Buy this DVD on Amazon.co.uk

Remember Candyman, Bernard Rose's fine 1993 urban-legend horror movie based on Clive Barker's screenplay? How about Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, the inevitable but actually halfway decent second bite at the cherry? Well, in the time-honoured tradition of sequels having less to do with the original with every step down the filmic food chain, the third instalment in the saga of the hook-handed bogeyman had no input from Barker, contains no creepy Phillip Glass score and has no real connection to either of its predecessors in terms of plot. That is unless you count the goon of the title (Tony Todd), returning from whatever ethereal plane he usually resides in to put the wind up his--wait for it--great, great grandaughter, slack-jawed LA art gallery owner Caroline McKeever (Donna D'Errico, hitherto best known for her work on Baywatch).

Desperate to claim her soul so he can have a spot of companionship throughout the long days of eternity, Todd promptly sets about slicing and dicing various unfortunate Angelenos, making sure his last living relative gets the blame each and every time. Headed straight for the chair, can D'Errico save LA, and herself, from her heinous ancestor? And, more to the point, can she do so while walking and chewing gum at the same time? Dependent on huge amounts of viscera and its female lead's willingness to shed her clothes, this cheap knock-off still conjures the up the odd moment of unsettling gloom, while Todd is as reliably hammy as ever. All the same, you can't help hoping this is definitely, positively the last time round the block for the franchise: whatever you do, don't stand in front of any mirrors chanting "Candyman 4, Candyman 4, Candyman 4". The results will be horrific. --Danny Leigh

Release Date: Feb 24, 2003
Audio: