In present day, many years after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, Anthony and his partner move into a loft in the now gentrified Cabrini. A chance encounter with an old-timer exposes Anthony to the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to use these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, he unknowingly opens a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence.
* * *
[“The Candy Man” playing]
♪ Hey, Candy Man ♪
♪ All right everybody, gather around The Candy Man is here ♪
♪ What kind of candy you want? ♪
♪ Sweet chocolate ♪
♪ Chocolate malted candy ♪
♪ Gum drops, anything you want ♪
♪ You’ve come to the right man ♪
♪ Because I’m the Candy Man ♪
[choir] ♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ Who can take a sunrise? ♪
♪ Who can take a sunrise? ♪
♪ Sprinkle it with dew ♪
♪ Sprinkle it with dew ♪
[bees buzzing]
♪ Candy Man ♪
♪ Candy Man ♪
♪ Oh, the Candy Man can ♪
♪ The Candy Man can ♪
[buzzing continues]
♪ ‘Cause he mixes it with love And makes the world taste good ♪
♪ Makes the world taste good ♪
♪ Who can take a rainbow? ♪
♪ Who can take a rainbow? ♪
♪ Wrap it in a sigh ♪
♪ Wrap it in a sigh ♪
♪ Soak it in the sun And make a groovy lemon pie ♪
♪ The Candy Man ♪
♪ The Candy Man can ♪
♪ The Candy Man can ♪
♪ The Candy Man can ♪
♪ ‘Cause he mixes it with love ♪
♪ And makes the world taste good ♪
[light switch clicks]
[policeman] You’re under arrest.
Get on your knees.
[boy] I didn’t do anything.
[policeman] Hands! Hands! Hands!
[woman] William, I know I told you to take out the laundry.
[indistinct chatter]
[dog barking]
Billy, where you going?
Laundry.
Oh, can you do mine?
No.
[girl] I hope Sherman gets you.
[policeman] If you see him, let us know.
We don’t need him scaring any more kids, all right?
[policeman whistles]
And that’s the lowdown. Them kids.
[door shuts]
They’re still looking for him.
Just don’t get out after dark. You know?
[door opens]
That’s what I said.
[door shuts]
[sighs]
[water dripping]
[clattering]
[gasps]
[man humming]
[humming continues]
[boy screaming]
Suspicious noise from inside the building. We’re gonna check it out.
[car door slams]
[suspenseful music playing]
[music continues]
You nervous?
What?
You’re doing that thing with the bottle, with your hands.
Are you a little fidgety?
No. No.
Yeah.
Are you nervous?
No, I want to become best friends with your sister.
See? How would you feel about that?
I’m fine.
Uh-huh.
[upbeat music playing on speaker]
[woman laughing]
[man] Uh-uh. Uh-uh.
What is this wine? Walgreens? Rothschild’s?
We have a moscato in the fridge, if that’s more your taste.
[laughing]
I think Postmates delivers wine.
Is this one of yours?
Yes. Very old piece.
He hates that I put that up there.
At some point, you gotta move on.
Except that you haven’t though, right, made a piece in, what, two years?
It’s just that you’re my muse, and I don’t see you often enough, Troy.
[all laughing]
Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm.
Oh, my gosh, stop. You are too much.
Hmm?
Thank you.
Brat.
Let it breathe.
Shut up.
He’s still salty we didn’t use him as our realtor.
As you can tell.
Mm-hmm.
Horrible. How can you stand that?
No, no, no, sweetie.
You don’t know the first thing about Chicago real estate.
He must like you, because he’s really showing his ass.
[laughing]
Isn’t he always?
You overpaid, Bri.
It’s not just the inside that counts.
It’s close to the gallery.
Yeah, it’s very practical.
Okay, what is wrong with it?
Nothing.
As I told my sister many times, the neighborhood is haunted.
Everywhere is haunted.
Troy, do not start with that.
Sure, sure, sure, but why choose a place that used to be called Smokey Hollow?
Then, Little Hell, then what is it? Combat Alley?
What’s it called now?
[man] Cabrini-Green.
It was the projects.
It was affordable housing that had a particularly bad reputation.
You would never know.
Because they tore it down and gentrified the shit out of it.
Translation: White people built the ghetto and then erased it when they realized they built the ghetto.
Oh, no offense.
None taken.
[Troy] They took the opportunity to make it livable.
I could’ve got you a better conversion.
They kept telling people they were gonna make it better, moving ’em from place to place, but they were just tearing it down, so they could develop everything around it.
Oh, like here.
You guys want to hear a scary story?
No.
[Troy] Too bad.
[Troy clears throat]
[lights click off]
But I voted no.
Troy…
Uh-oh.
Oh, my gosh.
Really?
[all laughing]
This shit better be good.
[all laugh]
This is a story about a woman named Helen Lyle.
She was a grad student, a white grad student, doing her thesis on the urban legends of Cabrini-Green.
For research, she came down to Cabrini a few times, you know?
Asking questions, taking pictures of graffiti, of people.
And then, one day, she just…
[bee buzzing]
…snaps.
She beheaded a Rottweiler.
[blood dripping]
By the time the police show up, she’s in one of the apartments, doing snow angels in a pool of blood.
Ew.
Bullshit.
Troy.
Bullshit.
Where do you get this?
She killed a Rottweiler?
This is extra, even for you.
There are articles written about this.
Look it up.
[Bri scoffs]
The authorities take her in, but she escapes almost immediately.
She goes on a rampage, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake and then, the baby of one of the residents…
[baby crying]
…is abducted.
The mother is devastated. Everyone is looking for him, and nothing.
On the night of the annual bonfire, with all of the residents of Cabrini watching…
[people whispering]
…Helen arrives…
with a sacrificial offering.
[baby cries]
Baby in her arms, she runs towards the fire, but they’re on her, quick.
They say she was in a fugue state, fighting back blindly.
But they got the baby free.
[fire crackling]
While everyone is fussing over him, Helen stands up, and walks right into the fire.
And it’s on that spot that she dies, burns to death, right in the middle of Cabrini-Green.
[Helen laughing]
Is my rosé still in the freezer?
You don’t want the moscato?
Moscato’s a dessert wine.
[man laughs]
Bye, Bri-Bri.
[kisses] Love you.
[Bri] Nice to meet you.
And, Anthony, get painting!
My sister’s not trying to support you the rest of her life.
Put down those weights, pick up them brushes.
Troy…
Come on.
He’s funny.
He is ridiculous.
He is right.
[water running]
[Bri] I’m just glad Troy’s finally dating someone normal.
I was getting exhausted trying to keep up with all those European fashion designers.
Hello?
[Anthony] What time is Clive coming tomorrow?
10:00 a.m.
You feeling good about what you’re showing?
Uh, I think so.
Uh…
Some stuff he might enjoy.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, okay.
[both grunt]
Huh.
I guess she did kill a Rottweiler.
Damn.
I don’t care.
I’m not trying to get creeped out in my new apartment before bed.
Your new apartment is ghost-proof.
It was on the Zillow listing.
Our new apartment.
Mm-hmm.
Sorry.
[police sirens wailing]
[Bri laughing] Come here.
[kisses]
[Clive] Hmm.
Who are you, man?
Uh, well…
[Clive] This is Anthony McCoy of two years ago.
I want the Anthony McCoy of the future.
I want the great Black hope of the Chicago art scene of tomorrow.
That’s the guy that I gave a solo show to straight out of grad school.
[sighs] Look, I really don’t want to have to go through the trouble of replacing you in the summer show, but you’re the only person who hasn’t shown me what I’m putting up!
I’m working on something.
Dig into that history of yours, dude!
I’m thinking about doing something about the projects.
And about how white supremacy…
White people.
Yeah, how it creates these spaces of rampant neglect for communities of color, in particular, Black communities.
Yeah, like where you’re from.
Yeah. Bronzeville.
South Side is kind of played.
Uh, or Cabrini-Green.
I’m hungry.
Me too.
Bye, babe.
Don’t forget we have your mom’s tonight.
7:00.
[Bri laughing]
Bye.
[“Like The Moon” playing]
[police siren wails]
[bee buzzing]
[camera shutter clicks]
[suspenseful music playing]
[car honks]
[camera beeps]
[rumbling]
[exhales]
[camera beeps]
[police siren blares]
[siren wailing]
[man] They’d almost never come round here back in the day.
Unless it was to take someone in.
[chuckles] But that was a long time ago.
Now they can’t seem to stay away.
At night, they post up where the last of us still live, a police car on either side of the block.
Keeping us safe… or keeping us in.
You’ve lived around here for a while?
Uh, since before the high-rises came down.
William. William Burke.
Anthony McCoy.
[clicks fingers]
You need a hand?
[William] Home sweet home.
Ah, the more things change, the more things stay the same.
How you doing, brother?
Ask the white people around here about “Girl X,” Dantrell Davis.
Blank stares.
One white woman dies in the hood, and the story lives on forever.
It’s a good story, I guess.
You mind if I take some notes?
[pen clicks]
Makes you think about what could make someone just snap like that.
Helen Lyle was out here looking for Candyman.
You ask me, I say she found him.
What’s Candyman?
[William] For me, Candyman was a guy named Sherman Fields.
He had a hook for a hand.
Neighborhood character.
Used to stand there and hand out sweets when I was a kid.
One October, a razor blade shows up in a little white girl’s Halloween candy.
Police come around looking for Sherman, but Sherman’s gone.
And one day, I saw him myself.
[heartbeat thumping]
[Candyman humming]
[William] He’d been hiding in the walls.
[screaming]
[screaming continues]
We got a suspicious noise…
That’s when I saw the true face of fear.
[footsteps approaching]
[policeman, muffled] Come on, come on. Go, go, go!
Go, go! Come on, let’s go!
[shouting fades]
[muffled shouting]
Hurry! Come on, go, go, go!
[footsteps approaching]
Over here.
Get out of here! Come on!
[indistinct shouting]
[William] They swarmed him.
[policemen shouting]
[door shuts]
Killed him right there on the spot.
[bees buzzing]
[gunshot]
[screaming]
What shows up a couple weeks later?
More razor blades in more candy.
That’s when we knew Sherman had been innocent.
Harmless.
But that wasn’t the last we saw of him.
[knuckles crack]
I don’t know what to tell you.
Beshaw dropped out of my show.
Oh, I told you months ago to put her in rehab.
You fix this.
[speaking in French]
Uh.
[continues speaking in French]
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. Okay.
[speaks in French]
What’s up?
You forgot your mother’s.
Shit. I’m sorry.
Will you please call that woman?
Tomorrow.
You said that yesterday.
And it’s nice that she wants to spend time with you.
Not everyone has that.
Is she okay?
She implied that I give you money so you won’t visit her.
So, she’s about the same.
[sighs] Stop it.
[laughs] That’s great.
I wanna show you something.
Uh…
Do I need to come upstairs?
Stay right there.
All righty then.
[Anthony] Sherman’s face was beaten so badly that it was unrecognizable, and that’s where the story started.
About them seeing him around Cabrini.
About him coming to get you.
Over time, his name disappears, and he just becomes the Candyman.
What do you think?
Well… it’s a pretty literal approach.
Not much room for viewer interpretation, you know.
Moving from the symbolism of violence to the actual depiction of it.
Okay, but how is it hitting you?
It’s… painful.
I feel really connected to this. I’ve never been this clear before.
It’s like I know exactly what I’m meant to be doing right now.
Babe, that’s great.
And I’m sure Clive will be…
Oh, there’s one more thing.
The legend is if you say his name five times while looking in the mirror, he appears in the reflection and kills you.
So, I thought that we could…
[laughs] What did you think?
[whispering] Summon him.
[scoffs]
Hell no.
No.
Candyman.
Anthony…
Candyman.
Anthony, no.
Candyman.
Stop. Stop it.
Candyman.
Stop it!
Okay.
You better not do that last one.
Okay, okay, okay.
[whispers] Candyman.
Anthony, you play too much!
Stop, stop, stop.
What happened to your hand?
Fucking bee sting.
Really?
Yeah, that shit hurt.
Mmm. Looks like it.
Kiss it.
Get the fuck outta here.
Help, help.
[crowd chattering]
[camera clicking]
We can go now.
Finally.
Last year, we did a solo booth at Frieze LA with Jameson.
Phenomenal work.
These are related works, but here, he’s recreating and looping archival footage.
[Bri] Just take your time.
This is quite a departure from your previous work.
Go ahead, open it.
I’m trying to align these moments in time that exist in the same place.
The idea is to almost calibrate tragedy into a focused lineage that culminates in the now.
Brianna, tell your boy not to hog the critic.
He’s got a whole thing.
Yeah, no, I know, I heard it. It’s complicated.
She’s interacting with the piece.
[Anthony] The mirror invites you to attempt the summoning yourself.
Huh.
Anyway, I don’t know why I’m standing next to my own piece like some kind of asshole.
The work speaks for itself.
Oh, it speaks, all right.
It speaks in didactic knee-jerk clichés about the ambient violence of the gentrification cycle.
But your kind are the real pioneers of that cycle, you know.
Excuse me?
Artists.
Artists descend upon disenfranchised neighborhoods divining cheap rent, so they can dick around in their studios
without the crushing burden of a day job.
I’m gonna get another drink.
Should we try it?
What?
Summon the Candyman?
Uh, yeah, no. Black people don’t need to be summoning shit.
Come on, that is nonsense.
This isn’t the bayou.
In Chicago, that’s white people shit.
Mmm.
Candyman. Candyman.
Zip it. Hey, stop.
Candyman.
Stop it.
[man] Of course, I did. I owe Brianna one.
She introduced me to Thelma Golden three years ago.
[Brianna] You still owe me one for that.
[laughs]
And, uh…
Ah… [snaps fingers]
Tony, is it?
I love interventionist strategy.
Conventional painting is such a drag.
I love that you hid those fucking things in a storage room with the lights out. So smart.
Is all your work based on found material?
I mean, where’d you even find those paintings?
Thrift store in the desert?
[laughing]
I found them in the studio where I painted them.
[laughing]
You goofy-ass fuck.
And you, you fucking hyenas.
Oh, what the fuck?
Hey. Let’s go. Clive.
Anthony.
You think you’d even be here if it wasn’t for her?
Shouldn’t you be stocking up on morning-after pills to accommodate your summer intern program?
That’s not spontaneous. You had that one in the bank.
Yeah, I did, bitch.
[grunts]
That’s fine. I can take being called a bitch.
It’s fine. I’m on a NuvaRing.
[stammering] I know.
Thanks for coming.
I’m so fucking over it.
Honestly, if she can’t control her man…
[woman] She lost control.
It’s like, do I get a thank you? No!
Do I get an apology for that display?
Atrocity exhibition.
[Clive] Shoehorning her boyfriend into my summer show was her first mistake.
Only mistake.
[sighs] She’s done.
And she has no one to blame but herself.
Don’t mix curation with who you’re fucking.
[woman laughs]
Love will tear us apart.
Jesus, Jerrica, we get it. You like Joy Division.
[Jerrica laughs]
[Clive sighs]
What’s that thing again?
[sighs] What thing?
You know.
Say what five times in the mirror?
[sighs] You tell me.
You proofread the press release, Jerrica.
[Clive] “Candyman.”
But don’t do it, okay?
I don’t want you to die tonight.
At least, not until we… fuck.
You’re no good for me.
You know what? I changed my mind. Do it.
Necrophilia’s always been on my bucket list.
Mmm.
[shoes clatter]
[Clive] Mmm.
Hmm.
Let’s do it here then.
Um.
No, I’ve been here all day.
Come on.
[rain pattering]
[Clive] Mmm.
[giggles]
[Jerrica] Candyman.
Are you serious?
Quiet, bitch.
Candyman.
[Clive groans]
Candyman.
[bee buzzing]
Candyman.
Mmm.
Candyman.
[Jerrica] See?
Nothing.
So much for that.
[kisses]
[slashing]
[Jerrica grunts]
[Clive grunts]
[blood splattering]
[Clive] Is this real?
This is real?
What the fuck?
[gurgling]
What the fuck!
[bee buzzing]
[Clive] Hello?
[raspy breathing]
[buzzing continues]
What…
[whirring]
…the fuck?
[whirring stops]
[Clive hyperventilates]
[raspy breathing]
Oh!
Fuck!
Fuck me. Must go faster.
Must go faster!
[buzzing intensifies]
Fuck!
Fuck! No!
[blood splatters]
No! No!
Stop! Stop! Stop!
Help! No! No!
[screaming]
[grunts]
[breathing heavily]
Fucking assholes.
[bees buzzing]
The murders occurred after Night Driver Gallery’s group show opening.
The bodies were discovered in front of a piece from rising star Anthony McCoy entitled Say My Name.
Law enforcement officers say they are investigating…
[TV clicks off]
Say My Name.
They said my name.
[chuckles]
And Say My Name.
I don’t know, just…
It’s cool to be mentioned, I guess.
I mean, obviously…
Obviously, it’s… Obviously, it’s awful.
[Troy] Really?
[rain pattering]
[bees buzzing]
[insects chirping]
Clive?
[bees buzzing]
[girl] Dad?
Why are you sitting there?
Hey.
I bet you didn’t know your daddy could fly.
Did you?
Well, I can.
[bees buzzing]
[Brianna screams]
[heavy breathing]
[rain pattering]
[raspy breathing]
[gasps]
Anthony?
Anthony?
Are you okay?
I had a bad dream.
Me too.
What was it?
What was what?
The dream.
I’ll be out. I’ll be out in a minute.
Anthony?
So, I don’t know what this is, or how you knew it existed, but this is everything we have under Helen Lyle.
I didn’t. That’s why I had to ask.
Well, here it is.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Of course. I found it filed under True Crimes.
Work-study undergrads are the worst.
So, are you a student?
[tape recorder clicks]
[woman] Some of the things that have happened in Cabrini over the years, violence just so extreme, so bizarre.
It’s almost as if violence became a ritual.
The worst part, the residents are afraid to call the police.
A code of honor, perhaps, fear of the police themselves.
The easy answer is always, “Candyman did it.”
The summoning game itself could be connected.
I mean, it’s clear that no one person makes this up.
This grew from the community’s collective subconscious.
A survival tool evolved from the need to protect itself and its children…
[elevator dings]
…from the horrors of the community.
Bernadette and I tried the summoning.
It’s amazing how effective it can be.
The suggestion that you’re being followed or stalked by something lurking in your own reflection.
But I get it.
…intoxicating, inexplicably alluring about the promise of seeing a ghost.
Almost as if…
Come on.
[elevator alarm rings]
[laughs]
[ringing stops]
[clattering]
[grunts] Ow!
[raspy breathing]
[raspy breathing continues]
[glass cracking]
[elevator whirs]
[woman giggles]
Hey.
Excuse me.
[woman on tape recorder] And she heard a noise. Do you remember her name?
[woman 2] I think her name was Ruthie Jean, and she heard this banging and smashing…
[phone buzzing]
…like somebody was trying to make a hole in the wall.
So, Ruthie called 911 and she said, “There’s somebody coming through the walls.”
And they didn’t believe her.
[woman] They thought the lady was crazy, right?
[woman 2] Mm-hmm. So, she called 911 again, and they still didn’t believe her.
And when they finally got there, she was dead.
[woman] Was she shot?
[woman 2] No.
No, she was killed with a hook.
Yeah.
[woman] Is it true?
Yeah, it is. I read it in the papers.
[buzzing continues]
Candyman killed her.
[woman] Yeah, but… I don’t know nothing about that.
Hello?
I’m going out.
We have the dinner tonight.
I don’t know how long I’ll be.
Jack Hyde is coming in from New York, and he never comes to Chicago.
So, please don’t fuck this up.
[Anthony] I’ll be fine.
[Brianna] For me.
Don’t fuck this up for me.
[indistinct chatter]
[man screaming]
[baby crying]
[doorbell rings]
[art critic] It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.
That is putting it mildly.
[both laugh]
As you can imagine, what I’m writing is no longer an exhibition review.
It’s…
It’s now expanded into a larger article, which impacts both the works and the circumstances around the murders.
I see.
So, I just wanted to get a few quotes from you.
Well, I don’t know much of anything.
Your work is so macabre, and that’s… pretty interesting, considering what happened.
That’s a coincidence.
I’m not saying that you’re at fault, and I’m certainly not saying that a ghost manifested by collective storytelling killed a prominent art dealer.
I’m just saying that… all of a sudden, your work seems… eternal.
[upbeat piano music playing]
What’s next?
I’m expanding the work into a series.
I’m hoping to do a solo show.
All about Candyman. Spread the word.
Mmm, I love that idea.
I’m surprised at how positive your take on my piece seems to be now.
Well, it grew on me.
Seemed like you didn’t quite get it.
No, I get it.
It’s the hood, gentrification, et cetera.
Artists gentrify the hood?
Who do you think makes the hood?
The city cuts off a community and waits for it to die.
Then they invite developers in and say, “Hey, you artists, you young people, you white, preferably or only…
please come to the hood, it’s cheap.
And if you stick it out for a couple of years, we’ll bring you a Whole Foods.”
You wanna be a part of the story, right?
Well, as a critic, I…
To really engage with the work, to “get it”… you should say it.
Say what?
Say his name.
[laughs]
Think I need to use the bathroom.
Oh, this is as good a time as any.
I dare you.
[sighs]
[clears throat]
[man on PA system] Doors open to the right at State and Lake.
Transfer to Red Line trains at State and Lake.
[tense music playing]
Ah!
[knocks] Finley?
[shouts]
[raspy breathing]
[raspy breathing continues]
[bees buzzing]
Are you all right?
I thought…
What?
I gotta go.
[thud]
[police siren wailing]
[distorted dialogue]
[man, muffled] Really? No one’s buying it, not that I care.
Careful.
I love being here. It’s so provincial, yet exciting.
Oh, my God. Have you met Danielle Harrington?
She’s chief…
Curator at the MCA.
I find it crazy that we actually haven’t met yet.
I’ve been so eager to meet you.
Don’t you start already. I get first dibs.
Clive literally had to die for Brianna to be free. Sorry.
Jameson’s doing a show at my gallery in New York.
I think it’s the perfect opportunity for you to spread your wings a bit more.
Come to the big city.
I could introduce you to the women of Entre Nous if you decide on New York.
Wow. Thank you.
I’ve actually been considering going out on my own.
Don’t you wanna focus on working with artists instead of chasing outstanding invoices?
You can change the institution from the inside.
You should come by the museum some time.
Okay.
I think I’d like that.
[phone buzzing]
[Jameson] Oh, my God.
[phones chiming]
What’s wrong?
What’s happening?
Finley Stephens was found dead in her apartment.
[Danielle] Her husband found her.
Poor thing. Oh, her husband’s a suspect.
I have to go.
Anthony.
[gasps]
Anthony?
[Anthony] What is he?
[William] Candyman ain’t a he.
Candyman’s the whole damn hive.
There are others?
[William] Samuel Evans.
Run down during the white housing riots of the ’50s.
William Bell, lynched in the ’20s.
But the first one, where it all began, was in the 1890s.
It’s a story Helen found. The story of Daniel Robitaille.
He’d made a living touring the country painting portraits for wealthy families.
Mostly white, and they loved him.
But you know how it goes.
They love what we make but not us.
One day, he’s commissioned to paint the daughter of a Chicago factory owner who made his fortune in the stockyards.
Well, Robitaille committed the ultimate sin of his time.
They fell in love.
They had an affair, she got pregnant.
The girl tells her father, and, well… you know…
He hires some men to hunt Robitaille down, told them to get creative.
Chased him through here in the middle of the day.
He collapses from exhaustion right near where the old tower in Chestnut used to be.
They beat him. Tortured him.
They cut off his arm and jammed a meat hook in the stump.
They smeared honeycomb from the nearby hives on his chest and let the bees sting him.
A crowd started to form to watch the show.
The big finale:
They set him on fire and he finally dies.
But a story like that, a pain like that… lasts forever.
That’s Candyman.
So… he’s real?
Bell is real.
Samuel, Sherman, Daniel Robitaille. They’re all real.
Candyman is how we deal with the fact that these things happened.
That they’re still happening.
Get some rest, young blood.
You’ll feel better in the morning.
[Anthony] Don’t look at those!
What the fuck is this?
You shouldn’t be looking at this.
Anthony, we are beyond sensitive artist bullshit.
What is going on?
I think… I think… I made a mistake, Bri.
What do you mean?
I brought him back.
Who?
You promise you won’t think I’m crazy?
Anthony, who?
Oh, God.
Burke told me…
God. Who is Burke?
From the laundromat. He knows about all of it.
Knows about what?
Candyman.
Candyman isn’t real.
I saw him!
Candyman isn’t real, Anthony!
You know what is real?
Me, Anthony. Me. This, this is real.
You don’t understand.
Okay.
I will show you that… Okay.
Candyman.
No!
Candyman!
[screams]
[screams]
Don’t… say his name.
You stay the fuck right there.
Brianna…
Don’t follow me.
[Troy] Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm. Let the motherfucker try and come up here.
Fucking art ogre, fucking fee-fi-fo-fum. Grady will stomp on his ass.
Ain’t that right, Grady?
If I have to stomp, I’ll stomp.
I mean, he literally was, like, “I summoned Candyman,” and I’m like…
Candyman ain’t real, n*gga.
I told you not to start dating that Dapper Dan-ass, li’l Basquiat-ass, fucking no-job Sun Ra…
Troy. Okay.
Ain’t a dick on the planet good enough to offset a demonology hobby.
Okay, Troy, stop!
What? It’s the truth. If Grady came up in here, smashing mirrors.
Mirrors.
He’s right.
All right.
You… take care of Lucy.
And you are in time-out.
Come here.
Break it up.
I spoke to Mom.
She wants to close the storage unit out, so we finally have to deal with Dad’s work.
I was thinking maybe we could sell or… if you want to keep anything…
No, I don’t want any of that in my house.
Thank you.
Then, sell or do a show.
I think you should open a space.
I’m not doing a show of the thing that killed him, Troy.
You can’t hide everything, and… and just hope it goes away.
Troy…
You don’t have to be there every time a tortured artist has a psychotic break.
I’m sorry.
[scoffs]
Bri.
I’m glad you’re here.
You can stay as long as you want, on the condition you don’t try and summon Candyman.
Who would do that?
[bell ringing]
What’s up?
[laughing, chattering]
[girl] Trina was fooked up this weekend.
Guys, what should I do about my bangs?
No one cares about your bangs.
Annika, look at this.
Trina’s fucking trashed. Look. Watch, watch, watch.
Samantha.
Oh, my God, that’s so sad.
[gasps] Oh, shit.
Look at this chunky-ass vomit.
Oh, my gosh, in front of everyone.
Have you guys heard of Candyman?
Fuck this. I changed my mind. I’m not gonna do it.
Come on, Boof. Don’t be a pussy.
Why not? It’s a warm and wonderful thing.
Boof, we’re already in formation.
Fine.
Okay, ready?
Candyman.
All at once, dumbass.
[all] Candyman.
Candyman.
Candyman.
Not today. Not today.
Come on.
[Haley] Two more times.
[all] Candyman.
One more.
Candyman.
Well, we’re still alive, so…
Hey, Trina.
[Haley] Let’s go.
Hey, Triney, how’s that hangover? You’re such a mess.
[girls laughing]
[banging]
Trina was fucking trashed.
Don’t let her drink that much.
That’s between her and her god.
Trina, you broke the fucking door.
[music on headphones]
Haley, I’m too young to die. Open it.
I’m working on it.
[bees buzzing]
[raspy breathing]
Guys…
What the fuck?
Wait, I forgot my vape.
Boof.
You know, I don’t think you should…
Boof?
[thuds]
Boof?
[cracking]
Boof?
What are you doing?
[cracking, crunching continues]
[wet thud]
[liquid running]
[gasps]
Oh, my God, guys. Stop being so stupid!
Haley!
[muffled shouting]
[slashes]
[blood spatters]
[girls screaming]
[slashing]
[banging]
[squelching]
[music continues]
[whimpers]
This isn’t funny.
[screaming continues]
[Trina] You guys, what the fuck? This isn’t funny!
[bee buzzing]
[Annika whimpering]
[Annika groans, grunts]
[hook slashes]
[squelches]
[music continues]
No!
[Haley screaming]
[Haley] No!
[hook slashes]
[paper rustling]
[grunts]
[glass tinkling]
[sighs]
[groans]
[whimpering]
[strains]
[gasping]
[Danielle] We’ve been trying to move in a fresher direction for the past few years, and our last curator was a great guy, but just had a hard time getting there.
[Brianna] Well, I’ve certainly noticed a shift in programming since you started here.
Hopefully for the best.
I’m so happy I finally got to meet you at Jack’s dinner.
Yes. He’s been trying to get us together before.
It’s crazy about Clive.
I heard you were the one to find the bodies.
Yeah…
[guide speaking, indistinct]
You’ve really emerged as an interesting figure amidst all this.
The show you put together sounded so good too.
You were so brave to embrace formlessness.
Actually, there were a lot of bodies… figures in the show.
Like Arnold’s work.
For so long, abstraction has been about indexing a sublimated emotional state, and I just wanted to focus on the body.
Of course, but I mean, between the recent tragedies and your father’s legacy, you’ve got a fascinating story.
Right.
And your eye for emerging talent.
How long have you worked with Anthony McCoy?
Just a couple years.
My board members are buzzing about McCoy’s work.
Feels like a Project Room show is something we could start talking about.
And of course, any other artist you have your eye on.
[reporter on TV] The Near North Side community, once known as Cabrini-Green, is stunned by the vicious mass murder at Golin College Prep.
Police have found a startling link to the art world murders, in particular a piece called Say My Name, which was written in the victims’ blood on the bathroom wall.
[doctor] Welcome back, Mr. McCoy.
What?
I saw in your file you were born here.
I was born on the South Side.
No, it says you were born here.
[voices whispering]
Regardless, it’s good that you came in when you did.
We need to admit you immediately for monitoring and do some more testing.
[rain pattering]
[knocks]
[door opens, creaks]
Anthony, where have you been?
What happened to your hand?
Looks bad.
Went to River North Memorial, near Cabrini.
They fixed me right up.
You’ve been painting?
[chuckles]
Yeah, I’ve been inspired a lot, actually, by Cabrini.
[sniffs] You want some tea?
I heard a story about a fire.
Killed a woman named Helen Lyle.
A baby that was taken.
Something they used to call Candyman.
[shushes]
Don’t.
Don’t say that.
You told me I was born on the South Side.
I did raise you in the home you remember.
But you were born in River North Memorial and spent the first two years in Cabrini.
Why did you lie?
To protect you.
From what?
I just wanted you to grow up happy and normal.
Do I look normal, Mama?
[grunts]
I have to know.
Now.
[sighs]
When you first got taken, I thought she was the one who did it.
[sobs]
When you first got taken, I thought she was the one who did it.
Helen.
[fire crackling]
The way I found her in her apartment, covered in blood.
We all thought she was crazy.
But it wasn’t her.
It was him.
[fire crackling]
He had a purpose for you.
[baby cooing]
He chose you to be one of his victims.
He wanted you to burn in that fire.
But she pulled you out… and gave you back to me.
[chuckles]
[people clamoring]
[baby crying]
I thought it ended that night.
[Candyman] Wait!
[Anne-Marie] In the fire. I thought she ended it.
And we vowed to never say his name again.
But… someone broke the pact and…
He found me.
[sobs]
[voices whispering]
[sniffling]
I’m sorry.
Anthony, wait, wait. Baby, wait.
Where are you going?
Anthony, baby, wait, wait, wait.
[sobbing]
[insects chirping]
[muffled banging]
Anthony?
It is Troy.
Come out immediately where I can see you.
Immediately.
Troy, stop. Please, oh, my gosh.
We are picking up her things and we will… be leaving with them.
I see. Yeah, thanks.
He’s not with Noah either.
What the hell is going on?
Maybe Candyman got his ass.
That’s not funny, Troy.
Hello?
[door lock clicks]
Anthony?
[doorknob rattles]
Nope.
Hello! Excuse me!
Please!
[music playing on earphones]
[coins jingling]
[banging]
[banging on door]
[girl] Go away.
[boy] I wanna play.
[girl] No.
[boy] Please. I’m not scared anymore.
[girl] Go play with your puppets.
[boy] I’m gonna pee on your bed if you don’t let me in.
[girl] You’re being so annoying right now.
What are you doing?
[girl] Mind your business.
Come on, let me play. Please.
[girl] This game is for grown-ups, and you’re a big baby.
[Billy] I’m not a baby.
Go away!
[sighs]
[girl 2] No, this is not gonna work.
[girl] Candyman.
[object thuds]
Candyman.
Candyman.
Candyman.
Candyman.
[muffled thudding]
[Billy] I said…
Sabrina?
[liquid dripping]
[gasps]
[panting]
[bees buzzing]
[raspy breathing]
Sherman.
[shushes]
[bee buzzing]
Now… we have a witness.
[man] I think I saw the guy you’re looking for.
The “Say My Name” killer.
He’s roaming around the row houses at Cabrini.
A Black man, around 30.
He was waving a hook and talking crazy. I think he’s killing people down there!
[chair rattles]
What the fuck?
[phone beeps]
[Brianna] What the fuck?
I was baptized here.
Isn’t it beautiful?
A… A… A… Anthony?
[voices whispering]
Oh, uh… Yeah, I guess I’m on some other shit now, huh?
[Brianna whimpering]
[William] When something leaves a stain, even if you wash it out, it’s still there.
You can feel it.
A thinning, deep in the fabric.
This neighborhood got caught in a loop.
The shit got stained in the exact same spot, over and over, until it finally rotted from the inside out.
[gasping]
[William] They tore down our homes, so they could move back in.
We need Candyman.
‘Cause this time, he’ll be killing their fathers, their babies, their sisters.
I knew it was only a matter of time before the baby came back here, in perfect symmetry.
A chance for Candyman to take back what’s rightfully his.
[Brianna whimpering]
His legend.
Hand.
Wait…
[Brianna] No, no, no, no!
[gasping]
[squelching]
[Brianna] Anthony!
[Brianna sobbing]
See, you can really make the story your own.
But… [grunts] …some of the specifics should be somewhat consistent. [grunts]
[whimpering]
[hook slashes]
[flesh squelching]
[William grunts]
[Anthony groaning]
Here we have the story of Anthony McCoy, artist who lost his mind, and the cops showed up and shot him down in cold blood without even saying a word.
[laughing]
Well, say his name, if you dare!
Say it five times in a mirror. See what happens.
When it’s all done, they’ll tell his story, and Candyman will live…
[sighs]
[sirens wailing in distance]
…forever.
[pants]
Here comes the swarm.
[William] Are you ready for the sacrament?
[grunting]
[panting]
[whimpering]
[William] Hey!
Where you going?
[siren wailing continues]
Don’t you want a sweet?
[flesh squelches]
[Anthony groans]
[Brianna panting]
[gasps]
[Brianna] Fuck!
[knocks]
[William] Where you going?
[Brianna panting]
[William] ♪ Who can make the sunrise ♪
♪ Sprinkle it with dew? ♪
[William shouts]
[Brianna screaming]
[Brianna grunts]
[William groans]
[panting]
[panting, grunting]
[sirens continue]
[weapon clangs]
This is as good a place as any, pet.
[grunts, groans]
[metal clangs]
[William laughing]
[gasps, groans]
[grunting]
I think he’s dead.
Brianna.
[whimpering]
[panting]
No, no!
Get up, Anthony. Get up.
Baby, baby, baby…
[sirens continue]
Please. No. No.
Anthony, baby.
[whispering] It’s okay.
Get up, please.
Please. Please stay with me, Anthony, please.
Please, please, please. Please get up.
Please get up, Anthony.
[police sirens wailing]
Don’t go.
We’re gonna get you help. We’re gonna get you to a hospital.
We’re gonna get you to a hospital.
In here!
[officer] Put your hands up!
He just needs…
[gunshots firing]
[ringing]
[gasps]
[whimpering]
Oh, my God.
[siren wails]
[officer] Hey. Stay on your feet.
Come on. Move it.
[officer 2] What’s going on?
[officer] We got two suspects, one’s down.
[officer 2] Get her in the car.
[officer 3] Hurry up.
[officer 3] We didn’t know what to do.
[gasping]
[officers, indistinct]
[breathing slows]
[door closes]
[sighs]
Very unfortunate what happened to your man in there.
We’d been looking for him.
Got a tip he’d be here.
You know anything about that?
Whatever you tell us helps.
Any cooperation is noted.
Saying what you saw when he came at Jones… and Jones, obviously knowing what he’d done before, seeing his hook, knowing you were in danger, had no choice but to discharge his weapon.
Doesn’t sound right to you?
[sighs]
Or… she’s an accomplice.
She held the victims down, he cut ’em up.
He died coming at a cop.
She goes to jail for the rest of her life.
Which story is it?
Can I see myself?
What?
[Brianna] In the mirror.
I’ll tell you everything if you let me see myself.
No.
I’ll say whatever you want.
[sighs]
Candyman.
Candyman.
[scoffs] What?
Candyman.
What the fuck is that?
Candyman.
Candyman?
What the fuck?
[door rattling]
[officer] Holy shit.
Rooney? Jesus. What the fuck?
[officer] 10-1, emergency. Officer down. Officer down.
What the fuck!
Get on the ground now! Now!
[gunshots firing]
What the fuck!
[officer] Let me in.
I can’t!
[officer] Let me in, damn it!
Stop!
No, no, no, no, no!
[shouts]
Holy shit!
What the fuck?
[bees buzzing]
Who are you?
[Anthony] I am the writing on the walls.
I’m the sweet smell of blood on the street.
The buzz that echoes in the alleyways.
They will say I shed innocent blood.
You are far from innocent, but they’ll say you were.
That’s all that matters.
[sighs]
[breathing heavily]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[police radio, indistinct]
[distant groans]
[officer choking, groaning]
[bees buzzing]
[officer shouts]
[police sirens wailing]
[buzzing continues]
Tell… everyone.
[tires screeching]
