Parasites and Perverts: An Introduction to Gothic

¶ … Parasites and Perverts: An Introduction to Gothic Monstrosity, by Judith Halberstam. Specifically, it will relate the essay to the movie Candyman, directed by Bernard Rose. CANDYMAN In "Parasites and Perverts," Halberstam discusses the Gothic novel, and how it relates to horror writing and horror films today. According to Halberstam, classic Gothic writing embodies monstrosity, fear, sexuality, and horror. As the author notes, "Horror, I have suggested, exercises power even as it incites pleasure and/or disgust" (Halberstam 17).

The film Candyman, by director Bernard Rose, has much in common with Halberstam's definition of Gothic horror and monstrosity. The Candyman is a mythic urban legend that haunts the housing project Cabrini Green, located in a poor area of Chicago. The film begins just as many Gothic novels begin, with complete normalcy. The city from a distance looks normal, as does the life of Helen, a grad student studying urban legends.

As Helen become more obsessed with finding the real Candyman, and exposing him as a real, flesh and blood man, and not a legend, the film becomes more horrific, and less normal. Just as a Gothic horror novel instills fear in the reader, this film instills fear in the viewer. The Candyman is a perfect Gothic villain, complete with a bloody hook for a hand, and a strong need for vengeance because he was wrongly accused of rape, and murdered in the 1800s.

Yet, the film leaves questions - does the Candyman really exist, or is Helen a wanton murderer? The tie to classic Gothic horror is clear here. Books could not rely on visual effects to frighten and horrify the reader, they had to instill horror and fear with their words, and so does this film. It contains its' share of blood and gore, but the real fear comes from Helen's fearlessness in stalking the Candyman through the eerie housing project, and from the constant questioning of who is.