Halloween season has official begun (right?) and hopefully ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ will see horror fans with their asses in movie theaters, watching a bunch of twenty-somethings get murdered by a variety of dastardly devils. One such movie, Digital Thunderdome and Black Triad Entertainment Group’s BAD CANDY, is starting a limited theatrical release tomorrow – and it’s a title that you want to add to your must see list. When it comes to Halloween themed movies, atmosphere and mood are incredibly important and BAD CANDY perfectly encompasses everything we love and hope for in a flick that takes place right after Mischief Night. I want to live there, in the world created in BAD CANDY. Sure, creatures of the night potentially butchering me on an hourly basis is a bummer, but I found myself jealous of the fact that the cast and crew of BAD CANDY got to live in the world co-directed by Scott Hansen and Desiree Connell and that I only get to be there as an observer.
BAD CANDY is a horror anthology grounded by two familiar faces – Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Gremlin’s Zach Galligan. Together, they play radio DJs Chilly Billy and Paul of the Annual Psychotronic FM Halloween Show. While on air, they share stories and myths that have rocked the town of New Salem. Are the stories nothing but grizzly fairytales or is New Salem a playground for all things evil? BAD CANDY has something for everyone – a killer clown with the potential to be an indie icon, slashers, morgues and monsters, sex appeal, rock and roll and ghosts. Out of all the segments and without giving away any spoilers, the ‘morgue short’ and the ‘pumpkinhead story’ were my favorite pieces of the puzzle. Corey Taylor, Zach Galligan, Derek Russo, Ryan Kiser, Kenneth Trujillo, Mike Milligan, Haley Nicole Leary, Bill Pacer and Alexandra Lucchessi start in a feature film from screenwriter Desiree Connell.
BAD CANDY was co-produced by Scott Hansen and Steve Gebara, and features cinematography by Scott Hansen and editing by Hansen and Blake Studwell. I wish I could give everyone credit for their part in this project, but copying and pasting an IMDB page is probably plagiarism. Seriously, though, everyone deserves credit for their contribution to this award winning, film festival favorite. From costumes to props to special effects, stop motion effects, lighting and each department in between – BAD CANDY is a banger, an indie film that looks like and is worth a million bucks. BAD CANDY appeals to indie fans and Hollywood tit suckers because its biggest appeal is its Halloween theme and it whips that together effortlessly. You can watch this film every month of the year and it’ll still make you feel like it’s October. And it’s a beautiful masterpiece as far as camera work is concerned. The amount of visuals in BAD CANDY, shit, every scene could be used as a promotional still.
I need to remain impartial as a review, but there isn’t anything I can harp on here. The audio work isn’t always 100%… and that’s about it. I’ve promoted BAD CANDY throughout its various stages of production and I’m overjoyed that it is so successful and is as good as I had hoped it would be. BAD CANDY is exactly what we need after so many horror films were delayed due to the pandemic – something that’s fun and endearing yet scary, bloody and surprising. It’s macabre and suspenseful, but it also doesn’t take itself too seriously to the point that it loses its inherent spookiness. You can pre-order BAD CANDY on iTunes by clicking the link below, and keep your eyes on the film’s Facebook for more theater information, streaming news and the upcoming Blu-ray release currently slated for October 12th 2021. This is one anthology you don’t want to miss! Final Score: 10/10.
Pre-order Bad Candy on iTunes HERE.
