BAD CANDY plays as part of the Paris International Film Festival 2021, taking place online between 4th and 14th February.

Tickets available at: https://www.parisintlfest.com/

It’s Halloween in the quiet little backwoods American town of New Salem – or, as the good people at local radio station Psychotronic FM 66.6 describe it, ‘Hell Hallows Eve’. What a good time to spread the bad word and share a spooky story or two with Vincent Price’s laughter invigorating the airwaves from a certain title hit which had a certain extended pop promo – and a late pop star stalking his girlfriend and enjoying it in the process.

Welcome to BAD CANDY, where a girl with an abusive stepfather has the power to draw up demons, despite being warned by said stepdad and her core group of friends about ‘what happened last year.’

Meanwhile, over at Psychotronic, Chilly Billy (Corey Taylor) and co-presenter Paul (Zach Galligan, GREMLINS) are challenging listeners to call up with their favourite tales of ghoulish shock. Enter an evil loner literally spiking the candy with razors, a wanna-be rocker dishing the drugs out to his party guests, a Dracula in fancy dress who could be more than that – and an investigative team of videographers checking out that mystery house on the hill….

Co-directed by Scott Hansen and Desiree O’Connell, BAD CANDY is an effective mix of the gore and the ghoulish – and definitely one for October, but horror films are effective at any time of year, as there hasn’t been a key date in the calendar not covered by film-makers through the ages in a genre that was kickstarted in 1978 by John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN. If you are a fan of classic TV series like HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR and THE TWILIGHT ZONE (in both the original and 1980s updates), there is something for fans here, as this is full of cautionary supernatural tales.

Reminiscent of films like CREEPSHOW, TRICK R TREAT and A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY with William Shatner as an alcoholic DJ and the more recent STEPHEN KING’S IT films, along with STRANGER THINGS (although you could say that BAD CANDY could be retitled THE STRANGEST STEPHEN KING STUFF!!!), it is nonetheless a very satisfying entry in the horror genre, with a well constructed series of tales – and a surprising pay-off at the end.

Added crossover appeal is thanks to the presence of Zach Galligan, whose work in GREMLINS defined a generation of cinemagoers and he is very good here as one of the DJs. Clearly one for the horror community, but the Paris Festival might also be a great platform for people who need an introduction to the genre.

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Film and TV Journalist Follow: @Higgins99John Follow: @filmandtvnow