Tales From the Hood

Rusty Cundieff
1995

Its amazing that Spike Lee attached his company and name to this slice of mid-nineties pop consciousness. This isn't a judgment call by any means, it just seems like the poster child for intelligent, black independent cinema who made "Do the Right Thing" (and the unemployable hack responsible for "She Hate Me") would involve himself with such lowbrow fare.

"Tales From the Hood" is firmly rooted in the tradition of "Tales From the Crypt" in terms of story tone, and comedic horror aesthetics, however Cundieff seems more interested in making pat social commentary than actually scaring the audience.

The structure centers around an appropriately kooky funeral director leading around three ridiculous gangbangers who are trying to snatch a drug stash from a fallen homie. As the mortician leads the kids deeper into his home the picture is punctuated by his tales.....from the hood. The first involves police brutality and the unlawful killing of a community leader who gets revenge as a an invincible zombie. The second takes on domestic violence through the classic "monster under the bed metaphor." This particular episode stars David Allen Greer in a role that's arguably the most interesting of his career. The third centers around an ex-klansman turned anti-affirmative action politician, named Duke (the reference is absurd) who gets his comeuppance at the hands of some ghost slaves. Finally, the last (and best) tale centers around a violent gangsta who undergoes a voluntary behavior alteration program (a la "Clockwork Orange") in the hopes of freeing himself from a life sentence.

The first three stories are far from satisfying. While the monster story is probably the most successful, it suffers from being completely out of step with the rest of the movie's urban, african-american theme. Call me crazy, but I think its a bit ignorant to claim that domestic violence is intrinsically a "hood phenomenon." The klansman/politician story falls completely flat in that big Duke is such a despicable character that there's no tension or interest in his demise.

The last tale, and ensuing, finale (complete with an amazing CG Satan and hell) does a good job of making up for the film's prior mistakes, and make this one worth your time. It'd be great to screen this next to "Clockers," and "Malcolm X."

Review By Brett Scieszka