Candy Corn is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written, co-produced, edited and directed by Josh Hasty (Honeyspider). The movie stars Courtney Gains, Sky Elobar, Pancho Moler and Tony Todd.
Plot:
On Halloween eve, local outcast, Jacob Atkins (Nate Chaney), is carelessly murdered. A vagabond carny named Doctor Death (Pancho Moler), takes matters into his own hands, bringing Jacob back from the dead to creatively seek brutal revenge on his killers…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
” …the characters all sound the same and have a single trait, at most. At the end, it tries to resolve the script’s larger plot elements, but in trying to do so ends up making a lot less sense. In the end, Candy Corn is not a bad film – it’s well made and everyone involved give it their all, but that’s all trapped by a stale script and an inability to provide any real scary moments.” Battle Royale with Cheese
” …a predictable one-by-one cycle of standard stabbings, satisfactory spine-rippings, and “okay, I guess” tongue-tearings as Jacob takes revenge on his tormenters. In the meantime, everyone who isn’t among that group goes on goose chases with varying degrees of needlessness. Candy Corn loads for bear with excessively lingering shots, even entire scenes, it absolutely has no narrative use for.” Culture Crypt
“At only 85 minutes long, Candy Corn still manages to drag in places. It’s a pity because the movie has bags of atmosphere, but it’s let down by a meandering pace and story points which remain underdeveloped […] Shame, but still worth a look.” Dark Eyes of London
” …has a very aggressive anti-bullying message. Coupled together with ultra gory kill scenes that feature impressive effects work, Candy Corn has everything that would promise a great gut-punch of a film, but the self-seriousness of the movie is distracting.” Haddonfield Horror
“Laughable attempts at bonafide drama involve endless slow-motion scenes of silent characters looking anguished and Tony Todd is wasted in yet another nothing role. The only saving grace of this genuinely boring Halloween horror is the effective tinkly synth score by Hasty and Michael Brooker.” Horrorscreams Videovault
“This is a guilty pleasure revenge flick that has you rooting for the underdog, or at least rooting against his victims. Josh Hasty combines a lot of tropes, like dickhead teenagers, freakshows, small-town charm, inept cops, loping masked killers and rural black magic, but although these ingredients aren’t new, he combines them into a tasty yet bloody candy corn pie.” Rue Morgue
” …the execution of the story falls flat as the film is filled with well-worn tropes, cliches, and stock characters […] On the plus side, Candy Corn is entertaining throughout, with game performances from its cast, crisp cinematography from Ryan Lewis (Dusk), and a solid score by Hasty and Michael Brooker.” The Scariest Things
“Taking place on Halloween is about the only area worth commending, as everything else is an unwelcome sack of cliches. Absolutely nothing here is remotely original and comes across as a wannabe Rob Zombie movie with the budget of a gum wrapper.” Splatter Critic
Release:
Candy Corn has been picked up by Epic Pictures and will be distributed through their Dread imprint. It will be shown in select US cinemas on September 13th and released on VOD and Blu-ray September 17th.
Background:
Here’s what filmmaker Josh Hasty had to say:
“For the last three years of my life Candy Corn has been a labour of love that’s consumed my every waking moment. I had the most incredible team of filmmakers that stood behind my ambitious goals through a very trying and stressful production. When you spend this much time with something you had to consistently keep alive against all odds, the thought of handing it off to a distributor can be horrifying.
I spoke with a lot of interested distributors, but the conversations ended after my first call with the team at Epic Pictures and Dread. They are leaps and bounds ahead of the competition when it comes to their passion and understanding for independent films like Candy Corn. Within ten minutes of our first phone call, I felt like I was talking to people who had been a part of our team from day one, and would stop at nothing to get it in front of every Halloween obsessed, bloodthirsty, cinema-loving eyeball in the world. I was often asked which distributor I hoped would take Candy Corn. I consistently stood by the notion that I would only sell my film to the distributor I thought would care about it as much as I do. That is the ultimate reason Epic Pictures and Dread are putting out Candy Corn. And I couldn’t be happier.”
Rob Galluzzo, Director of Distribution for Dread:
“If there’s one thing that horror fans have a sweet spot for, it’s Halloween. And Candy Corn delivers what will no doubt become an annual tradition. With a killer all-star cast of genre names, rich mythology, a great looking iconic killer, and cool score, we’re so excited to bring this film to horror fans this Fall!”
Cast and characters:
- P.J. Soles … Marcy Taylor
- Tony Todd … Bishop Gate
Courtney Gains … Sheriff Sam Bramford – Corbin Nash; Deadly Crush; Camp Cold Brook; The Funhouse; Massacre; King Cobra; et al - Sky Elobar … Gus
- Pancho Moler … Lester / Doctor Death – 3 from Hell; American Fright Fest; 31; Slaughterhouse of the Rising Sun
- Caleb Thomas … Bobby
- Jaime Gallagher … Shirley
- Matt O’Neill … Chet
- Lovlee Carroll … Amanda
- Nick Ford … Carnie
- Robert Gerding … Coroner
- Madison Russ … Carol
- Justin Mabry … Deputy Conrad
- Jimothy Beckholt … Mike – Office Uprising
- Aaron Lewis … Mongo The Scrunt
- Patrick Ryan … Deputy Fox – Circus of the Dead
- Cy Creamer … Steve
- Nate Chaney … Jacob Atkins
- Ben Grimm-Wilson … Max ‘The Wax Man’ Taylor
Trailer:
