Candyman, the horror remake helmed by Nia
DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele, was set for a release October 16th. In
yet another covid delay, it’s being pushed back to an as-of-yet unknown date in
2021.
What’s interesting
here, more than just another example of the shambles the moviegoing industry is
in right now, what with the pandemic and all, is DaCosta’s wonderful
explanation for the delay. According to DaCosta, the desire to have the film be
seen in theaters, as the intended experience, is worth the delay.
“We made
CANDYMAN to be see in theaters,” she wrote on Twitter. “Not just for
the spectacle but because the film is about community and stories— how they
shape each other, how they shape us. It’s about the collective experience of
trauma and joy, suffering and triumph, and the stories we tell around it.”
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1304758133999493120
At a time when the
desire to have films seen in theaters is currently being used as a crass
justification for encouraging audience members to needlessly endanger
themselves and others, I’m refreshed to see the opposite take—that we clearly
can’t do theaters right now, and so maybe let’s wait to release the movie
entirely.
https://gizmodo.com/this-candyman-shadow-puppet-short-film-is-a-horrific-mi-1844069456
“We wanted the
horror and humanity of CANDYMAN to be experienced in a collective, a community,
so we’re pushing back CANDYMAN to next year, to ensure that everyone can see
the film, in theaters, and share in that experience,” DeCosta continued.
And she’s
right—horror film watching, in particular, shines as a collective,
theater-going experience. I hope this film has a chance to get that, and to get
it relatively safely.
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