Tales from the Hood (1995)

A funeral director tells four strange tales of horror with an African American focus to three drug dealers he traps in his place of business.

Director:

Rusty Cundieff

Writers:

Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott

Stars:

Clarence Williams III, Corbin Bernsen, Joe Torry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clarence Williams III	...	Mr. Simms
Joe Torry	...	Stack
De'aundre Bonds	...	Ball
Samuel Monroe Jr.	...	Bulldog
Wings Hauser	...	Strom
Tom Wright	...	Martin Moorehouse
Anthony Griffith	...	Clarence
Michael Massee	...	Newton
Duane Whitaker	...	Billy
David Alan Grier	...	Carl
Brandon Hammond	...	Walter
Rusty Cundieff	...	Richard
Paula Jai Parker	...	Sissy
Corbin Bernsen	...	Duke Metger
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Rhodie

Storyline

Four short, moralistic horror vignettes (a la EC Comics) that deal with mostly black characters. The framing story introduces three youths out to pick up a drug shipment at a funeral parlor from the strange director, Mr. Simms. As the three punks wind their way through the parlor, Mr. Simms tells them the last stories of some of his more interesting clients.

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Plot Keywords:

child abuse | serial murder | revenge from beyond the grave | killer doll | civil rights activist | 

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Taglines:

Where nightmares and reality meet on the street

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic brutal violence and strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Welcome to My Mortuary

Filming Locations:

2261 West 21st Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,797,927

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks,Savoy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Alan Grier, known during the early to mid 90's as one of the cast members on the sketch show In Living Color (1990), appeared in a very rare non-comedic role as Carl, the very abusive stepfather during the second segment.

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Goofs

Duke partially closes the door to check for the little devil doll, but in the next shot it's in its original position.

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Quotes

Eli: You need to be scared, Mr. Metger. Them dolls didn't want him there. They don't want you there. Now you'd best get out before you wind up just like him. Or worse.

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Alternate Versions

In most broadcast TV versions, along with omitting/replacing the profanity, some versions show Walter's body in the casket at the end of his story "Boys Do Get Bruised" instead of the charred remains of his mother's abusive boyfriend Carl.

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Connections

Followed by Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)

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Soundtracks

From The Dark Side
Performed by Gravediggaz

User Reviews

One of the better horror anthologies

Yes, it's flawed, and it's cheesy, and it's over-the-top. It's equal parts clever satire, straight-up homage, and occasionally even a parody. There are many horror, exploitation, and black humor elements sprinkled throughout the movie. I just can't understand why this movie isn't beloved by more people. Maybe it's because the cast is mostly black, and the stories revolve around inner city, black youth? Well, as a white guy from the suburbs, I absolutely loved this movie. It's flawed, of course, but when it works, it works better than most other movies of this type.

If you're not familiar with it, this is a horror anthology highly influenced by Tales from the Crypt, an old 50s horror comic book series that birthed several spin-off movies and an influential TV series. It also takes ample inspiration from the Twilight Zone, Tales from the Dark Side, and Creepshow franchises. If you're a fan of any of these, I'd have to highly recommend Tales from the Hood, especially if you're also into Blaxploitation, from which it also takes some inspiration.

In the time honored tradition of horror/exploitation movies everywhere, the guilty are punished with gory deaths and lessons are learned (frequently too late). Is it preachy, didactic social satire? Perhaps, at times. But it's also entertaining as hell. It has a great cast, some really cheesy, over-top-the-top acting, and was produced by Spike Lee. For me, that makes it almost required viewing.