Trailer Report: Blithe Spirit, Saint Maud, Candyman

BY KYLE IVERSON

BLITHE SPIRIT

A UK trailer for “Blithe Spirit” was released this week by Studiocanal UK. The film is based on a classic stage play and features Judi Dench as a wacky medium that attempts to help a struggling writer played by Dan Stevens. When the spirit of the writer’s deceased wife gets accidentally summoned, a comedic love triangle is created between him and his now current wife. Leslie Mann plays the ghostly wife from the past and Isla Fisher is the current wife of five years. Emilia Fox, Callie Cooke, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Julian Rhind-Tutt, James Fleet and Simon Kunz round out the cast. This British screwball comedy comes out on May 1st.

SAINT MAUD

A24 is adding to their horror catalog with “Saint Maud”, a story about a religious nurse who becomes infatuated with the salvation of her patient’s soul. An appropriately timed, fiery trailer was released on Ash Wednesday and gives us just a bit more of a look at Morfydd Clark’s character Maud and her relationship with her patient Amanda, played by Jennifer Ehle. The film also stars Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery and Rosie Sansom. Moviegoers at Toronto International Film Festival praised the religious horror that is set to be released on April 3rd.

CANDYMAN

An eerie remix of Destiny Child’s 1999 hit “Say My Name” seeps into your ears like honey in the trailer for a new “Candyman” movie. The film is directed by Nia DaCosta and is co-written and produced by Jordan Peele. It is said to be a “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 movie of the same name. This reimagining is set in the housing projects of Chicago and, as the trailer indicates, is full of mirrors, hooks, bees, gore and people uttering the name “Candyman”. The cast includes Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Kyle Kaminsky and Vanessa Williams. There may even be a cameo by Tony Todd, the original Candyman. This scary, yet oh so sweet, movie flies into cinemas on June 12th.