Helen soon finds herself blamed for several of the Candyman’s most recent murders as well as the kidnapping of a baby. The deeper she digs, the more bizarre the tale becomes until eventually she summons Candyman himself (Tony Todd). She follows the stories to the nearby projects only to find that the residents are hiding a terrible secret. A local one in particular, the legend of Candyman, manages to pique her interest. Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) is a grad student at the University of Chicago writing a thesis on urban legends. That soon becomes clear after a terrifying encounter with the eloquent but murderous Candyman.Listen to the latest episode of the AIPT Movies Podcast! The Forbidden was a short story in Volume 5 of Barker's Books of Blood anthology, centred on Helen, a University graduate photographing graffiti in the severely deprived Spector Street estate.Īfter an encounter with a local woman called Anne-Marie, Helen becomes fascinated by rumours of grisly killings, but is initially unsure of what is true and what is just an urban myth. It was from Barker's dark imagination that the Candyman emerged - however the killer's original hunting ground was not the projects of inner city Chicago, but a fictional housing estate in Liverpool. Signing up is free and it only takes a minute for you to get the biggest stories, sent straight to your inbox.ġ) Go to our dedicated newsletter page at this link.Ģ) Put your email in the box where indicatedģ) Tick as many boxes as you like, for each newsletter you want. There are others on what's on, politics, court news, Knowsley, Wirral, and arts & culture, as well as both Liverpool FC and Everton FC. The Liverpool Echo sends newsletters on a wide range of topics - including our daily news bulletin, now going out three times a day. His fascination with the macabre led to a stellar career involving a number of his works being adapted for the silver screen - including Hellraiser which he directed himself. READ MORE: Warning over answering calls from phone numbers that nearly match your ownīoth movies are set in Cabrini Green, in inner city Chicago, but what is not widely known about the franchise is its roots in Liverpool as part of a short story penned by legend of horror fiction Clive Barker.īarker was born in the city and attended Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School before studying English and Philosophy at the University of Liverpool. Next week a highly anticipated sequel is set to hit screens in the UK, produced by Oscar winning maestro Jordan Peele and directed by rising star film-maker Nia DaCosta.

The dark tale of a supernatural hook-handed killer, summoned by those foolish enough to say his name five times into a mirror, made the career of actor Tony Todd and is now considered a classic of the genre. In the 1992 the original Candyman became nightmare fuel for a generation of movie goers.

The forbidden clive barker