3 gang members take refuge in a mortuary run by the mysterious Mr. Simms who tells them the stories of the corpses lying within.
Written by Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott and directed by Cundieff, Tales from the Hood has become a cult classic in the modern age after a mixed response upon release. Tales from the Hood is your traditional horror anthology in the same vein as an Amicus production, 4 stories with a wraparound to tie them all together. The wrap around “Welcome to My Mortuary” stars the immortal Clarence Williams the third as a suspicious mortician who guides three intruding gang members through the stories of the corpses sitting in his Mortuary. Williams steals these segments with scene chewing charisma and menace as he guides the intruders towards their ultimate fate in one of my favorite wrap around anthology stories ever. Especially the very end. Each story is written to reflect parts of the Black experience and while I am not Black, I believe it is very important to experience cinema directed outside of your world view to gain outside perspectives.
Segment one is “Rogue Cop Revelation” a very resonant topic in this day and age sees the murder of a prominent Civil Rights Activist Martin Ezekiel Moorehouse by a group of 3 racist policemen that are enraged by Moorehouse’s recent crusade for police accountability. The murder occurs in front of a rookie Black Cop who is haunted by his inaction. Eventually Moorehouse is raised from the grave and takes a bloodthirsty revenge in my favorite of these segments. Well acted, directed and with a great ratcheting tension to it’s satisfying yet tragic climax. A perfect starting segment.
Segment two is “Boys Do Get Bruised” starring out Director Cundieff as a kind teacher facing off against a surprisingly upsetting and evil abusive father played by David Alan Grier. A child reports a monster attacks him every night and it’s up to him and his teacher to truly stop the threat. Very emotional and raw this segment deals with child abuse and the unique defeat of “The Monster” really sticks with you. Another very solid segment.
Segment three is “KKK Comeuppance” starting Corbin Bernsen as a racist KKK Member and Senator running for Governor and facing(and losing) a battle against a hoodoo witches haunted legacy of dolls in a segment that goes off the rails in the best way possible. Definitely the “crowd pleaser” segment. Best seen going in blind.
Segment four and our final tale, “Hard Core Convert” ties into our wraparound as we hear the tale of Gangster “Crazy K” surviving a shooting and being sent off to a facility for rehabilitation. His chance at redemption is in the hands of Dr. Cushing played by legendary Rosalind Cash. Her attempts being unusual and experimental. It goes into the mind of a hardened criminal and wrestles with that theme of redemption leading into the tragic ending that brings us back to the Mortuary and the ending reveal that places a beautiful bow on a woefully unappreciated film.
Tales from the Hood has everything from varied stories, to great acting to an excellent directing style. It belongs in the upper pantheon of Horror anthologies and is a film that is still as relevant now as it was then. I can’t recommend this movie enough for old fans and those who never watched it. Tales from the Hood is available on Starz to stream and can be rented for around $3.99 as well on platforms like Amazon and Google.