The Nia DaCosta-directed film from producer Jordan Peele re-imagines the 1992 horror pic with a focus on the gentrification of the North Side neighborhood.

• Feb 28, 2020

AceShowbiz - "Candyman" is summoned back with the release of its first official full trailer. From producer-writer Jordan Peele, the movie re-imagines the 1992 slasher film based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden", with a mix of horror and gentrification.

The fear-inducing trailer features a haunting version of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name", which is appropriate with the urban legend that becomes the core of the story. The terror starts as a group of girls are slaughtered after calling the forbidden name five times in front of the mirror.

Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) somehow gets hooked to this story and finds himself entangled in a series of horrific murders. The trailer suggests that Anthony is possessed by the spirit of Candyman, who was played by Tony Todd in the original film.

According to the official synopsis, "For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago's Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror."

"In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials."

"With Anthony's painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny."

"Gentrification is what helped us to reimagine the story because Cabrini-Green is gone," said director Nia DaCosta at an exclusive viewing of the trailer. "The movie from the '90s has a vision of Cabrini-Green where it's sort of on its way to being knocked down."

Asked if Todd would return for the new movie, DaCosta coyly answered, "Well, well, well. I really love Tony Todd and he's iconic. I will say what we've done with this film - is great! And I don't want to give anything away."

"Candyman" remake is set to hit theaters nationwide on June 12.