Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Konterr Brilliant and touching

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Michael_Elliott Tales From the Hood (1995) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Three hoods go to a funeral parlor where they plan on picking up some drugs from the funeral director (Clarence Williams III) but instead he wants to tell them about four bodies inside his building. The first deals with a black man who is murdered by three white cops. The second story deals with a young black boy who goes to a new school where his teacher notices bruises on him. The boy tells the teacher that he's being attacked by a monster. The third story has a former KKK member (Corbin Bernsen) running for Governor but an old myth about slaves and dolls comes back to haunt him. The fourth story deals with a gangster who goes to prison for murder but is offered the chance of freedom if he takes part in an experiment.TALES FROM THE HOOD, as the title clearly states, is a take-off on the Tales from the Crypt series but of course this one here deals with stories about black folks. For the most part this is like most anthology films out there and the fact is that each story has good and bad elements. As with most anthologies, this one here is hit and miss because it's just hard to make these types of films work as one since each story is something different and carries its own good and bad. For the most part though, TALES FROM THE HOOD is an interesting horror film and one that's worth watching.The best thing about the movie is its cast, which has some very good performances throughout. Williams is certainly having fun eating up scenery as the mysterious funeral director. Wings Hauser, David Alan Grier, Bernsen and many others turn in fine performances and they certainly help carry the material. The material itself isn't the strongest as each of the stories fail to reach a classic level. The first one is way too predictable but it's slightly entertaining. The second story has an interesting twist and features the best performances but I'm not sure it should be in a horror movie. The third film is mildly interesting but appears to be trying to be like the final story of TRILOGY OF TERROR. The fourth story is certainly the weakest as it just comes across as a wannabe version of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.As a horror film the movie isn't all that strong as there's certainly no scares and I'd argue that there's not enough blood or horror elements. What's interesting about the film is the fact that it has a lot of social messages and it's meant to tell black audiences something. It's rare that you get a horror film about black characters and it's even rarer for it to take a social stance. TALES FROM THE HOOD is certainly far from a classic but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth watching.

jcbutthead86 Tales From The Hood is a terrific and underrated Horror anthology that combines fine direction,a good cast,a memorable score and great special make-up effects. All of those elements make Tales From The Hood a great Horror Anthology and one of the better Horror films of the 1990s.Tales From The Hood tells the story of three Black youths who have come to a funeral home to purchase some drugs from the funeral home's owner Mr. Simms(Clarence Williams III). While at the funeral home Mr. Simms tells the three youths four different tales of Horror about death,revenge and madness.During the early to mid 1990s when Horror films was seen as "dead" and African-American cinema and Hood/Urban films were being made saw the release of Tales From The Hood,a fantastic Horror Anthology that is one of my favorite Horror Anthology movies and is one of the better Horror films of the 1990s that has thankfully earned something of a Cult status among Horror fans. Tales From The Hood takes it's inspirations from Movie and TV Anthologies such as The Twilight Zone,EC Horror Comics,Tales From The Crypt,Creepshow(1982)and other Horror Anthologies before it but what sets Tales From The Hood apart is the African-American aspect and how the movie in a thrilling,scary and suspenseful way with bits of dark humor mixes together Supernatural Horror with an urban style and social commentary of a Spike Lee(who executive produced the movie)film talking about real life issues such as Racism,police brutality,child abuse and gang violence which Tales From the Hood stand out from other Horror Anthologies. The tone of the movie has a great balance of being serious and over the top with a dark and twisted sense of Humor that hangs over the movie. Like many Anthologies each tale is different and are unique in their own way. The movie gets off to a great start with the first tale Rogue Cop Revelation,a revenge story about police brutality and murder involving a civil rights leader,a young and naive Black rookie cop and three corrupt racist Cops. It's a simple but effective tale of revenge that give viewers enough intensity and thrills that keep them entertained. The second story Boys Do Get Bruised is about a young quiet boy named Walter who is getting abused by a monster in his home and wants to kill the monster. Boys Do Get Bruised is probably the most clever and imaginative written of the four stories giving a interesting take on a monster story that is like a Twilight Zone episode but dealing with child abuse with multiple twists and turns(you'll see)at the end of the tale. The third story KKK Comeuppance is about a racist former Klu Klux Klan member and southern Senator Duke Metger who's at plantation where slaves were tortured finds himself being stalked by a living voodoo doll that represents a dead slave. KKK Comeuppance is an entertaining mixture of suspense and dark humor but if you have a fear of dolls or puppets you will probably be a little freaked out. The forth and final story is titled Hard-Core Convert about a violent and homicidal gang member named Crazy-K who is in prison and is given a chance at redemption by a doctor named Dr. Cushing by being put through an scientific program that will help him reform. Hardcore Convert is a disturbing account about gang on gang violence and the consequences of ones actions dealing with violence and death. The segment also pays a great homage to the Stanley Kubrick classic A Clockwork Orange with thought-provoking commentary and a powerful message. The scares and suspense in each story will make you jump and keep you on the edge of your seat while keeping you glued to the screen. If there was one flaw with Tales From The Hood is that the stories were too short and I would have loved if each of the stories were longer and better developed. The violence,blood and gore is a little vicious and gruesome at times but goes well with the film. The ending of Tales From The Hood is amazing and will be very scary and surprising for viewers bringing the movie full circle in a powerful way. A great conclusion.The cast is great. Clarence Williams III is excellent and over the top as Mr. Simms,the owner of the funeral home. Joe Torry(Stack),Samuel Monroe Jr.(Bulldog)and De'Aundre Bonds(Ball)are fantastic as gang bangers who meet Mr. Simms. Tom Wright is effective as Martin Moorehouse,a civil rights leader. Anthony Griffith is wonderful as Clarence Smith,a rookie cop. Wings Hauser(Officer Stroum),Michael Masse(Newton)and Duane Whitaker(Billy)are great as corrupt racist cops. Brandon Hammond is great as Walter,a lonely boy. Rusty Cundieff is good as Mr. Garvy,Walter's teacher. Paula Jai Parker does a fine job as Sissy,Walter's Mother. David Alan Grier is intense as Carl,Sissy's boyfriend. Corbin Bernsen is terrific as Duke Metger,a racist senator. Lamont Bentley is fiery as Crazy K,a homicidal gang banger. Rosalind Cash is sensational as Dr. Cushing,a Doctor who wants to help Crazy K. Roger Guenveur Smith(Rhodie)and Art Evans(Eli)give good performances as well.The direction by Rusty Cundieff is great,with Cundieff bringing a nice pace and workmanlike quality to the film while giving the movie and some nice visual touches. Fine direction,Cundieff.The score by Christopher Young is amazing,effective and creepy with each part of the score being different for each segment. Outstanding score,Young. There is also a incredible Hip-Hop soundtrack that includes the memorable song Born II Die by Spice-1.The Special and Practical Make-up Effects by K.N.B. Efx Group are well-done,realistic,effective and work for the movie. Great effects,K.N.B.In final word,if you love Horror films or Horror Anthologies,I highly suggest you see Tales From The Hood,a terrific and underrated Horror Anthology that is worth your time. Highly Recommended. 9.5/10.

tbald1980-1 I wrote a review for this on Amazon a couple years ago, I figured I'd do one here as well. The first time I saw this, I expected a comedy, boy! I was dead wrong! To be honest, the first two stories were so freaky, I had my mom turn it off. Obviously, I'm a lot harder to scare now and like it overall, despite the constant language. It's kind of a social commentary with realism and supernatural overtones mixed together. This was my first horror anthology, followed by several others It's got a decent script, even though some will say 'I've seen all this before' but to me, clichéd doesn't have to mean bad, if the right people are in it/behind and in front of the camera, this was also my first Spike Lee film, so I won't judge it on those merits. I know he didn't direct it, but I've heard about a lot of his movies, some look pretty good. By the way, I'm not black either, but I have a large amount of respect for them. I'm getting off track here, bottom line: if you like horror stories with some semblance of reality, you'll probably enjoy this too, but you'll have to overlook the language.

Vomitron_G I had to wait more than 10 years to finally see this one. Not one single copy seemed to be available over here in Europe. That was until 2007, when I finally got my hands on a Region 1 DVD copy.If you like anthology movies, then you have no excuse for not seeing this one. One of the best anthology movies of the 90's (it's up there with "Tales From The Dark Side: The Movie" and "Necronomicon", if you ask me). And probably the best horror movie from the hood with a nearly all Afro-American cast ever made (because I can't really say I've ever seen a ghetto-horror flick that was actually any good). Three hood-rats, out to collect some 'shiiit', visit a freaky coroner who tells them 4 terrifying tales of the supernatural.The first tale is about three corrupt white cops who had it coming... Wings Hauser is especially enjoyable in this one. He already evoked my interest at the time after having seen his enjoyable performance in "Night Shadows" (AKA "Mutant"). And by know I simply love the man. Second story is about a boy and his bruises, which are being caused by... a monster supposedly living in his house. Great and fascinating conclusion this one had. The third tale has some killer-puppet action going on in it of which Charles Band could easily be very jealous. Corbin"The Dentist"Bernsen stars in this segment that revolves around voodoo and slavery. The fourth and last segment gives a big nod to Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange". Enough said about that one. The wrap-around story wraps it all up nicely, and has a very satisfying conclusion. "Tales From The Hood" is actually more than 'just a horror movie'. With Spike Lee being executive producer, you can rightfully expect that this movie will carry important themes & topics like racism, politics, police brutality, guilt, child abuse, brothers killing brothers, etc. The message always comes across, but possible statements & points of view never become too dominant. This film's primary goal is to entertain a horror audience. And it splendidly succeeds in that. The filmmakers also clearly know the rules of the horror-anthology-genre as well as the tricks of the trade, all to great success. Need I even say that the make-up and special effects are darn excellent too? The tales from this hood, are all winners.