Tales from the Hood (1995)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Rusty Cundieff

Writers (WGA):

Rusty Cundieff (written by) &
Darin Scott (written by)

Release Date:

24 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Crime | Action

Tagline:

Where nightmares and reality meet on the street

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | African American | Funeral Home | Death | Police

Cast

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
Art Evans	...	Eli
Rosalind Cash	...	Dr. Cushing
Lamont Bentley	...	Crazy K
Don Dowe	...	Cell orderly #1
Moon Jones	...	Cell orderly #2
Chris Edwards	...	Ty
Troy Cartwright	...	Craig
Brendan Jefferson	...	Snoop
Erika Hansen	...	Anchorwoman
Tim Hutchinson	...	Councilman Rogers
John A. Cundieff	...	Funeral priest
Joseph Anthony Farris	...	Reporter #1
Dawn Gilliam	...	Reporter #2
April Barnett	...	Reporter #3
Bobby McGee	...	Limo driver
Christina Cundieff	...	Miss Cobbs
Ricky Harris	...	Lil' Deke
Darin Scott	...	Top cop
Mark Christopher Lawrence	...	Prison guard
Rick Dean	...	Tattooed man
Lira Angel	...	Nurse Roland
Scotty Brulee	...	Young Tracy
Ryan Williams	...	Gangster #1
Kamau Holloway	...	Gangster #2
Tasha Johnson	...	Little girl who gets shot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tuck John Porter	...	Extra Devil Dancer
T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh	...	School Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
Rusty Cundieff

Writing credits (WGA)
Rusty Cundieff		(written by) &
Darin Scott		(written by)

Produced by
Elaine Dysinger	....	line producer
Spike Lee	....	executive producer
Darin Scott	....	producer

Original Music by
Christopher Young

Cinematography by
Anthony B. Richmond

Film Editing by
Charles Bornstein

Casting by
Tony Lee

Production Design by
Stuart Blatt

Costume Design by
Tracey White

Makeup Department
Joanetta Stowers	....	key makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Aarniokoski	....	first assistant director
Dan Katzman	....	first assistant director: additional photography

Art Department
Chris Grantz	....	lead man
Inga Helgesson	....	scenic artist
Blanche Sindelar	....	property master

Sound Department
Gary Alexander	....	supervising sound re-recording mixer
Peter Bergren	....	sound effects editor
Stanley Carr	....	boom operator
Anthony M. McCovey	....	boom operator
Alyson Dee Moore	....	foley artist
Oliver L. Moss	....	production sound mixer
Brad Sherman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Somers	....	dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Evan Campbell	....	sculptor
Lou Carlucci	....	special effects coordinator
Michael Deak	....	on-set effects supervisor
Lance Gilmer	....	special effects technician
Steve Koch	....	painter: Chiodo Brothers Productions
Mark Villalobos	....	puppet fabricator

Visual Effects by
Chow Emrich	....	3D animator
Brian Jennings	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
F. Pierre Gatling	....	stunts
Monty L. Simons	....	stunts
Eddie L. Watkins	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Art Brown	....	first assistant camera
Rory Robert Knepp	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Ron Kunecke	....	night light operator
Jordan Levy	....	camera operator
Chris Milani	....	electrician
Drex Reed	....	effects gaffer
Jonathan 'Chunky' Richmond	....	second assistant camera
Rick Tiedeman	....	Steadicam operator
Don Tomich	....	best boy electric
James WilderHancock	....	grip (as James Hancock)
Vernon Wynne	....	electrician

Animation Department
Kent Burton	....	animator

Casting Department
Monica R. Cooper	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
David Orr	....	color timer
Barry S. Silver	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Mark Kilian	....	assistant to composer
Larry Robinson	....	music supervisor
Christopher Young	....	conductor
Christopher Young	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Michael Burnette	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Tony Barbagiovanni	....	production assistant
Tuck John Porter	....	assistant illustrator
David Wadley	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
• Savoy Pictures

Distributors

• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (USA) (VHS)
• Savoy Pictures

Other Companies

• Chiodo Brothers Productions  mechanical effects
• Screaming Mad George Inc.  makeup effects

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic brutal violence and strong language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Goofs:

Continuity: Krazy K shoots Deke twice, but Deke ends up with three bullet wounds.

Quotes:

Ball: Man, that place DOES look evil as Hell!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Embalmer (1996)

Soundtrack:

One Less Nigga

Underrated

"This ain't no funeral parlor. This ain't the terrordome. Welcome to HELL mothaf*#%@!" In not too many words I want to express my respect for one of the most underrated horror movies of the 90s. Like The Twilight Zone it is a segmented film (although all directed by Rusty Cundieff) that spans across a good variety of horror genres. The real horrorshow here, though, is the domestic/racial issues against the black community. Cleverly (and without being preachy or offensive to white people), Cundieff disguised his agenda with rich characters and a bone chilling conclusion.

The HIGHPOINT of this movie for me is the film's proverbial ringleader- a funeral parlor director. The man, brilliantly and hilariously underplayed by a bug-eyed Clarence Williams III, finds a stack of drugs he wants to sell to three young hoods. As you watch you begin to wonder what eerie agenda he really has in store. These scenes tie all the vignettes together.

Also, the final segment is a very profound statement on gang violence (although beware, this is the preachiest segment). I like to call it A Clockwork Black because it applies Anthony Burgress's idea of reversing violence onto the offender onto a gang leader called Krazy K. Those K's in his name aren't a mistake either! Cundieff underlines a necessary argument about between black-on-black violence by comparing K to a neo nazi.

Like any memorable work of horror, Tales remembers to keep its monsters metaphorical. Police brutality, domestic violence, racial profiling, and gang violence are the most hideous creatures found here. I complement Rusty Cundieff on a job well done there. Excessive campiness and at-times generic camera work keep this from being great, but nothing stops its relevance in the genre.

STAR RATING: *** out of 4.