Debuting just three short years after the racially-motivated LA riots of 1992 and perfectly capturing the tensions of the time --and, sadly, the current tensions as well-- EC inspired Tales from the Hood might be my favorite horror film of the 90s (well, that particular battle for the top spot is between it and Candyman).
The wraparound segment of the film involves three gang bangers picking up a shipment of drugs at a funeral home that were supposedly found abandoned in the alley by mortician Mr. Sims, played by the deliciously creepy and over-the-top Clarence Williams III. As he takes them through the suspiciously opulent parlor, he regales them with four tales of inner city violence:
The first segment, Rogue Cop Revelation, is the story that's clearly been influenced the most by the Rodney King beating, as the narrative of a local civil rights leader murdered by three corrupt white cops illuminates the worst fears of African Americans at the time. This is followed by Boys Do get Bruised, a tale of domestic abuse told from the point of view of a child, and features a surprisingly strong dramatic performance from comedian David Allen Grier. Next up, Corbin Bernsen stars in KKK Comeuppance as a former Klansman running for the Senate who makes a former plantation, and site of a horrific slave massacre, his campaign headquarters. While the other segments play their material deadly serious, this voodoo-inflected episode has a healthy dose of comedy thanks to Bernsen playing the character up as the buffoon his type are.The final, and possibly most disturbing, episode, Hard-Core Convert, is a fascinating meditation on black-on-black violence and really puts the kibosh on critics who claim the film (sort of like the recent Get Out) is "racist against white people." Imprisoned gang banger Crazy K is subjected to an experimental rehabilitation technique, Clockwork Orange style, that involves a spinning torture table and a montage of real photos of actual lynchings. The twist at the end is one of the most powerful and depressing in my memory.
As far as the technical aspects, the surprisingly colorful film --I assume the palette is thanks once again to the influence of EC Comics-- practically jumps off the screen, and the sound, including an excellent soundtrack featuring super dark and heavy hip hops acts like Gravediggaz and Spice 1, is great. Special features include director's commentary, a new informative making-of, and vintage featurette. While more would've been nice, Scream Factory put together a nice little package of a severely underrated film.
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