It has recently been announced that the Halloween-themed horror anthology movie Bad Candy will be arriving at select theaters on September 10. Shortly after, it will be available On Demand from September 14 and then on Blu-ray from September 28. Bad Candy was written and directed by Scott B. Hansen and Desiree Connell. It stars cult favourites Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame and Corey Taylor from the masked heavy metal band Slipknot.
As an anthology based film, the movie will tell a number of separate spooky stories based on a Halloween theme in the vain of 2007’s holiday favorite Trick ‘r Treat directed by Michael Dougherty. Bad Candy follows local Halloween stories based on both myths and lessons learned in the community of New Salem. With its annual Psychotronic FM Halloween show, re-enactment radio DJs Chilly Billy (Taylor) and Paul (Galligan) weave the tales of the supernatural of years gone by, and if the trailer is anything to go by, this is certainly not a movie for the faint of heart. In the Corey Taylor narrated trailer, which lasts just under two minutes, our senses are bombarded with an assortment of evil imagery including zombies, blood splattered walls, an evil clown and some sort of horned demon creature that looks to be straight from the deepest depths of hell.
Bad Candy originally premiered at last year’s Frightening Ass Film Fest, two days of features, shorts, panels, and watch parties on Halloween weekend, 2020. The film was among 15 feature horror flicks to debut at the fest, including the vomit inducing Cyst directed by Tyler Russell, and the controversial Anonymous Animals, a surreal piece of cinema from Baptiste Rouveure, in which the audience were given an insight as to what it would be like if animals and humans swapped places. Early reviews for Bad Candy have generally been favorable with the general consensus being that it is a fun film with plenty to enjoy but borrows a little too heavily from the aforementioned Trick ‘r Treat and potentially suffers a little from trying to cram a little too much into one movie.
After starring in the blockbuster smashes Gremlins(1984) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch(1990), Zach Galligan has remained fairly consistent in his television and movie output, albeit in noticeably less mainstream titles including Jason Mewe’s directorial debut Madness in the Method (2019) and the bloody cult slasher Hatchet III (2013).
Corey Taylor, on the other hand is known for his musical outings fronting a number of outfits including Slipknot and Stone Sour, but this isn’t his first foray into the world of acting. Taylor appeared in the 2014 horror Fear Clinic directed by Robert Green Hall, he also made a cameo in Sharknado 4 (2016) and even providing the ‘roaring’ voice work for the character King Fisher in the legendary British Sci Fi series Doctor Who.
Catch Bad Candy at select theaters on September 10 or view it On Demand from September 14 or on Blu-ray from September 28.