We already learned the hard way: Never, ever say the name of the cursed ghost five times while looking in a mirror.
But not everyone respects that rule in producer/writer Jordan Peele’s new “Candyman,” which hits theaters June 12, nearly three decades after the horror movie of the same name.
The first trailer for the “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 film arrived Thursday, and those who repeat the hook-wielding spirit’s name die terrible, bloody deaths.
Artist Anthony McCoy (“Watchmen” star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) goes so far as to set up an exhibit dedicated to the ghost, a former slave and artist murdered in the 19th century.
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In the original movie, Candyman viciously haunted the Cabrini-Green public housing project in Chicago. In the new film, McCoy is drawn to the area for reasons he doesn’t understand. His exhibit features a mirror, at which participants are asked to say the name to conjure up the killer spirit.
“Say his name, I dare you,” the smiling artist eggs on.
McCoy quickly regrets his inspiration and becomes a Candyman believer. “I made a mistake, I brought him back,” he confesses as the collective sound of people smacking hand to forehead is heard around the globe.
The new, unseen Candyman kills gruesomely, bringing the hook to everyone from post-exhibit lovers to mean girls holed up in the school bathroom.
“I am the writing on the wall, the sweet smell of blood,” he says ominously. “Be my victim.”
During a private unveiling of the trailer Wednesday, Peele said he was “inspired” by the original film co-written and directed by Bernard Rose, which featured African-American lead Tony Todd as avenging anti-hero Candyman.
Long before it became an overdue Hollywood priority, “Candyman” was “an iconic example of representation,” said Peele.
The closed housing project in Chicago is now shuttered, allowing director Nia DaCosta to explore the hauntingly empty spaces. “What we do in our film is find the ghosts left behind,” she said.
The trailer captures the humor, horror and social commentary of the original film, and DaCosta promised that the new chapter will be “audacious, fun and meaningful.”
As for the possibility that Todd will make an appearance in the new version, DaCosta was close-lipped. “I don’t want to give anything away,” she said.
