*Possible spoilers*Horror movie tropes are paired with sociological issues in this underrated horror film. In my opinion, some of the best horror and sci-fi films reflect the political climate of the era in which they are made. Tales from the Hood is a great example, and still relevant over 20 years later. It's also one of the best examples of a horror anthology film.On one level, we have a somewhat typical cheesy horror flick with low-budget special effects and some silly moments. But the real core of this film is that the horrors of real life are scarier than the supernatural events portrayed.Zombies, monsters in the closet, haunted dolls, and a mad scientist laboratory are all used as frameworks for truly terrifying, real life social issues - police brutality and corruption, domestic violence, white supremacists running for political office, and gang violence. The final story also seems as a cautionary tale.

I wrote a review for this on Amazon a couple years ago, I figured I'd do one here as well. The first time I saw this, I expected a comedy, boy! I was dead wrong! To be honest, the first two stories were so freaky, I had my mom turn it off. Obviously, I'm a lot harder to scare now and like it overall, despite the constant language. It's kind of a social commentary with realism and supernatural overtones mixed together. This was my first horror anthology, followed by several others It's got a decent script, even though some will say 'I've seen all this before' but to me, clichéd doesn't have to mean bad, if the right people are in it/behind and in front of the camera, this was also my first Spike Lee film, so I won't judge it on those merits. I know he didn't direct it, but I've heard about a lot of his movies, some look pretty good. By the way, I'm not black either, but I have a large amount of respect for them. I'm getting off track here, bottom line: if you like horror stories with some semblance of reality, you'll probably enjoy this too, but you'll have to overlook the language.

I'm not going to add much, since most has been said already. I just wanted to state that I really enjoyed this movie. It not only pays a good homage to the classic EC comics (or at least the adapted early movie versions or series) but it manages to portray profound messages in a very powerful manner. The effects are pretty good as well and there's some nice gore so horror fans should be satisfied. I think that it's really one of the few movies that successfully combine horror and moral. The soundtrack is also very good - This movie was made in 95' - a time where hip hop in my opinion had reached it's highest point. So it's definitely worth a look!

Tales from the Hood is a unique film...kind of a Black spin-off on "Twilight Zone" or "Night Gallery" TV shows.....the stories starkly displaying the horrors and injustices of Black life and those who inflict those horrors...from present inner city scenarios to past slave times. The writing is good,, the acting is OK...and the messages are clear. The drug and gang-shooting era were upon us to a great extent at the time of this release...and hopefully it helped some "bangers" come to their senses and realize what they were doing, and that it should cease. If it helped in that capacity, then not only was the project worthwhile, but also some lives were saved when it was demonstrated how lives were destroyed and what the after-world could hold for those reckless enough to dis-respect life instead of helping and allowing it to flourish. I do not care for films that use a lot of filthy language and the "N" word, but Tales from the Hood" is a MUST SEE.