Tales from the Hood
Encyclopedia
Tales From the Hood is a 1995
horror
anthology
film
directed by Rusty Cundieff
, and executive produced
by Spike Lee
. It presents four short African American
-themed horror stories, presented within the frame story
of three drug dealers buying some "found" drugs from an eccentric and story-prone funeral director.
when a trio gang of teenage drug dealers, Stack (Joe Torry
), Ball (De'aundre Bonds
) and Bulldog (Samuel Monroe Jr.
), arrive at Simms' Funeral Home to purchase some drugs from Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III
), the mortuary's eccentric owner. Mr. Simms claims that he found the drugs in an alley and has them safely stored in the mortuary. Throughout the movie, the drugs are referred to as: "the shit". He asks the dealers to help him get the drugs and, as the four make their way through the building, relates stories about some of his recent "customers" as he states, "Death, it comes in many strange packages".
Clarence Smith (Anthony Griffith) is taken by his new partner, Newton (Michael Massee
), to the scene of what initially appears to be a routine traffic stop
of a well-dressed black man.
When Clarence runs the car's plates he learns that the man is in fact Martin Moorehouse (Tom Wright
), a city councilman and black rights activist who has recently been on a crusade against police corruption
. Clarence watches in horror as Newton, together with fellow officers Billy (Duane Whitaker
) and Strom (Wings Hauser
), brutally beat Moorehouse with their nightsticks and vandalize
his car. When Clarence insists that Moorehouse should be taken to a hospital, two of the officers appear to agree.
Clarence tells Newton that Billy and Strom should be reported for what they did, but Newton disagrees. Strom and Billy drive Moorehouse' car to the docks. Strom shoots the battered Moorehouse up with heroin, plants some in his car, then pushes it into the water with Moorehouse still inside. Moorehouse is posthumously labeled a hypocrite.
One year later, Clarence has quit the police force and is a guilt-consumed drunk. On a walk in his neighborhood, Clarence sees a mural
of Moorehouse, then has a vision of a crucified Moorehouse begging him to "Bring them to me!". Clarence convinces the three police officers involved in the death to meet him at Moorehouse's grave.
Once there the officers begin to insult Moorehouse, with Strom urinating on Moorehouse's grave, then orders Billy to do the same thing. As Newton and Strom prepare to kill Clarence, a zombie-like
Moorehouse bursts from the grave to drag Billy beneath the ground by his genitals. Moorehouse's coffin bursts from the ground, opening to reveal Billy's mutilated corpse with Moorehouse clutching Billy's still-beating heart
. Strom and Newton flee in horror.
A lengthy chase ensues: Moorehouse decapitates
Strom and tricks Newton into shooting the gas tank of his patrol car. Moorehouse then chases Newton into an alley, where he telekinetically throws used hypodermic needle
s into the cop's body, pinning him to a wall mural. Newton screams as he melts into the mural, becoming a painting of himself crucified.
His vengeance nearly complete, Moorehouse accosts Clarence and asks him why he didn't help him when he was being beaten. Moorehouse grabs Clarence by his throat and says: "Where were you when I needed you, brother?". The scene ends with Clarence in the mental hospital. Two orderlies outside his cell mention that he killed the officers and that he used to be an officer himself. Moorehouse is never mentioned.
) is a quiet and sensitive boy who shows up to school one day with bruises around his cheek and eye. Walter's caring teacher, Richard Garvy (Rusty Cundieff
), notices the bruises and asks what happened; Walter claims that he was attacked by a monster
. A few days later he again shows up with a bruised arm. While the other children play, Walter sits inside and draws a boy named Tyrone, one of the school bullies. Walter crumples the drawing up causing Tyrone to suffer spontaneous injuries.
Later that night Mr. Garvy visits Walter's home and asks Walter's mother, Sissy (Paula Jai Parker
), about the monster. Sissy claims that Walter's injuries are the result of his own clumsiness; she then tells Walter not to reveal anything about the monster to anyone else.
As Mr. Garvy is leaving, Walter's mother's boyfriend, Carl (David Alan Grier
in a very rare non-comedic role) comes home: seen through Walter's imagination, the audience learns that Carl is the “monster”. Thinking that Walter has told his teacher about him and called him a monster (a tattoo
of the word "Monster" can be seen on Carl's arm), Carl terrorizes Walter and then whips Sissy with a belt when she intervenes.
Mr. Garvy turns around to check on Walter and sees Carl abusing Walter and Sissy: Mr. Garvy bursts into the house and begins to fight Carl. With Carl's attention elsewhere, Walter grabs a drawing he made of the monster and begins to fold and crumple it. Carl becomes mangled and helpless; unable to accept defeat. Sissy stomps on the wadded-up paper to end the threat. Finally Mr. Garvy gives the paper to Walter, who burns it, completely immolating Carl.
Walter finally kills the monster. Later, Carl's burnt corpse is in the coffin in Simms' Funeral Home .
The story begins with Duke Metger (Corbin Bernsen
), an obnoxious and racist Southern senator
who was also a former member of the Ku Klux Klan
.
The senator is in his office filming a campaign commercial when he sees protesters outside the office: Jewish and African-American groups have teamed up to protest against Duke for being a racist, a former Klansman
, and for inhabiting an old slave plantation
. One individual (Art Evans
) tells the reporter about the dolls, animated by the souls of tortured slaves, and warns that it is not a myth.
Meanwhile Duke and his African-American "image-maker" assistant notice a large painting of Miss Cobbs, a hoodoo witch, and her dolls. Duke says racial slurs to his assistant, who attempts to ignore his rantings. Duke also refers to the dolls as "Negro
dolls." One of the dolls is seen under the floorboard as the assistant leaves.
While Duke and his assistant are working on Duke's media skills, the assistant falls down the stairs to his death (it is later learned that the doll seen under the floorboard earlier was the cause). At the funeral, one of the townspeople warn Duke to leave the house or else he'll end up like his assistant or worse. In the limo after the assistant's funeral, Duke notices the doll and orders the driver (another African-American who despises Duke) to pull over so he can throw the doll out the window into the street.
Later, after noticing a blank spot on the painting, Duke comes in contact with the doll he threw out on the street and has a fight with it. When Duke throws a vase at the doll, it disappears and attacks Duke out of nowhere, trying to eat him. Duke is injured, but he manages to stop the doll by beating it with an American Flag. He also damages the painting, from which blood
pours.
Duke takes the doll outside to his porch and ties it to a dart board. He then blasts the doll with his shotgun
and goes back inside to rant at the painting about not being able to beat him and his shotgun.
But in the midst of his rant Duke realises more doll images in the painting have faded to white. After Duke begins chasing several small footsteps throughout the house, he finds the previously blasted doll in the hallway, reattaching its head. The doll attacks again and chases Duke into his office. Duke manages to lock the doll outside and tries to figure out a way to help himself. He sees that the painting has all the doll images faded to white. Terrified, Duke turns around to see an army of dolls. He covers himself in the American flag as the dolls converge and devour him. Miss Cobbs then disappears from the painting and manifests herself in the room, holding the first doll in her arms. Satisfied, they both smile as they witness the carnage taking place before them.
With both Duke and his assistant dead, the dolls are now satisfied.
Ball notices a corpse in another room and says they have to see it. When Simms asks them if they knew the man, Bulldog says it was just someone they had seen around their neighborhood. Mr. Simms explains the final moments of Crazy K.
Jerome Johns aka "Crazy K" (Lamont Bentley
) is a violent gang member and homicidal psychopath who has killed many people with no mercy. He is driving down the streets of LA
in his Mustang
. Coming to a stoplight, he notices the car of an enemy he's been trying to kill for a long time and follows him. Crazy K parks in a neighborhood and has a brief argument with the enemy and shoots the enemy when three other men attack from a house nearby. The men shoot Crazy K and just as they are about to kill him the police arrive and due to one of the shooters firing at the police in an attemp of fleeing the scene are shot and killed by police who arrive at the scene. Crazy K is badly injured but survives, only to get arrested and sent to prison.
As described by a prison guard Crazy K Has Received a life sentence for suspicion of murder three times along with other charges. Dr. Cushing (Rosalind Cash
) arrives at the prison and transfers Crazy K to another facility, hidden deep underground. Crazy K meets an inmate who is a homicidal white supremacist and raves about killing black people and the end of days for blacks, which upsets Crazy K and causes him to punch him in the face. Then the man asks Crazy K the races of the victims he killed, silencing Crazy K because he, in fact, is guilty of killing African-Americans.
Crazy K is put through a process of torture to learn that everything he did was wrong (à la A Clockwork Orange
). Dr. Cushing tries to make him a new man and help change his violent life of murder. His head (with K printed on the front) is shaved off and he is "clean" if he regrets all his violent actions on other people. Crazy K is put through a slideshow of images involving the KKK and victims of lynching
along with gorry gang violence and warfare along with a montage showing all those he has killed. Dr. Cushing asks if he doesn't like the image of black people dying. She says Cain was the worlds first murderer (Cain killed his brother, Abel), she even asks "How many brothers have you slayed?!" going into fact that Crazy K killed many countless innocent or guilty victims without remorse or second thought.
Crazy K is put through the next stage, in which he is put in a sensory deprivation
chamber. He is confronted by all the souls of his victims and must explain why he killed them. He keeps giving true or false answers until it eventually leads to a young and innocent little girl who had nothing to do with Crazy K; she was killed when the bullet from Crazy K's gun came through her wall and hit her in the chest. Crazy K doesn't accept responsibility for what he's done; he is selfish and arrogant, saying that he doesn't care about others and doesn't want to be in the place anymore. Dr. Cushing warns him that he won't get another chance for forgiveness. To this, he replies, "I don't give a fuck!" The souls haunt him more and more as he mutters "I don't give a fuck!" until it goes back to the moment when he was shot, which he refused to redeem himself but because of his bitter arrogance of not caring if he couldn't change he should be left to die like his victims.
It was actually a final chance for redemption for his sins which he refused, so the three men shoot Crazy K brutally. The story ends with Crazy K's corpse lying abandoned on the street.
Simms explains that after killing Crazy K, some of Crazy K's "boys" killed them in retaliation. Confused, Ball says to Simms "What the fuck you tryin' to say, we dead muthafucka?" to which Simms replies "VERY!".
Bulldog then asks Simms "If we're dead, then what the fuck we doin in a funeral home with yo crazy ass?" The now-panicked drug dealers desperately demand to know how Simms knows everything. Simms, growing more eccentric by the second, tells them "This ain't no funeral home!" The three start to realize the gravity of the situation as Simms exclaims: "Welcome to Hell
, motherfuckers!" and transforms into Satan
. The drug dealers are terrified as the walls of the funeral home shatter to reveal the fiery reality of where they had been all along: Hell. The movie ends with the dealers burning in agony, along with others, as Satan laughs.
. As of December 21, 2009, there are currently no plans for a new release.
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
anthology
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Rusty Cundieff
Rusty Cundieff
George Arthur "Rusty" Cundieff is an American film/television director, actor, and writer. His notable credits are as director/writer of and lead actor in the This Is Spinal Tap-like rap satire Fear of a Black Hat, as writer of the second installment to House Party, and as director of the horror...
, and executive produced
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
. It presents four short African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
-themed horror stories, presented within the frame story
Frame story
A frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...
of three drug dealers buying some "found" drugs from an eccentric and story-prone funeral director.
Framing segment
The film opens in South Central Los AngelesSouth Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
when a trio gang of teenage drug dealers, Stack (Joe Torry
Joe Torry
Joe Torry is an American actor and comedian.-Biography:Torry was born and raised along with his brother, actor and comedian Guy Torry, in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he earned a B.A. in mass communications/broadcast journalism...
), Ball (De'aundre Bonds
De'Aundre Bonds
De'aundre M. Bonds is an American actor. The actor Samuel Monroe Jr. is his 'God' brother.Bonds has mostly appeared as a guest actor on television shows; however, he was also featured in the Spike Lee film Get on the Bus, Tales from the Hood and the Rick Famuyiwa film The Wood...
) and Bulldog (Samuel Monroe Jr.
Samuel Monroe Jr.
Samuel Monroe, Jr. is an American actor.Monroe has appeared as a guest actor on television shows; however, he was also featured in the films Menace II Society, Set It Off, Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood, Tales from the Hood, Detroit G Code, and The Players...
), arrive at Simms' Funeral Home to purchase some drugs from Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III
Clarence Williams III
Clarence Williams III is an American actor.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City. His grandfather was Clarence Williams, the jazz pianist and composer. He was raised by his grandmother.-Career:...
), the mortuary's eccentric owner. Mr. Simms claims that he found the drugs in an alley and has them safely stored in the mortuary. Throughout the movie, the drugs are referred to as: "the shit". He asks the dealers to help him get the drugs and, as the four make their way through the building, relates stories about some of his recent "customers" as he states, "Death, it comes in many strange packages".
Rogue Cop Revelation
During his first night on the job, young black police officerPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
Clarence Smith (Anthony Griffith) is taken by his new partner, Newton (Michael Massee
Michael Massee
Michael Massee is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as villains in film and television, as well as his unintentional and accidental involvement in the death of Brandon Lee.-Career:...
), to the scene of what initially appears to be a routine traffic stop
Traffic stop
A traffic stop, commonly called Being pulled over, is a temporary detention of a driver of a vehicle by police to investigate a possible crime or civil infraction. In constitutional law in the United States, a traffic stop is considered to be a subset of the Terry stop; the standard set by the...
of a well-dressed black man.
When Clarence runs the car's plates he learns that the man is in fact Martin Moorehouse (Tom Wright
Tom Wright (actor)
Tom Wright is a television and theatre actor. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and attended West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania....
), a city councilman and black rights activist who has recently been on a crusade against police corruption
Police corruption
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
. Clarence watches in horror as Newton, together with fellow officers Billy (Duane Whitaker
Duane Whitaker
Duane Whitaker is an American actor.Duane Whitaker is probably best known for his role in Quentin Tarantino's popular 1994 film Pulp Fiction as Maynard, the sadistic pawn shop owner. He wrote and portrayed the title role in Eddie Presley...
) and Strom (Wings Hauser
Wings Hauser
Wings Hauser is an American actor, director and film writer.-Life and career:Hauser was born Gerald Dwight Hauser in Hollywood, California, the son of Geraldine and Academy Award-winning director and producer Dwight Hauser...
), brutally beat Moorehouse with their nightsticks and vandalize
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
his car. When Clarence insists that Moorehouse should be taken to a hospital, two of the officers appear to agree.
Clarence tells Newton that Billy and Strom should be reported for what they did, but Newton disagrees. Strom and Billy drive Moorehouse' car to the docks. Strom shoots the battered Moorehouse up with heroin, plants some in his car, then pushes it into the water with Moorehouse still inside. Moorehouse is posthumously labeled a hypocrite.
One year later, Clarence has quit the police force and is a guilt-consumed drunk. On a walk in his neighborhood, Clarence sees a mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
of Moorehouse, then has a vision of a crucified Moorehouse begging him to "Bring them to me!". Clarence convinces the three police officers involved in the death to meet him at Moorehouse's grave.
Once there the officers begin to insult Moorehouse, with Strom urinating on Moorehouse's grave, then orders Billy to do the same thing. As Newton and Strom prepare to kill Clarence, a zombie-like
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
Moorehouse bursts from the grave to drag Billy beneath the ground by his genitals. Moorehouse's coffin bursts from the ground, opening to reveal Billy's mutilated corpse with Moorehouse clutching Billy's still-beating heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
. Strom and Newton flee in horror.
A lengthy chase ensues: Moorehouse decapitates
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
Strom and tricks Newton into shooting the gas tank of his patrol car. Moorehouse then chases Newton into an alley, where he telekinetically throws used hypodermic needle
Hypodermic needle
A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it...
s into the cop's body, pinning him to a wall mural. Newton screams as he melts into the mural, becoming a painting of himself crucified.
His vengeance nearly complete, Moorehouse accosts Clarence and asks him why he didn't help him when he was being beaten. Moorehouse grabs Clarence by his throat and says: "Where were you when I needed you, brother?". The scene ends with Clarence in the mental hospital. Two orderlies outside his cell mention that he killed the officers and that he used to be an officer himself. Moorehouse is never mentioned.
Boys Do Get Bruised
Walter (Brandon HammondBrandon Hammond
Brandon Hammond is an American former child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s.Hammond's first film role was in Menace II Society where he played the younger version of the main character Caine...
) is a quiet and sensitive boy who shows up to school one day with bruises around his cheek and eye. Walter's caring teacher, Richard Garvy (Rusty Cundieff
Rusty Cundieff
George Arthur "Rusty" Cundieff is an American film/television director, actor, and writer. His notable credits are as director/writer of and lead actor in the This Is Spinal Tap-like rap satire Fear of a Black Hat, as writer of the second installment to House Party, and as director of the horror...
), notices the bruises and asks what happened; Walter claims that he was attacked by a monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
. A few days later he again shows up with a bruised arm. While the other children play, Walter sits inside and draws a boy named Tyrone, one of the school bullies. Walter crumples the drawing up causing Tyrone to suffer spontaneous injuries.
Later that night Mr. Garvy visits Walter's home and asks Walter's mother, Sissy (Paula Jai Parker
Paula Jai Parker
Paula Jai Parker is an American actress and comedian. She is best known of her roles as Lexus in Hustle & Flow, Joi in Friday, and as the voice of matriarch Trudy Proud on the Disney Channel animated sitcom The Proud Family....
), about the monster. Sissy claims that Walter's injuries are the result of his own clumsiness; she then tells Walter not to reveal anything about the monster to anyone else.
As Mr. Garvy is leaving, Walter's mother's boyfriend, Carl (David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
in a very rare non-comedic role) comes home: seen through Walter's imagination, the audience learns that Carl is the “monster”. Thinking that Walter has told his teacher about him and called him a monster (a tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
of the word "Monster" can be seen on Carl's arm), Carl terrorizes Walter and then whips Sissy with a belt when she intervenes.
Mr. Garvy turns around to check on Walter and sees Carl abusing Walter and Sissy: Mr. Garvy bursts into the house and begins to fight Carl. With Carl's attention elsewhere, Walter grabs a drawing he made of the monster and begins to fold and crumple it. Carl becomes mangled and helpless; unable to accept defeat. Sissy stomps on the wadded-up paper to end the threat. Finally Mr. Garvy gives the paper to Walter, who burns it, completely immolating Carl.
Walter finally kills the monster. Later, Carl's burnt corpse is in the coffin in Simms' Funeral Home .
KKK Comeuppance
Mr. Simms shows a doll, instead of a corpse, to Ball, Stack, and Bulldog. Ball remarks that the "dead motherfuckers be playin' with dolls, now, right?." Mr. Simms agrees, but explains that it wasn't "any ordinary doll."The story begins with Duke Metger (Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
), an obnoxious and racist Southern senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
who was also a former member of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
.
The senator is in his office filming a campaign commercial when he sees protesters outside the office: Jewish and African-American groups have teamed up to protest against Duke for being a racist, a former Klansman
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, and for inhabiting an old slave plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
. One individual (Art Evans
Art Evans
Arthur James "Art" Evans is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades....
) tells the reporter about the dolls, animated by the souls of tortured slaves, and warns that it is not a myth.
Meanwhile Duke and his African-American "image-maker" assistant notice a large painting of Miss Cobbs, a hoodoo witch, and her dolls. Duke says racial slurs to his assistant, who attempts to ignore his rantings. Duke also refers to the dolls as "Negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
dolls." One of the dolls is seen under the floorboard as the assistant leaves.
While Duke and his assistant are working on Duke's media skills, the assistant falls down the stairs to his death (it is later learned that the doll seen under the floorboard earlier was the cause). At the funeral, one of the townspeople warn Duke to leave the house or else he'll end up like his assistant or worse. In the limo after the assistant's funeral, Duke notices the doll and orders the driver (another African-American who despises Duke) to pull over so he can throw the doll out the window into the street.
Later, after noticing a blank spot on the painting, Duke comes in contact with the doll he threw out on the street and has a fight with it. When Duke throws a vase at the doll, it disappears and attacks Duke out of nowhere, trying to eat him. Duke is injured, but he manages to stop the doll by beating it with an American Flag. He also damages the painting, from which blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
pours.
Duke takes the doll outside to his porch and ties it to a dart board. He then blasts the doll with his shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
and goes back inside to rant at the painting about not being able to beat him and his shotgun.
But in the midst of his rant Duke realises more doll images in the painting have faded to white. After Duke begins chasing several small footsteps throughout the house, he finds the previously blasted doll in the hallway, reattaching its head. The doll attacks again and chases Duke into his office. Duke manages to lock the doll outside and tries to figure out a way to help himself. He sees that the painting has all the doll images faded to white. Terrified, Duke turns around to see an army of dolls. He covers himself in the American flag as the dolls converge and devour him. Miss Cobbs then disappears from the painting and manifests herself in the room, holding the first doll in her arms. Satisfied, they both smile as they witness the carnage taking place before them.
With both Duke and his assistant dead, the dolls are now satisfied.
Hard-Core Convert
By now the dealers are getting impatient and want the drugs they came for, not wanting to listen to Mr. Simms' strange stories all night. Bulldog is skeptical about the truth of Simms' stories.Ball notices a corpse in another room and says they have to see it. When Simms asks them if they knew the man, Bulldog says it was just someone they had seen around their neighborhood. Mr. Simms explains the final moments of Crazy K.
Jerome Johns aka "Crazy K" (Lamont Bentley
Lamont Bentley
Lamont Bentley was an American actor and rapper. He was known for his role as Hakeem Campbell on Moesha and the series' spin-off The Parkers.-Career:...
) is a violent gang member and homicidal psychopath who has killed many people with no mercy. He is driving down the streets of LA
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in his Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
. Coming to a stoplight, he notices the car of an enemy he's been trying to kill for a long time and follows him. Crazy K parks in a neighborhood and has a brief argument with the enemy and shoots the enemy when three other men attack from a house nearby. The men shoot Crazy K and just as they are about to kill him the police arrive and due to one of the shooters firing at the police in an attemp of fleeing the scene are shot and killed by police who arrive at the scene. Crazy K is badly injured but survives, only to get arrested and sent to prison.
As described by a prison guard Crazy K Has Received a life sentence for suspicion of murder three times along with other charges. Dr. Cushing (Rosalind Cash
Rosalind Cash
Rosalind Cash was an American singer and actress, whose best known film role was as Charlton Heston's character's love interest Lisa, in the 1971 science fiction cult classic, The Omega Man...
) arrives at the prison and transfers Crazy K to another facility, hidden deep underground. Crazy K meets an inmate who is a homicidal white supremacist and raves about killing black people and the end of days for blacks, which upsets Crazy K and causes him to punch him in the face. Then the man asks Crazy K the races of the victims he killed, silencing Crazy K because he, in fact, is guilty of killing African-Americans.
Crazy K is put through a process of torture to learn that everything he did was wrong (à la A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
). Dr. Cushing tries to make him a new man and help change his violent life of murder. His head (with K printed on the front) is shaved off and he is "clean" if he regrets all his violent actions on other people. Crazy K is put through a slideshow of images involving the KKK and victims of lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
along with gorry gang violence and warfare along with a montage showing all those he has killed. Dr. Cushing asks if he doesn't like the image of black people dying. She says Cain was the worlds first murderer (Cain killed his brother, Abel), she even asks "How many brothers have you slayed?!" going into fact that Crazy K killed many countless innocent or guilty victims without remorse or second thought.
Crazy K is put through the next stage, in which he is put in a sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
chamber. He is confronted by all the souls of his victims and must explain why he killed them. He keeps giving true or false answers until it eventually leads to a young and innocent little girl who had nothing to do with Crazy K; she was killed when the bullet from Crazy K's gun came through her wall and hit her in the chest. Crazy K doesn't accept responsibility for what he's done; he is selfish and arrogant, saying that he doesn't care about others and doesn't want to be in the place anymore. Dr. Cushing warns him that he won't get another chance for forgiveness. To this, he replies, "I don't give a fuck!" The souls haunt him more and more as he mutters "I don't give a fuck!" until it goes back to the moment when he was shot, which he refused to redeem himself but because of his bitter arrogance of not caring if he couldn't change he should be left to die like his victims.
It was actually a final chance for redemption for his sins which he refused, so the three men shoot Crazy K brutally. The story ends with Crazy K's corpse lying abandoned on the street.
Ending
When the last story ends, the three drug dealers are revealed to be Crazy K's killers. They become angry and demand to know how Simms knows of their murder as they threaten to kill him and demand their drugs. Simms leads them deep into the funeral home and tells them their "reward" is in three closed caskets, each of which has their corpse inside. The dealers are terrified to learn that they are dead; at the whim of Simms their guns burn red hot, forcing the dealers to drop them.Simms explains that after killing Crazy K, some of Crazy K's "boys" killed them in retaliation. Confused, Ball says to Simms "What the fuck you tryin' to say, we dead muthafucka?" to which Simms replies "VERY!".
Bulldog then asks Simms "If we're dead, then what the fuck we doin in a funeral home with yo crazy ass?" The now-panicked drug dealers desperately demand to know how Simms knows everything. Simms, growing more eccentric by the second, tells them "This ain't no funeral home!" The three start to realize the gravity of the situation as Simms exclaims: "Welcome to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, motherfuckers!" and transforms into Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. The drug dealers are terrified as the walls of the funeral home shatter to reveal the fiery reality of where they had been all along: Hell. The movie ends with the dealers burning in agony, along with others, as Satan laughs.
Cast
- Clarence Williams IIIClarence Williams IIIClarence Williams III is an American actor.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City. His grandfather was Clarence Williams, the jazz pianist and composer. He was raised by his grandmother.-Career:...
- Mr. Simms - Joe TorryJoe TorryJoe Torry is an American actor and comedian.-Biography:Torry was born and raised along with his brother, actor and comedian Guy Torry, in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he earned a B.A. in mass communications/broadcast journalism...
- Stack - De'aundre BondsDe'Aundre BondsDe'aundre M. Bonds is an American actor. The actor Samuel Monroe Jr. is his 'God' brother.Bonds has mostly appeared as a guest actor on television shows; however, he was also featured in the Spike Lee film Get on the Bus, Tales from the Hood and the Rick Famuyiwa film The Wood...
- Ball - Samuel Monroe, Jr. - Bulldog
- Tom WrightTom WrightTom Wright may refer to:*Tom Wright , American film and Broadway actor*Tom Wright , Australian actor*Tom Wright , Victorian Football League player...
- Martin Moorehouse - Anthony Griffith - Clarence
- Wings HauserWings HauserWings Hauser is an American actor, director and film writer.-Life and career:Hauser was born Gerald Dwight Hauser in Hollywood, California, the son of Geraldine and Academy Award-winning director and producer Dwight Hauser...
- Strom - Michael MasseeMichael MasseeMichael Massee is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as villains in film and television, as well as his unintentional and accidental involvement in the death of Brandon Lee.-Career:...
- Newton - Duane WhitakerDuane WhitakerDuane Whitaker is an American actor.Duane Whitaker is probably best known for his role in Quentin Tarantino's popular 1994 film Pulp Fiction as Maynard, the sadistic pawn shop owner. He wrote and portrayed the title role in Eddie Presley...
- Billy - Brandon HammondBrandon HammondBrandon Hammond is an American former child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s.Hammond's first film role was in Menace II Society where he played the younger version of the main character Caine...
- Walter - Rusty CundieffRusty CundieffGeorge Arthur "Rusty" Cundieff is an American film/television director, actor, and writer. His notable credits are as director/writer of and lead actor in the This Is Spinal Tap-like rap satire Fear of a Black Hat, as writer of the second installment to House Party, and as director of the horror...
- Richard Garvy - Paula Jai ParkerPaula Jai ParkerPaula Jai Parker is an American actress and comedian. She is best known of her roles as Lexus in Hustle & Flow, Joi in Friday, and as the voice of matriarch Trudy Proud on the Disney Channel animated sitcom The Proud Family....
- Sissy - David Alan GrierDavid Alan GrierDavid Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
- Carl - Corbin BernsenCorbin BernsenCorbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
– Duke Metger - Roger Guenveur SmithRoger Guenveur SmithRoger Guenveur Smith is an American actor, director, and writer.-Early life:Smith was born in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and Sherman Smith, a judge...
- Rhodie - Lamont BentleyLamont BentleyLamont Bentley was an American actor and rapper. He was known for his role as Hakeem Campbell on Moesha and the series' spin-off The Parkers.-Career:...
- Crazy K - Rosalind CashRosalind CashRosalind Cash was an American singer and actress, whose best known film role was as Charlton Heston's character's love interest Lisa, in the 1971 science fiction cult classic, The Omega Man...
- Dr. Cushing
Soundtrack
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
U.S. R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
|||
| 1995 | Tales from the Hood Tales from the Hood (soundtrack) Tales From the Hood: The Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1995 horror film, Tales from the Hood. It was released on May 9, 1995 through MCA Records...
|
16 | 1 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Gold |
Release
The movie was released theatrically on May 24, 1995. Later that year, the movie was released on VHS by HBO. In 1998, HBO released the movie on DVD, but the DVD is now out of printOut of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
. As of December 21, 2009, there are currently no plans for a new release.
External links
- Pictures from IMDb
