Tales from the Hood

Despite the silly title, Tales From the Hood takes itself pretty seriously. That said, there is a good deal of comedy, but the tales themselves are surprisingly dark and well told with some excellent acting and a handful of unforgettable images. It all starts when a group of gang members go to a funeral home in the middle of the night without the best of intentions and run into the funeral director (Clarence Williams III at his most hammy) who proceeds to tell them a handful of lurid stories involving all the bodies he's just prepared for burial. These stories deal with police brutality, child/spousal abuse, blood thirsty dolls going after racist politicians, and gang violence. Tales From the Hood has more on its mind that simple thrills and it takes an admirable shot as hot button issues without ever feeling preachy or obvious. The entire film is effortlessly entertaining from start to finish and there should be a segment for everyone.

"Tales from the Hood" is much better than I had expected. It is not just a rip-off of "Creepshow" set in the "hood" with African-American stereotypes, but rather a socially conscious anthology film in which each of the four stories has something to say about issues facing the black community, ie. police brutality and corruption, domestic violence and child abuse, racist governments and gang violence. Seeing Spike Lee's involvement, if only as an executive producer, piqued my interest, and you can definitely feel his stamp on the finished product. The movie also has some nifty special effects. I say check it out.

I loved this movie. I am a big fan of the whole "tales" type of movies and i thought that this film had a great way of taking four horror stories and giving them an urban twist. Clarence Williams III is hillarious and spooky as mortician Simms and David Alen Grier who is mostly known for his comedic talents gives a frightful performance as an abusive stepfather. Of the 4 tales told int the film i mostly enjoyed "Boys Do Get Bruises" which offered an interesting way of dealing with child abusive by showing how a "monster" doesn't necesarily look like one. The other story i enjoyed was the final one: "Hard Core Covert" which gives an eerie look at racial and gang related violence. The other two stories which mostly dealed with racism and corruptness were good although predictable and kind of slow but were still entertaining. A somewhat suprise ending was well done and this remains as one of the best horror films of the "teen slasher" filled 90's genre. FINAL RATING: ****/*****

Not really scary of a movie, but this movie really did serve a good purpose. I noticed that the four stories in this movie touched on four topics in today's society: Domestic Violence(David Alan Grier, Brandon Hammond, Paul Jai Parker, Rusty Cundieff), Police Brutality(Anthony Griffith, Tom Wright, Michael Massee), Racism(Corbin Bernsen, Art Evans, Roger Guenveur Smith) and Black-on-black crime(Lamont Bentley, Joe Torry, De'Aundre Bonds, Samuel Monroe Jr., Ricky Harris). There is basically a message in all of them but the 4th story in this film was probably the best one. Not an unpredictable movie but not at all bad, and the ending was fantastic as well...

An interesting, at times totally innovative take on the horror film genre. Three young black hoodlums go to a funeral home where a bizarre mortician (an eerie Williams) takes them on a tour and shares four terrifyingly twisted ghost stories. The first involving corrupt cops is routine and obvious; the second is a unique take on child abuse that is creative and fairly creepy; the third involving vengeful voodoo dolls is at times shocking, at times corny, but eerie and crafty in its own right; the fourth about gang violence and rehabilitation is highly imaginative and something to marvel at; the film's unique amalgam of horror and social commentary isn't always on target, but the special effects are convincing, and the performances rock solid, making this a fairly impressive showing for all those involved. **½

Very bizarre - just the way I like things! Ridiculous amount of profanity, cool horror & the editing is spot on. Not bad for a crazy a$$ African American flick, I don't mind these type occasionally.