 candyman is a 1992 american horror film written and directed by bernard rose, based on the short story "the forbidden" by clive barker, though the film's scenario is switched from england to the cabriniâgreen public housing development on chicago's near north side. it stars virginia madsen, tony todd, and xander berkeley. the plot follows a graduate student (madsen) completing a thesis on urban legends who encounters the legend of "candyman" (todd), an artist and son of a slave who was murdered and his hand replaced with a hook. candyman spawned two sequels, candyman: farewell to the flesh and candyman 3: day of the dead. ==plot== helen lyle is a graduate student conducting research for her thesis on urban legends. while interviewing freshmen about their superstitions, she hears about a local legend known as candyman. the legend contains many elements similar to the most well-known urban legends, including endangered babysitters, spirits who appear in mirrors when fatally summoned, and maniac killers with unnatural deformities.w. scott poole, monsters in america: our historical obsession with the hideous and the haunting (waco, texas: baylor, 2011), 53-54. the legend claims that candyman can be summoned by saying his name five times while facing a mirror (similar to the bloody mary folkloric tale), whereupon he will murder the summoner with his hook-hand. later that evening, helen and her friend bernadette jokingly call candyman's name into the mirror in helen's bathroom but nothing happens. helen discovers that candyman was the son of a slave, whose father became prosperous after developing a system for mass-producing shoes 
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