Haunting, intelligent and poetic, Candyman's strength lies in its ability to deliver a powerful social message primarily through imagery (Helen's realization that each room in her ritzy high-rise is the "mirror image" of its counterpart in Cabrini Green is a telling example), while managing to deliver the horror goods with hair-raising suspense, graphic shocks, and a chillingly seductive yet painfully human monster -- all qualities which affirm Candyman as the finest Barker adaptation ever committed to film -- far superior to its disappointing sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1994).