TALES FROM THE HOOD is an anthology of horror vignettes which transplants the concept of TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) to a setting in which contemporary social problems which disproportionately affect African Americans are used as central plot devices.
The original 'Tales from the Crypt' was a comic series in the early 1950s. There were concerns by puritanically-minded parents that the subversive aspects of these types of comics could corrupt the minds of children. A book written in 1954 by a psychiatrist, 'Seduction of the Innocent' greatly amplified these fears, and eventually Senate Subcommittee hearings were held on this matter. This eventually led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority, which issued the 'Comics Code' a set of rules by which publishers of comics would voluntarily abide.
By today's standards, the Comics Code is hilarious in its ludicrous austerity, but publishers used it to censor themselves for decades. It only became completely defunct in 2011. The research on which 'Seduction of the Innocent' was based has been largely discredited.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) began a long succession of movie and television adaptations, some of which were based on the original stories of the comics, and some of which were original. The film is an anthology of vignettes which all basically follow the same format: One person (or more) does something bad, and then they get their comeuppance in a most horrific manner by supernatural means. The vignettes are connected to each other by an overarching story in which they are actually narrations by a main character called the 'Crypt Keeper' to an audience, and the conclusion involves the revelation of a connection between the audience members and the stories told. Although heavy-handed and often bordering on the silly, the movie's greatest strength is its creepy, engaging atmosphere.
It turns out that the greatest asset of TALES FROM THE HOOD is also its atmosphere. The entire structure of TALES FROM THE CRYPT is adopted, almost without change, to tell stories which center on real social problems. The Crypt Keeper is replaced by a creepy mortician who tells these stories to a gang of thugs who are there to pick up a load of drugs he had found.
Within the overarching story 'Welcome to my Mortuary', there are four vignettes:
1.'Rogue Cop Revelation' is the story of a black ex-cop who quit his job after he did nothing to stop a trio of corrupt cops from murdering and framing a black activist. Of all the vignettes, this has the strongest vibe reminiscent of 1970s blaxploitation horror.
2.'Boys do get Bruised' tells of a young boy who keeps coming to school with bruises. When a concerned teacher tries to find out who did it, he says that it was a "monster" The teacher, obviously skeptical, goes to the boy's home to speak to his guardians, and finds out more than he expected.
3.'KKK Comeuppance' follows the haunting of a David Duke-type racist politician (actually named "Duke") who had made his political headquarters in a plantation home that was the location of a mass killing of African Slaves.
4."Hard Core Convert" explores the fate of a hardened criminal in prison who is given a second chance by undergoing behavior modification therapy strongly reminiscent of that in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971). (This segment includes rapid flash sequences which might be unsuitable for some people who suffer from seizures).
Although there is variation in the quality of the stories, it is less so than the original TALES. However, the same kind of heavy-handedness and border-line silliness can also be found here. What helps a lot is that this movie has a good sense of humor, more than was in CRYPT, which reminds us not to take it too seriously. Another aspect that elevates it relative to the original is that the situations, however unrealistic, are based on real social issues.
There are definitely things to criticize in this film, but the deliciously over-the-top performance by Clarence Williams as the mortician, makes up for a lot of that. It is clear that this film is an homage to 70s horror. As a fan of that subgenre, I appreciate that.
The original 'Tales from the Crypt' was a comic series in the early 1950s. There were concerns by puritanically-minded parents that the subversive aspects of these types of comics could corrupt the minds of children. A book written in 1954 by a psychiatrist, 'Seduction of the Innocent' greatly amplified these fears, and eventually Senate Subcommittee hearings were held on this matter. This eventually led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority, which issued the 'Comics Code' a set of rules by which publishers of comics would voluntarily abide.
By today's standards, the Comics Code is hilarious in its ludicrous austerity, but publishers used it to censor themselves for decades. It only became completely defunct in 2011. The research on which 'Seduction of the Innocent' was based has been largely discredited.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) began a long succession of movie and television adaptations, some of which were based on the original stories of the comics, and some of which were original. The film is an anthology of vignettes which all basically follow the same format: One person (or more) does something bad, and then they get their comeuppance in a most horrific manner by supernatural means. The vignettes are connected to each other by an overarching story in which they are actually narrations by a main character called the 'Crypt Keeper' to an audience, and the conclusion involves the revelation of a connection between the audience members and the stories told. Although heavy-handed and often bordering on the silly, the movie's greatest strength is its creepy, engaging atmosphere.
It turns out that the greatest asset of TALES FROM THE HOOD is also its atmosphere. The entire structure of TALES FROM THE CRYPT is adopted, almost without change, to tell stories which center on real social problems. The Crypt Keeper is replaced by a creepy mortician who tells these stories to a gang of thugs who are there to pick up a load of drugs he had found.
Within the overarching story 'Welcome to my Mortuary', there are four vignettes:
1.'Rogue Cop Revelation' is the story of a black ex-cop who quit his job after he did nothing to stop a trio of corrupt cops from murdering and framing a black activist. Of all the vignettes, this has the strongest vibe reminiscent of 1970s blaxploitation horror.
2.'Boys do get Bruised' tells of a young boy who keeps coming to school with bruises. When a concerned teacher tries to find out who did it, he says that it was a "monster" The teacher, obviously skeptical, goes to the boy's home to speak to his guardians, and finds out more than he expected.
3.'KKK Comeuppance' follows the haunting of a David Duke-type racist politician (actually named "Duke") who had made his political headquarters in a plantation home that was the location of a mass killing of African Slaves.
4."Hard Core Convert" explores the fate of a hardened criminal in prison who is given a second chance by undergoing behavior modification therapy strongly reminiscent of that in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971). (This segment includes rapid flash sequences which might be unsuitable for some people who suffer from seizures).
Although there is variation in the quality of the stories, it is less so than the original TALES. However, the same kind of heavy-handedness and border-line silliness can also be found here. What helps a lot is that this movie has a good sense of humor, more than was in CRYPT, which reminds us not to take it too seriously. Another aspect that elevates it relative to the original is that the situations, however unrealistic, are based on real social issues.
There are definitely things to criticize in this film, but the deliciously over-the-top performance by Clarence Williams as the mortician, makes up for a lot of that. It is clear that this film is an homage to 70s horror. As a fan of that subgenre, I appreciate that.