensive and also has cover art that is far better than the film deserves.
Candyman III: Day Of The Dead is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
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