Once I heard that the legendary Jordan Peele was heavily involved in the modern remake of the original 1992 Candyman, I knew I had to catch up. A horror that largely flew under the radar – at least within my social circles – I didn’t quite know what to expect. And to be perfectly honest, I am still not entirely sure whether I loved it or am merely indifferent towards it.

I have a soft spot for ’90s horrors. The camera grain, the constant haze from cigarette smoke, the great fashion. And generally the plots are fresh, new and interesting. Candyman is a legend within a legend – a film about the emotional and physical effects of urban legend storytelling. This is a fantastic fountain of material to tap into because urban legends abound and bringing them to life on-screen can create palpable, real fear. You’ve heard these stories told for a lifetime already after all… And now it’s real and in technicolour.

Candyman, for all intents and purposes, is a good film. But I can’t exactly say that it’s a terrifying film. I didn’t quite find myself afraid to look into the mirror for fear of seeing a meaty hook swinging towards my neck. It didn’t leave me with an enduring unease and discomfort as I had expected it to since the horror sounds like such an accessible kind. This could be down to the age of the production perhaps. Or perhaps Bernard Rose decided to focus on the thrill and spectacle of it more so than the fear. Regardless, the only thing that sent subtle shivers down my spine was the deep, bass-heavy voice of Candyman himself as he begs Helen to “be his victim”. There is something clever (and nosferatu-esque) in making your monster plead their target to let them in and the undeniable quasi-erotic connection between Helen and Candyman does add some depth and complexity to an otherwise simplistic film.

I applaud the film for its diversion from the white-washed nature of the majority of ’90s horrors. It clearly does touch on racial injustice in the sense that Candyman was once a victim of a kind of vicious hate crime. But that is as far as I can really go because I otherwise felt that the racial relations are strained and stereotypical. A white woman enters an ‘urban’ (I hate that word) housing project district unannounced and uninvited. She begins sniffing around other people’s property and even speaking to an unattended young boy (stranger danger, people!). The white privilege literally stinks up the screen for the majority of the story, especially since Candyman just had to claim a white woman’s soul to continue his legacy, like the white-man saviour narrative but reversed… I understand this was a different time but I know for a fact that the remake will make changes here and therefore make the movie a million times better as a result.

Did I say Candyman five times in front of a mirror after watching this? Of course not. I’ve seen too many horror movies to know that you just shouldn’t even bother playing those games. Call me superstitious all you like. I know this film has so much potential to be horrifying – a supernatural being with a bloody hook for a hand, a body filled to the brim with bees and a tendency to bisect people from the rectum-up? Yeah, scary stuff and I commend the original for introducing these concepts. I just wonder whether the new one will make him look like a pimp from Black Dynamite again…

Any criticism I have for this film has in no way diminished my desire to go see Peele’s rendition of this horror classic. If anything, it has actually increased my drive to get first in line for it. I have an undying faith in Jordan Peele’s artistic vision – he is a true auteur if ever I’ve seen one. I know he’ll be able to inject themes of race and social politics smoothly and effectively. The soundtrack will be both nostalgic and all-encompassing. The shots will be rich and experimental. And it will be creepy – oh it will be creepy. Peele has such nuance in his distinct style and I trust that as screenwriter and producer, he will be able to iron over any of the less-than-perfect elements of the original . I, for one, cannot wait.