It's hard not to grow up in America without hearing the urban legends of Halloween. One of the most popular stories is the razor blades in the candy. This lore still holds ground as we saw it also mentioned in a huge budget horror film that came out a few weeks ago. Also horror fans are very familiar with the town of Salem but who knew there were many more tales available from this eerie town. Well Radio DJ's played by Slipknots Corey Taylor and genre legend Zach Galligan tell their audiences all the classic folk tales surrounding their town in Scott B Hansen & Desiree Connell BAD CANDY.
Holiday horror is in full effect in BAD CANDY to the point where it reminds you of the current classic Halloween horror also titled by two words. Even though the film is an anthology the blending of what happened in the past to what's happening currently is a thin line that can be confusing if the viewer gets distracted. Still Taylor and Galligan do a great job of reeling in the present during all the chaos of Hell's eve! Though it is an anthology, so if that isn't your thing you may be surprised how seamlessly this is put together.
Let's talk violence. There is plenty to see in BAD CANDY. It's actually pretty comical how horrific the outcomes fall upon our lovely victims. So much that even the sound distortion of the film may cause the viewer to cringe a bit as you hear each pumpkin get smashed. What starts off as almost a youth horror epic instantly becomes adult oriented as even the young cast members dish out a lot of the punishment.
BAD CANDY is very watchable from start to finish with a better than average conclusion. Unfortunately the aesthetic and premise fall to close to the aforementioned (even though I didn't say the title) film. Unfortunately horror has a problem that I don't think it's aware of. To many times especially with holiday horror we get a jumbled mix of shorts that involve one theme. I've never been a fan of that format because it plays into the undedicated attention span of viewers which helps no one in this process. BAD CANDY sticks out because they were able to weave the tales in the midst of the overall story that follows classic anthology lore similar to films like TALES FROM THE HOOD and the like.
Still it's for sure destined to be a holiday favorite that will get a nice run every time our beloved October 31st is heading our way!
2.5/5
BAD CANDY is On VOD September 14 + Blu-ray October 12 courtesy of DREAD.
BAD CANDY is directed by Scott B Hansen & Desiree Connell and it stars Zach Galligan, Derek Russo, and Corey Taylor.
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