Studio: Universal 1440 Entertainment
Director: Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott
Writer: Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott
Producer: Griff Furst, Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott
Stars: Tony Todd, London Brown, Cooper Huckabee, Patrick Emmanuel Abellard, Sage Arrindell, Savannah Basley, Jaimie M. Callica, Lynn Whitfield
Review Score:
Summary:
Five stories tell terror tales involving murder, demons, racism, and revenge.
Review:
The original “Tales from the Hood” (review here) is a bona fide classic. 2018’s “Tales from the Hood 2” (review here) is not. I reviewed the sequel more favorably than most, though I admit I cannot recall a single segment off the top of my head, despite having seen the movie less than two years ago. That’s because no matter the subjective opinion on enjoyability, objectively speaking “Tales from the Hood 2’s” downgrade can be seen in pretty much every category from cramped stages as sets to significantly neutered overall oomph.
Released just one week later, “American Nightmares” (review here) took an even steeper step off the quality cliff. Also written and directed by “Tales from the Hood” creators Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott, “American Nightmares” had the working title “Tales from the Crib.” It essentially doubles as “Tales from Hood 2.5” since its content is similarly themed, although the project piles on additional pounds of direct-to-video ugliness. Cundieff and Scott appeared to be in a creative pickle as their patented brand of urban horror anthologies was growing increasingly cheaper and unremarkable.
Executive producer Spike Lee seemingly rescued Cundieff and Scott from circling any further down the VOD drain and dried them off for a proper “Tales from the Hood 3.” With a small injection of corporate cash from Universal and 1440, “Tales from the Hood 3” puts the duo’s reputation on the road to recovery with an effort that’s markedly more entertaining than the two from 2018. “Hood 3” still feels like a small screen creepshow rather than a full-blown theatrical feature. But that’s not so much due to the format as it is to simply a leaner looking production.
In a departure for the series, “Tales from the Hood 3” does not feature Mr. Simms, previously portrayed by Clarence Williams III and Keith David. I’d guess producers dispensed with their signature storyteller because “Hood 3” is not as tongue-in-cheek as its predecessors, and Simms’s dark humor wouldn’t mesh cleanly with the heavier tone. Lighthearted moments can be found throughout the film, particularly during the last story when one man has noisy problems controlling bowel functions. “Hood 3” nevertheless has a higher ratio of straight chills over campy chuckles.
“Tales from the Hood” 1 and 2 weren’t exactly star-studded, although they did feature a number of familiar faces. Another comparative difference with this sequel is Tony Todd and Lynn Whitfield constitute the most recognizable names. Simple roles don’t require megawatt talent, so the fresh folks filling out the cast fit in fine, even if there aren’t any outstanding actors worthy of prominent placement on the marquee.
You also aren’t going to find any spectacular scares. “Tales from the Hood 3” not only recycles tried-and-true, some might say tired-yet-true, tactics such as sudden mirror reflections and panicky nightmare sequences, it also reuses dusty tricks more than once. One segment features Tony Todd’s hand slapping a headstone to a high volume audio sting. The next segment features a different weirdo doing the same thing on a car window.
Interestingly, Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott separately direct these segments and yet they’re structured with identical beats. Although they alternate shorts, you’ll never consciously notice fluctuation in the film’s flow, indicating Cundieff and Scott simply have a simpatico working relationship at this point.
Also by this point, with “Tales from the Hood 3” being their fourth horror anthology collaboration, Cundieff and Scott know the recipe for EC-style terror tales by heart. Granted, that recipe includes only two ingredients: bad guy + bad action = bad guy getting his/her comeuppance. But if “Tales from Crypt” can wring out that laboratory tested and approved formula for 93 episodes, why not “Tales from the Hood” movies too, especially now that its stewards have the experience to polish each piece with precision
Staying squarely in that circle, first segment “Ruby Gates” is straightforward “ghosts get revenge” fare, albeit built with factory-grade materials according to established EC blueprints. Maybe that makes “Ruby Gates” more of a prefab home than an elaborate mansion, but it’s still perfectly livable.
What’s slick about Cundieff and Scott’s structure is that, as in previous “Hood” films, they only delineate good and evil based on skin color when racism directly relates to a specific story. Here in “Ruby Gates,” the “evil landlord” out to evict a struggling family so he can profit off gentrification is a Black man. Yes, he has a white boss, but Cundieff and Scott are too smart to give MAGA moaners a creampuff complaint by allowing them to accuse the movie of unfairly villainizing any one race, which the film doesn’t do at all.
“Tales from the Hood 3” was written, shot, and largely finished before George Floyd’s death fueled nationwide protests. That makes the irony simultaneously sad yet worth a cynical snicker that second segment “The Bunker” includes a confederate flag on clothing as well as an ‘All Lives Matter’ sign, spotlighting the fact that symbols of contemporary racism haven’t changed at all as passive-aggressive ways of pushing buttons in public.
“The Bunker” is the closest thing in “Tales from the Hood 3” to direct commentary on America’s social climate, to which it bears repeating, it’s equally awful yet astounding to realize Cundieff and Scott didn’t need to see the summer of 2020 to conjure this story. “The Bunker” basically mocks a stubborn bigot for a certain amount of minutes as we watch him repeatedly make a fool of himself with racist remarks and actions. Our employment as voyeurs then cleverly weaves in as a key hook to the piece. Like the atmosphere in which the movie sees itself released, where mask-denying conspiracy theorists throw spittle-laced tirades in Walmart aisles, it’s humorous but heartbreaking to see a marriage between anger and misinformation create a cartoonish caricature caught in a dead serious setting.
“Operatic” sheds a different light on race-based oppression, this time on a retired singer whose stunning star turn in 1958 killed her career due to outrage over a Black woman performing the lead role in Carmen. Weirdly however, while this revelation serves a wrenching slice of sympathy for the woman, “Operatic” doesn’t really use it to anchor the story outside of a fantasy fulfilling callback. Remove this background and the segment is another case of a schemer getting out-schemed, with a supernatural twist and one really thin motive for murder.
“Dope Kicks” also has a flavor that isn’t as fizzy as “Ruby Gates,” “The Bunker,” or the surprisingly sinister wraparound “The Mouths of Babes and Demons.” Once more, “Tales from the Hood 3” shows no unjust bias by centering the final story on an unremorseful thief who could be any color or creed. Specific dialogue and circumstances establish him as Black, but the tale mostly functions as another karaoke cover of a classic from EC’s Greatest Hits album that’s momentarily pleasing without being particularly memorable.
While it’s unchallenging to identify weaker links, it’s harder to finger any one segment as a true standout. “Tales from the Hood 3” goes down smoothest as a sum of its parts rather than separating each short into individual ladder rungs. They’re all fair enough, although not great, averaging out to an anthology that’s at least as good or better than “Tales from Hood 2,” even if there’s still a ways to go to get all the way back to the first film’s glory.
Review Score: 70
Everyone else who has no problem with a fright flick that feels like “Lizzie McGuire” decided to get dark with a PG-13 Halloween special should do just fine.