The Terrifying New 'Candyman' Trailer Will Make You Want to NOT Say His Name

Directed by Nia DiCosta, it's a sequel to the super-scary 1992 movie.

If the mere act of saying one word a few times summons a terrifying killer with a hook for a hand, you probably want to quit saying that word. There are so many other words to say! And, yet, the characters in the trailer for Nia DaCosta new Candyman movie simply cannot get enough of saying the guy's name. Go ahead and try it yourself: Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman. OK, fine, it's a little infectious. But, at least in the world of the movie, it'll probably get you killed.

DaCosta's creepy-looking Candyman is a direct sequel to the 1992 original, which was based on the story "The Forbidden" by horror master Clive Barker, and it stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who recently played Doctor Manhattan in HBO's Watchmen and Bobby Seale in Netflix's The Trial of the Chicago 7. He plays an artist who moves into a condo in Chicago's Cabrini Green neighborhood, where the first film was set, and learns the history of the titular candy enthusiast. Judging from the trailer, he starts to unravel in his obsession pretty quickly.

When the first trailer for this supernatural thriller from producer Jordan Peele dropped way back in February 2020, it looked like it would likely end up being one of the scariest movies of 2020, but then the movie's release date got pushed back because of the pandemic. Now it's scheduled to come out on August 27, so we'll settle with it being one of the scariest movies of 2021.

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Dan Jackson is a senior staff writer at Thrillist Entertainment. He's on Twitter @danielvjackson.