Director: Scott B. Hansen and Desiree Connell

Starring: Corey Taylor, Zack Galligan, Derek Russo, Kevin Wayne, Michael Aaron Milligan and Kenneth Trujillo

Rating: ★★½ 

Bad Candy is a new horror anthology that links all of the stories together with recurring characters and a radio show, where Corey Taylor (Slipknot singer) and Zak Galligan (Gremlins) tell the stories we are watching.

There is a real mixed bag with the stories. The first one, about a girl who can draw anything to life, is good, but ends too soon. It’s strange that when the story gets going it just ends, especially as some of the later ones go on for far too long. There are still good elements from all of them, even if some feel underbaked. There’s a devil monster who appears in all of the stories and seems to be the one punishing people and once he gets involved the story isn’t far from being over. It never lets you get actually invested to be scared in any of them, because they end so quickly.  

The performances are alright for a horror film like this. There’s nothing spectacular but they get the job done. Corey Taylor gives it everything he’s got as the radio DJ telling the stories. It would have been nice for him to narrate them as well, outside of the in-between segments.

The effects are all over the place. Some of the CGI is passable and the practical effects and puppets are great. It’s just the shoddy CGI that’s the problem, like in so many horror films. When it’s bad it’s noticeably bad. It’s really distracting, and while the film isn’t particularly scary, it makes it laughable at points.

There are so many shorts in this anthology. Some of them feel unfinished and could do with being cut out. The second one, which features a man putting razor blades into candy just doesn’t do anything. It’s a nice idea, but it lasts about five minutes and just ends. The child gets the candy, trips up and the devil monster that is the running connection between the stories turns up then kills the old man. That may be a spoiler but the whole scene is so short that it feels more like a pitch for a longer idea. In the end it just pads out the film, which feels too long by the final half hour anyway.

The segments with Corey Taylor and Zack Galligan are the best bits. Corey Taylor brings his charisma in full force and really elevates the film and the nod towards Galligan’s role in Gremlins is smile worthy. It’s their segments that bring the whole thing together and bookends the shorts.

Bad Candy is a fine film. It’s nothing special, but is entertaining at points. This would be a good film for Halloween night with a few friends around. It’s not a classic, but it’s not really trying to be. Some cheap thrills and some entertainment.