Being honest, I’m not a fan of the 1992 cult classic film Candyman. Yes there is a sense of pride seeing Tony Todd as a Black male slasher in a major Hollywood horror movie but frankly I just didn’t think the Clive Barker tale was made into a good film. Decades later Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw production company is giving us a reboot directed by Nia DaCosta.

Similar to Peele’s Us trailer, Candyman gives listener a creepy chopped & screwed version of a classic R&B hit. This time around it’s Destiny’s Child ‘Say My Name’. A reference to saying his name (Candyman) five times in the mirror for him to appear. The trailer for Us was intriguing and captivating. This Candyman trailer just doesn’t do it.

Being called the “spiritual sequel” to the original, the trailer shows curious thrill seekers saying “Candyman” in the mirror, he appears and kills them in gruesome fashion. Meanwhile rising star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is an artist who seems to be channeling or morphing into Candyman during the film’s progression…okay and?

I’ve seen some bad horror films but what made me watch them in the first place were their trailers. With this new trailer for Candyman, I have a feeling I’ll be watching a pirated copy online out of a sense of duty… and for the culture. On a brighter note, at least Black dudes will have a new costume to wear for Halloween this year.

Candyman hits theaters June 12