Task 2: Research into existing products. Candy Man.

Analyse how the film’s opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterisation.

Candyman.

The Candyman was a horror movie which was released in the UK on 19 March 1993. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment & Propaganda Films went under development with a budget of $8,000,000 and once it was released in America is Grossed a total of $25,792,310. Being an obvious success it is now part of a trilogy with Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh & Candyman: Day of the dead.

The Candyman is about Helen Lyle is a student who decides to write a thesis about local legends and myths. She visits a part of the town, where she learns about the legend of the Candyman, a one-armed man who appears when you say his name five times, in front of a mirror. Helen conducts several investigations into this rumour and tries to figure out if its true.

I will be analysing how the opening of the film shows and portrays its place in the Horror genre. The Movie starts with an Aerial shot of a city at daytime. This may not look like much but you instantly get knowledge of the setting and scenery where the movie is based. More notably is the soundtrack being played in the back. Orchestra-like music with Organs is the song playing in the background. In  addition the music sounds instantly uncomfortable and eerie. The Organ which can be heard could be used to symbolize the connection to a Church and religion which in many Horror films is a way of showing Paranormal nature and atmosphere.  Also the use of church instruments is a way of linking to Death and Hell which suits perfectly as the Candyman is a serial killer who people know nothing about(Could be paranormal).
By paying close attention to the titles you can also see how the Title Candyman is shown to be in a different font and a bigger size. The Candyman title is shown to be more Sharper on the edges and looks more threatening. Instantly this could be a link to a candyman whom to learn has a hook in place for a hand and His hook is Sharp and his killing weapon, A reason why the font is so Sharp and defined.

The next scene is a very long shot of skyscrapers in a city which seem to being swarmed by Wasps. In addition to this a voice over which is deep and Intimidating is talking. Because of the Creepy atmosphere given off by the wasps which now seem to be swarming a whole city, You think the voice over is the Candyman. The Wasps could be a link to the Candyman as wasps are seen as evil creatures and are disliked by many people. This in turn could be the same for Candyman and He could ‘Sting’ people with his Hook.
Candyman says “I have come for you” and whilst this is said the Scene gradually fades out to a girl which leads you to think this is the girl Candyman is trying to murder.  The whole scene portrays how the Movie will be following how the candyman will terrorize the city as the wasps did. This also shows its Horror genre nature.

The next scene is where the candyman is shown for a quick second. A young pair of adults are In the bathroom and She explains how saying Candyman 5 times in the mirror will summon him At the cost of your life. The boy manages to say it 4 times but does not continue. This shows how even though the Candyman might not be true he is still feared as if he was a real murderer. A few moments after this scene the girl finally says Candyman for the 5^th time in the mirror. Nothing happens. However when she turns the light off a sudden figure appears and the scene cuts to low angle shot of the ceiling which seems to be pierced a large bloodied hook.  The Appearance in the dark is effective as people are already scared or wary of the dark. The fact that he appears suddenly in the dark makes the dark much more petrifying then usual because an actually murdered is within the darkness.