in chicago and helen lyle ( virginia madsen ) and her friend bernadette walsh ( kasi lemmon ) be research for their thesis about urban legend in the university of illinois and where helen husband trevor lyle ( xander berkeley ) give class . helen becomes obsess by the legend of the candyman ( tony todd ) and a son of slave whose father become rich in 1890 after invent a device for mass produce of shoe . the educated candyman be an artist and but when the daughter of a powerful man get pregnant of him and her father hire some hooligan that saw off his right hand with a rusty blade and take him to an apiary with dozen of hive with hungry bee and smash the hive and smear honeycomb in his naked body . candyman be sting to death by the bee and than his body be burn in a giant pyre and the ash scatter on cabrini green . candyman stay alive in the legend that say that he would appear if his name be speak five time in front of the mirror and and the skeptical helen summons candyman . helen and bernadette go to cabrini green and where two unsolved murder have happen and and the dweller blame candyman for the crime . helen disbelief bring candyman back while the dog of cabrini green dweller anne marie mccoy ( vanessa williams ) be slashed and her baby vanishes and and helen be blame . later candyman kill her friend bernadette and and helen be accuse of first degree murder and arrest and while she unsuccessfully try to prove that candyman be the real killer . candyman be a gore and well developed horror movie with a character visibly inspire in the urban legend of bloody mary . the screenplay sustain the ambiguity of helen sanity and and it be never clear if candyman do really exist or the murder be commit by the disturbed and impressed helen . virginia madsen be excellent in her performance of a woman in the edge of insanity and tony todd be amaze with his strong and dark voice . the great music score of philip glass fit perfectly to the movie and be another plus . my vote be seven . title ( brazil ) represent o mistério de candyman ( the mystery of candyman ) .