Hello there fellow mavens of the macabre, it’s Thakgore and today I bring you our Short of the Week, the deliciously twisted horror fable “The Candy Shop”. In this depression era film little Jimmy Balcomb is overjoyed to find a new job selling newspapers to help earn money for his struggling family and sick mother. When he begins to suspect that something terrible is happening within the walls of the popular candy shop across the street Jimmy is thrust into a contest of wills with the mysterious and terrifying Willy Wonka-esque owner of the store.
A passion project for director Brandon McCormick and star Doug Jones, “The Candy Shop” is horrific for more than one reason. While it is filled with malevolent whimsy to be sure the film deals with the very real issue of child sex trafficking. It was intended to be the spearhead in a campaign to bring awareness to the epidemic of child trafficking in Atlanta, Georgia which, at the time of the film’s making, ranked number 1 in The United States and 10th in the world! The themes of this short are a sobering reminder of the atrocious cost that turning a blind eye can have on the lives of those most vulnerable in our society.
If you’d like to learn how you can help with this important issue visit Street Grace website and join in the fight against child trafficking.
