Hey everybody! I got a fun little video for you today in anticipation of the new Candyman, which hits theaters tomorrow, on Friday August 27th.
Last week there was a Pop-up Activation for Candyman in Chicago and horror fans came from all over to experience it. Including a bunch of Dead Meat fans.
Universal was awesome enough to film AND edit that experience, which you'll see in just a second.
And after THAT, you can watch an interview I did with the star of the new Candyman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
We actually filmed it about a year ago, right before I moved, but I held onto the footage as the film's release date was delayed.
So enjoy this video of the Candyman experience in Chicago, and after that, an interview with Yahya.
This is the middle of Chicago, and Candyman started in Chicago, so let's be honest, this is exciting! I decided to stop.
I happened to walk by and see this booth. I've actually seen the old movie, and I couldn't pass up seeing what was inside the box.
"Candyman... The urban legend is if you say his name 5 times while looking in the mirror, he appears in the reflection... and kills you."
"You should say his name. I dare you."
*suspenseful music* Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman...
"I heard... you're looking for Candyman..."
*strings whine* *people screaming*
I'm coming from about 2 hours south, uh, James A. Janisse, from Dead Meat, told me to come.
I heard about it from the Dead Meat channel.
I watch Dead Meat all the time.
I'm also a fan of Dead Meat.
Dead Meat.
I saw it on Dead Meat James' channel and I was like 'We gotta goooo!'
*bass hit* I was the first screamer of the day, it was so scary!
*screaming*
We're about to get scared!
Wait, don't push me.
No, I don't wanna do this!
Nooo, you have to!
No, you have to! *both scream*
*door shuts* No, I don't LIKE IT! *screams*
Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman- *screams*
So I was expecting to be scared going in, but I was not expecting for him to be as afraid as he was, since he pushed me in front of everything!
Allegedly, yes.
That was interesting.
*unintelligible shouting* I'm protecting you!
We still haven't found any evidence, but uh, yeah.
*screaming*
It's real intense in there, and then Candyman pops up through the mirror and scares the crap out of you!
Both shouting: Candyman!!
Scared the heck out of us, goin in there!
*both screaming*
Then this THING popped up and I'm screaming to the top of my lungs!
Candyman was gonna get us!
Okay.... alright....
And I'm like, 'Oh, I gotta get outta here, or else I'm gonna have to get Depends.'
*screaming*
Literally as soon as the lights cut, I knew I was in trouble and then I like, hit the panic button to leave.
*sound and lights cut* *laughs*
*people screaming* *button slams*
It was suspenseful, it- you don't know what you're walking into in there.
*worker laughs* Oh my gosh, made my heart jump!
Candyman, Candyman, Candyman! *laughs*
If you think about evilness, and when you come to Chicago, Candyman is prolly going to be one of those things that pop up.
What separates Candyman is the fact that it actually has a really interesting historical story.
It does tackle race in such a nuanced way, I think it's pretty good!
You get to see a Black man, looking like me, be up in the spotlight like that.
The first movie... literally talked about stuff that people were too afraid to talk about slash even think about!
It bringing together all these elements of what's going on in real time,
there really needs to be continuation of the stories of Racism in America and bringing awareness to that.
I would like to see Jordan Peele's twist on it, cause he has a very interesting mind.
So, I'm excited to see Nia DaCosta's work, what someone who has kinda honed in as much as she is,
what's to tackle and change about the first story while still making race a big factor in it, I know there's police brutality talked about in it.
The reality of it, in comparison to other horror films.
It's just scary, it's a scary concept and a scary idea.
Tell people, if they have any heart problems, take care of that first, take your medicine.
*screaming so hard they fall down*
Ohhhh my god.
Did someone just scream? Oh my god, someone just screamed really loud.
Someone screamed, that was bad. That was terrifying, I thought it was sound proof!
But that makes me real self-conscious that people could've heard my screams.
*screaming*
*more screaming*
Dead Meat James, I'm a huge fan of yours!
Huge fan!
So Hi James, if you're watching! *laughs*
What's up Jaaames!
Hi James, how are you!
Hi James!
Big fan of your channel dude.
James and Chelsea, I'm sad you couldn't be here today, but I'm glad I found out about this and I'm excited to see the movie!
Say it! I dare you!
*screaming*
Candyman, Candyman, Candyman...!
*screaming*
Oh, shit!
Candyman has this beautiful gothic horror to him, he's a romantic, I love that about him, and... he's kind of sexy.
*screaming*
Candyman, Candyman...
If you ain't been in there, don't go in there.
I was scared, I was like 'ahhh!'
*screaming*
*laughing* *claps hands*
"Say... his name."
*screaming*
Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman...
*shushes* *claps twice* "Don't."
*bass hits* *bees buzz*
James: Hey Yahya! Thanks a lot for making the time to talk to me man, how's it going?
Yahya: I'm alright man, thank for having me, I appreciate you, and thanks for the pronunciation too, that's pretty dope.
James: Oh, absolutely! I always try my best to get it right.
So, the original Candyman is one of my absolute favorite horror movies of all time, and I was curious how familiar with it were you, before being cast in the remake?
Yahya: I got familiar with it during the process of feeling out the movie.
I grew up knowing about the legend of Candyman, I think that was one of the first *inhales* sorta scary games that I played and I remember,
yknow, from my childhood, I remember the- the iconic film moments from Candyman.
I remember the hook, I remember they got- the shot when he opened his mouth and the bees come out,
I remember the shot of opening up his jacket and you can see the ribcage and the bees and things like that.
But for me, the legend of Candyman was not based on a movie, it was- it was something that was real,
because we took the folklore and the stories from the film and we played it in real life,
and that's where the- the threat and the idea of Candyman was most palpable for me growing up.
Yknow, the folklore really took a life of it's own.
James: You've been in all sorts of genres of movies, from musicals to dramas to superhero movies, of course,
are there any unique challenges in approaching a horror movie, or do you approach it just like any other role?
Yahya: It's interesting, I think I like to first approach it and look for the acting opportunities.
Although we deal with some super- elements of supernatural, he's not like Black Manta, he's not like, uh, Doctor Manhattan,
Anthony was a real person. Yknow, Anthony was the first time that I played like, just a regular dude on a Tuesday with a problem in a very long time.
Now the thing about being in, yknow, in a horror movie is that you have to allow yourself to be in a horror movie.
As a performer, you just can't take yourself too too too seriously, you have lean into the fun, the imagination of the circumstances.
Yknow, I would say, do your work as a-as an actor, and then get over yourself and go in and have some fun too, because it's not all- it's not all serious!
It's fun, and- and it's excitement and it's an adventure, at least it should be, all at the same time.
James: And this isn't your first horror movie either, cause you had a role in Jordan Peele's Us.
Yahya: It's true, it's true, it's true, I was- I- I was sorta eased in.
Working in Jordan's landscape, what's so awesome is that he gives you the opportunity to do a little bit of both,
you can definitely do those horror elements, but if you're a straight actor, or a classical actor, or- or whatever type of performer you consider yourself to be,
I think there's a space to do some naturalistic performance and things like that as well.
James: Yeah, and Jordan Peele serves as a producer on the Candyman remake comin up,
how did you initially meet and begin working with Jordan Peele?
Yahya: The first time I met Jordan Peele was on an audition for, uh, Get Out, and I auditioned for that and we talked about different roles, yknow, in that film.
I- I was a young actor, up and coming, and I think he sorta had his eye on me,
so I got the invitation to come and play a part in Us,
and uh, yknow, for me that was- that was really about going and playing, yknow, reconnecting with Jordan,
and reconnecting with Winston and Lupita, and uh, Lizzie Moss, who I knew from my little turn on the Handmaid's Tale,
and so that was just really, like, a little small artists reunion,
and on that job he said, 'Yknow I really wanna find something for you to do.' and a year later or maybe two years later, I forget now,
yknow, I got the phone call that said, 'Hey, there's this opportunity to do something called Candyman that I'm working on.'
and I said, 'Oh, wow, that's... *inhale* that's very interesting, I wanna- I wanna know more.'
James: That's awesome, especially that he sought you out (Yahya: Yeah, yeah) for the role in Us, that's such a high compliment.
Yahya: Yeah, it is, especially coming from someone like him, yknow, when he has your trust, that means a lot.
A lot of that has to do with how I got into this seat right now.
The other half of that is the meetings that I had with our amazing director Nia DaCosta.
I sat down and we talked about her vision for the film, and her love for filmmaking, and for story telling, and for the horror genre,
and then I saw her film uh, Little Woods, and I was sold after I left outta Little Woods, because I saw what she could do with her writing, and her story telling,
and how she created suspense with such little- with such small moments, and I said 'Well, okay, I definitely wanna stay around this person to see what else she can do.'
James: Oh man, that's such a good point, with the ability to create suspense out of little moments, not just big ones,
because I think it's easy to maybe be attracted to the big showy moments in a horror movie, or a superhero movie, or anything like that,
and I- I think that the thing that makes you really remember a movie and a movie stick with you is- is those little moments, and making the most out of those.
Yahya: Those little moments, yeah, that make you kinda hold your breath because you don't know what is *inhale* behind that door.
James: if you could star, or even just act, in any other horror movie remake, do you have any ideas of what that could be? Are you a big horror movie fan?
Yahya: I never have been, no, I was always... (James: No?) I never imagine that I would act in a horror movie,
and uh, Jordan came along with some opportunities, he came along and he really changed my perception,
and not necessarily of horror movies, but my perception of where my place would be in a horror movie,
when, yknow, when he brought out Get Out and then obviously I participated in Us.
I was always the guy who would go to the scary movies and uh, I was never the guy who would cross my arms,
but I got a lot of enjoyment in saying 'I'm not gonna jump, they're not gonna get me.'
and I went through so many movies, for years, where I did not jump,
and now that I'm thinking about it, it was like, yknow I kinda said, 'Well, for what?' yknow, ya kinda just...
You wanna lean into the experience and really have that, right?
James: Well, it's good to hear that you learned to let your guard down for horror movies, man (Yahya: Yeah! Yeah, yeah, oh yeah) *laughs*
Yahya: Enjoy it, yknow, enjoy it a little bit, you can't be- can't be too too protective because you- yknow, you miss the full experience.
James: Exactly.
Well, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today, Yahya.
Yahya: Oh, thank you so much, I appreciate you, thank you very much for your time.
James: Really looking forward to Candyman, thank you.
Yahya: Appreciate you, all the best.
Alright! Thanks again to Yahya for that interview, Universal for that sweet interactive experience, and all you Little Meatie's for tuning in and watching this.
Be sure to check out the all new Candyman, in theaters tomorrow, Friday August 27th.
As always, I'll have to wait for a home video release to do a Kill Count on it. But in the meantime, I'm James A. Janisse. Be good people.
Hey everybody, this is James later on then the James you were watching earlier.
And I just wanna reiterate how awesome it was that so many of you came out to Chicago and said that you were there because of me.
That makes me feel so cool, and I hadn't seen really seen the all of that footage before I filmed that,
so I- I didn't properly convey how fuckin' awesome it was to just hear everyone say that they were there for Dead Meat James,
and the kind things they said about me, and Chelsea, and the channel.
I didn't want this video to end without me directly acknowledging that and uh, saying how great it makes me feel.
Thanks a lot and I'll see you on the next video!