Tales from the Hood
Synopsis: Creepy mortician Mr. Simms attempts to scare teenage drug dealers straight by telling them four horrifying stories. One is about a guilt-riddled cop who goes crazy after ignoring his corrupt colleagues. He also tells of a meek schoolboy with terrifying supernatural powers. Although the young thugs want to take their drugs and escape Mr. Simms, he still has two more tales to tell.
While campy, the film is able to deftly analyze domestic violence, police brutality, and gang violence through supernatural and scientific happenings. We enter the story as three young drug dealers–Stack, Ball, and Bulldog–arrive at Simms’ Funeral Home to purchase drugs from its eccentric owner, Mr. Simms. As the group makes their way through the building to retrieve the drugs, Simms tells stories about some of the bodies in the funeral home. For this post, I wanted to focus on the two stories that resonated with me the most.
Rogue Cop Revelation
This tale was so true to life, it was chilling. It follows Black rookie cop Clarence Smith on his first night on patrol with his white colleagues. The white cops stop prominent Black city councilman and civil rights activist, Martin Moorehouse (who was investigating the police force for corruption). The white cops brutally beat Moorehouse, vandalize his car, and shoot heroin into his system before pushing his car into the river. While Smith is horrified at the actions of his colleagues, they implore him not to break the “code” and rat them out. Posthumously, Moorehouse is dubbed a hypocrite and his legacy as an advocate is tarnished. A year later, Smith resigned from the police force, wracked with guilt for not speaking up. He and his former colleagues are attacked by a zombified Moorehouse on the anniversary of his murder. Moorehouse kills his murderers and haunts Smith for not speaking up. This story clearly delves into police brutality and how its victims are robbed of their humanity. Moorehouse is a stand-in for victims such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others who were murdered by police officers for simply existing. It also examines the innate corruption of the US police system. How even if there are “good ones” like Smith, they exist in a space where the abuse of power and exploitation is facilitated and encouraged. A system where even if they speak up, they are silenced or punished. An institution like that cannot truly serve or benefit the people it claims to protect.
Hard-Core Convert
This final entry in Simms’ storytelling follows gang member Crazy K as he is arrested and sentenced to prison. Four years later, Dr. Cushing transfers the gangster to her facility for an experimental trial. He encounters a fellow inmate, a white supremacist who raves about the end of days for “blacks”. Though enraged, Crazy K is confronted with the ugly truth that his crimes of murdering innocent Black people have little difference to the rhetoric being espoused. He is later put in a sensory deprivation chamber and confronted with the souls of his victims and images of lynching victims, displaying the similarity between the two. Even when faced with his crimes against his community, Crazy K refuses to take responsibility for his actions. His refusal to change transports him back to the moment when he was shot (revealing the whole sequence as a surreal purgatory state). This time he's finished off by rival gang members, who abandon his corpse in the street. I loved how this tale showcases the repercussions of gang violence from a Black perspective. Too often, when gang violence is discussed, it is from a racist perspective that often deems African-Americans as inherently violent or unstable. But this entry holds up a mirror to its young men and shows them how they are harming their community. It shows how the senseless killing they partake in is no different than corrupt police officers and domestic terrorist groups that continue to terrorize Black communities.
While outlandish at times, Tales From the Hood holds up a mirror to ourselves and asks if we're the monsters hiding under the bed.
XOXO, Michaela
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