Tales from the Hood

Summary

“Don’t worry. You’ll get the shit. You’ll be knee-deep in the shit!”

Shout! Factory released the anthology film Tales from the Hood on Blu-ray in 2017. I purchased the disc, but for some reason or other, I did not get around to viewing the film until the other night. Released into theaters in 1995, the film was a modest success at the theaters, but it was not given much of a chance by critics. This is a shame, because the script explores ideas that many films shy away from. As I had neither seen the film back then or read much about it until the other night, I was surprised at the intelligence of the film and the well-thought out approach the film took towards addressing numerous social issues. Director and writer Rusty Cundieff had already proven himself capable of clever parody with Fear of the Black Hat, but Tales from the Hood is in my opinion an even better film. It is for certain one of the better anthology films from its era and is one which wears its influences on its sleeve proudly. I am glad that the film received the deluxe treatment from Shout! Factory.

The wraparound story that interweaves the four segments in the film stars Clarence Williams III as a mortician named Mr. Simms who is visited by three young drug dealers who have come to his place to pick up “the shit” – some drugs that Mr. Simms has apparently found. Their names are Stack, Ball, and Bulldog. Mr. Simms begins to escort them around the funeral home and tell them tales of the bodies in coffins in his possession, while they impatiently wait for him to give them the drugs.

The first story is “Rogue Cop Revelation.”  In this story, a young black police officer named Clarence Smith (Anthony Griffith) rides in his patrol car with his partner, Newton Hauser (Michael Massee.) They are summoned to the scene of what seems to be a routine traffic stop by officers Strom Richmond (Wings Hauser) and Billy Crumfeld (Duane Whitaker.) The car that has been stopped belongs to Martin Moorehouse (Tom Wright,) a city councilman who has vowed to remove the city of corrupt cops. Against the protestations of Clarence, the officers beat Martin with their billy clubs. Clarence doesn’t stand up hard enough to the other police. After Newton and Clarence are dismissed by Strom and Billy, Strom plants drugs in the car of Martin and injects drugs into his unconscious body. Strom rolls the car into the river. Clarence finds himself homeless and haunted by his inability to save Martin a year later. When Clarence meets the other men guilty of the death at Martin’s grave, poetic justice is achieved in a supernatural fashion.

The second story is “Boys Do Get Bruised.” As the story begins, a new student named Walter gets into an altercation on the playground. His kindly teacher (Rusty Cundieff) discovers that Walter has bruises that must have been caused beforehand. When he asks Walter about the bruises, Walter confides to him that the bruises have been caused by a monster living at his home. Walter shows the teacher a drawing of the monster that he has done at school. At Walter’s house, the teacher confronts Walter’s father, played by David Alan Grier.

The third story is “KKK Comeuppance.” Politician Duke Metger (Corbin Bernsen) has seen his star rise based on some inflammatory comments he has made regarding race and issues such as affirmative action. Making himself even more of a target and firebrand, Duke has recently moved into a home that was formerly a plantation and site of a slave massacre. His supporters appreciate every wild antic, and his script doctor Rhodie (Roger Guenveur Smith,) who happens to be black, continues to help him feed the fire. Inside the house is a frightening image painted on the wall of a former slave woman with tiny dolls that represented the massacred slaves. As Duke continues to disrespect black culture, some strange things begin to happen regarding the painting.

The fourth and final story is “Hardcore Convert.” In the fourth story, gang member Jerome kills a man in front of a house. Three gang members come outside, guns blazing, and Jerome is shot several times. The police that arrive on the scene shoot and kill all three shooters, but Jerome survives, spitting up blood. In prison a couple years later, much of that time spent in solitary confinement, a woman (Rosalind Cash) arrives and gives Jerome an opportunity to possibly leave prison if he agrees to “behavior modification.”

Tales from the Hood caught me totally off-guard. I think due to the marketing campaign that was used in 1995 (when I was ten years old,) I had never really considered giving the film a chance. I was surprised to find that the film didn’t revel completely in camp, but instead focused on social issues and explored them through the lens of a horror film. The script fixates on legitimate fears in the hood – police brutality, abuse at home, Southern attitudes towards the past and racist politicians, and black on black violence. My hat goes off to Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott for consistently surprising me with the writing on this film.

I think since Tales from the Hood is an anthology film, I will take a second to run through the four stories individually briefly. “Rogue Cop Revelation” is a strong beginning for the film thanks to an excellent villainous turn by the great Wings Hauser. I can’t think of a better actor to cast as a malicious bully officer. The strong moral underpinnings of the story resonate and immediately let the audience know that this film is exploring some deep ideas. “Boys Do Get Bruised” is my favorite piece in the film. Abuse at home is not an idea that is explored often in mainstream cinema because it is such an uncomfortable topic. This piece features a dynamite performance by David Alan Grier that will make you question why he didn’t typically receive more serious roles. It has a hell of an ending. This piece also benefits from some excellent creature work from Screamin’ Mad George, who is probably best known for his work on the insane Brian Yuzna classic Society. The third piece, “KKK Comeuppance” is probably the most comedic and lighthearted piece in the film. It is in sharp contrast to the stories before and after it. It works largely because Corbin Bernsen is so good at playing a scumbag and still being enjoyable to watch onscreen. The final story, “Hardcore Convert” was the least satisfying tale in my opinion – playing out like a bizarre-o Clockwork Orange themed tale – but the subtext beneath the story was important which was – black on black violence is just an extension of the violence that was perpetrated on blacks by white generations earlier and needs to stop once and for all. The wraparound story featuring Clarence Williams III as Mr. Simms – essentially the crypt keeper for the film – is fantastic. Clarence Williams III manages to steal the whole movie in his role. It is not a performance that once will forget easily and reminds me of some of the more eccentric performances by Christopher Walken. He truly elevates the movie.

Like all anthology film, Tales from the Hood will have its fans and detractors, but I found the film to be entertaining and surprisingly thought provoking. If you like anthology films, I highly recommend checking this one out.

Video

Shout!Factory have provided a good looking transfer of the film using an MPEG-4 AVC codec in 1080p with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The scan itself seems to have been provided by Universal Pictures and is not entirely new, but I found the film’s visual presentation pleasing. The film for the most part looks pretty good, but it does not have as much grain to lend it a true filmic look as many of Shout! Factory’s titles. The cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond is definitely well-suited to the film and eye catching. Richmond had worked on horror films before that included Candyman and Don’t Look Now, to mention only a couple. Overall, I think that fans will be pleased overall with how the film looks.

Audio

Tales from the Hood features a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that I thought worked surprisingly well. While it would have been preferable to have a surround track, the stereo track is more immersive than I had expected. I did not notice anything with the track that would detract from the experience. 

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Rusty Cundieff discusses the production of the film at length (including how Spike Lee came to produce the film) in an informative and entertaining commentary.
• The Making of Tales from the Hood: this fantastic nearly hour long piece examines the film through the eyes of writers Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott with interviews from key cast members including Corbin Bernsen, Wings Hauser, and Anthony Griffith, alongside some effects technicians. This is a well done piece.
• Vintage Featurette – essentially an EPK
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Photo Gallery

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Tales from the Hood really took me by surprise. I had expected the film to be fairly over-the-top and camp, but that was not the case. The film intelligently took true horrors of contemporary urban life and put them onscreen in inventive ways to create the the segments in the film. Overall, Tales from the Hood is an excellent anthology film that wears its influences on its sleeves. The film features standout performances by David Alan Grier, Wings Hauser, and a fantastic Clarence Williams III performance as Mr. Simms. The Shout!Factory release of the film features a good looking transfer of the film and solid audio. The supplemental features include an excellent piece on the making of the film. Recommended!