The Complex Discovery Plot in Candyman

In The Philosophy of Horror, Carroll defines what he calls the “complex discovery plot.” Carroll writes that this plot, consisting of an onset, discovery, confirmation, and confrontation, can be found in many horror movies. An example of the complex discovery plot in a horror movie would be in the movie Candyman.

The onset of the monster occurs when a graduate student at the University of Chicago, Helen Lyle, is working on a thesis about local legends and myths in the Chicago area. Helen and her colleague Bernadette Walsh focus on the myth of Candyman. Through the interviews that the two conduct, they learn that the legend of Candyman was first heard in 1819. According to legend, Candyman was the son of a slave and his father became rich from designing a device for shoes after the civil war. Candyman was sent to nice schools and grew up in a polite society. He had a talent as an artist and was sought after for documenting people’s wealth through portraits. Candyman had a job to capture a man’s daughter’s beauty; consequently, Candyman fell in love with her and got her pregnant; as a result, her father hired a gang of hooligans to kill Candyman. The men chased Candyman through the town to Cabrini Green where they preceded to saw off his right hand with a rusty saw. The group also poured honey on him and smashed bee hives over his naked body. The bees stung Candyman to death. The hooligans then burned his body and spread his ashes all over Cabrini Green. The legend goes on about how if one says Candyman’s name five times in the mirror he would come and kill the person with his hook for a right hand.

Helen eventually talks to one of the janitors at the University and the woman tells her about a woman, Ruthie Jean who was killed at Cabrini Green, the projects. One night Helen and her friend Bernadette were working on their thesis and decided to stand in front of the mirror and say Candyman four times. Helen was the only one to say Candyman the fifth time. The next day both women headed to Cabrini Green to investigate the killing of Ruthie Jean. They began taking pictures and discovered that the medicine cabinet where Ruthie Jean was had a hole in it where they believed the killer (Candyman) murdered her. A woman who lives in Cabrini Green, Anne-Marie McCoy, befriends them both and tells her what she has heard about Candyman and the death of Ruthie Jean.

Later, Helen goes back to Cabrini Green to see where Candyman is at now. She finds a young boy who takes her to a restroom outside of the compound where apparently Candyman murdered a young boy. When Helen goes inside the restroom she opens the last stall and finds the toilet filled with bees.

Candyman is first discovered by Helen in a parking garage at the University. He says to her “be my victim, I am the writing on the wall, I am the whispering in the classroom.” The next scene is Helen waking up at Anne-Marie McCoy’s apartment at Cabrini Green in a pool of blood where a dog’s head is chopped off and Anne-Marie’s baby missing. Helen is then arrested for the missing baby and the assault on Anne-Marie, however, she is not charged because the polic have not found the body.

The next portion of the movie focuses on Helen trying to prove her innocence, and make everyone understand that it was Candyman not her. The confirmation sequence occurs many times in this movie. Helen is constantly trying to maintain her innocence, while the other characters in the movie are skeptical of the existence of Candyman. When Bernadette comes to see Helen at her apartment, Candyman kills Bernadette and Helen is again framed for the death of her colleague. Helen is admitted into a psych ward and charged with first degree murder. She decides that the only way to explain to the psychologist about what happened in her apartment is for her to call for Candyman, when doing this, Candyman kills the psychologist and breaks the window so that Helen can escape and go to Cabrini Green to be sacrificed in place of Anne-Marie’s baby. Helen makes her way back to Cabrini Green to try and clear her name for the murder and missing child.

The confrontation sequence occurs when Helen arrives back at Cabrini Green. Helen begins to battle Candyman, but the fight is futile because Candyman quickly overpowers her. She meets Candyman and he has bees coming out of his mouth and kisses her she then blacks out and a wakes up to find writing on the wall that says “it was always you Helen.” She then walks outside and hears the Marie’s baby crying, she goes in the mountain of garbage and finds the baby. Helen tries to save the baby from the pile, but the Candyman appears and thwarts her efforts. While Helen is still battling the Candyman, the locals set the pile of garbage on fire, in an attempt to kill the Candyman, and consequently Helen burns to death, without overcoming the Candyman.