[FILM REVIEW] BAD CANDY (DIRECTED BY DESIREE CONNELL AND SCOTT B. HANSEN 2020)

Weeeeelll, it’s okay. While it is fun in places and suitably anthologyist (yes, I have just made up a word) it didn’t really bring anything new to the game. It has a nice set up and framing device in Paul and Chilly Billy, but I don’t think it capitalised on them as much as it could/should have done.

Bad Candy (2020)
Written by Desiree Connell (story by), Scott B. Hansen (story by) and Thacker Hoffman (short story)
Directed by Desiree Connell and Scott B. Hansen


Review by: Mark Walker

On Halloween night in New Salem, Radio DJs Chilly Billy (Corey Taylor) and Paul (Zach Galligan) tell a twisted anthology of terrifying local myths that lead to a grim end for small-town residents (IMDB)


Warning – there may be a couple of minor spoilers for BAD CANDY in this review


Well this may well be the perfect treat to review as we head into the Season of the Witch/Ghoul/Ghost/Goblin/Demon Clown/Zombie/Bastard who puts razor blades in sweets for Halloween. Bad Candy is an anthology of half a dozen or so short horror stories, linked together by Chilly Billy and his mate Paul, as they keep their listeners happy at Halloween, broadcasting on frequency 66.6!

And who doesn’t like a good horror anthology for Halloween?

I know I do.

Ever since seeing Creepshow as a kid, I have loved an anthology and Bad Candy continues a tradition started (possibly, don’t quote me) by Dead of Night in 1945 and handed down through the generations via classics like Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, Creepshow, Cat’s Eye, Tales from the Darkside, V/H/S and the ABCs of Death to name but a few.

So how does Bad Candy stack up against the best?

Weeeeelll, it’s okay. While it is fun in places and suitably anthologyist (yes, I have just made up a word) it didn’t really bring anything new to the game. It has a nice set up and framing device in Paul and Chilly Billy, but I don’t think it capitalised on them as much as it could/should have done.

The film follows a radio broadcast from Chilly Billy (Corey Taylor) and Paul (Zack Galligan) as they recount spooky tales based on local events that may, or may not be true; some of them might even be happening as they broadcast. This framing device provides the through line for the film alongside the Bad Candy Demon Clown who pops in and out of the stories, sometimes doing something and sometimes not. To be honest, it is not always clear why he (she?) is there or what his overall purpose is. In the first segment he punishes an annoying brat and “collects” him, but we don’t see this repeated, so I wasn’t sure what that was really all about. This could have been an interesting theme to play with throughout the film as he punished various arseholes, but the character felt a bit wasted, considering how prominent he is on the poster.

Interestingly, the stories themselves are not all stand-alone. As well as the link segments that take us back to the radio station, there are connections between the tales such as a Halloween party that features in three of the segments and a few recurring characters. This was a nice touch, and I liked the way this all linked up and connected back to the Radio Station. The final tale is firmly linked to Paul and Chilly Billy and reflects a common revenge theme; Paul and Chilly are not safe from the malevolent forces that walk this Halloween eve!

Despite this, I didn’t think the film held up that well as a whole. The stories are generally fun and creepy, but I did have a few issues. One of the main problems was with a couple of the female characters. In one segment, a lonely woman seems to get (mortally) punished for having sexual fantasies about the dead – hey, you know, it’s a bit out there, but not really up there with putting razor blades in cupcakes. A later segment, which I thought was a great idea, has Army vets punishing the dregs of society with their demon pal. Their victims include a sex-worker who seems to get punished alongside thugs, arseholes, and drug dealers, just because she is a sex-worker. It felt a little unbalanced to me.

Bad Candy includes some decent practical effects and, although not excessively gory, there is enough to keep gore hounds happy. However, there was a reliance on digital effects from time to time with some fairly poor-quality blood spurts which were quite a distraction.
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Bad Candy isn’t a bad film. It kept me entertained and I only found myself checking my watch once during the run time. I just found it lacking in a few places especially as it holds no real surprises for any fans of the horror anthology. Having said that, perhaps part of the appeal of the Anthology film is sort of knowing what you are going to get? But that is a whole different debate! And Anthologies are always going to have a harder time as their very nature makes it difficult to please everyone, all of the time. I also wanted Paul and Chilly Billy to have been utilised a little more. This is Zach Galligan for crying out loud! Billy Peltzer himself! I am not sure he says anything until at least half-way through the movie. Bearing in mind how things turn out, I feel his character and story could have done more and been developed further.


I had a quick look on IMDB as I was finishing this review and it is currently rated at 3.8. Personally, I think that’s harsh and I would push this to a 5 as it has lots of promise but doesn’t quite deliver. I wanted to love Bad Candy, but it wasn’t quite there for me and didn’t provide quite as much fun as some other similar films. Having said that, if you are a fan of horror anthologies this will do you fine, nestled between a rewatch of Creepshow and V/H/S, for example, as part of a schlocky Halloween marathon. Get a couple of beers inside you (or whatever your poison) and enjoy it for what it is.

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