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Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror (2006)
Xenon Pictures "Hood of Horror" is an anthology that begins with the narrator Snoop Dogg's demise in a brilliantly structured anime sequence. The anime showcases gratuitous street violence and hip hop lingo. It's a heartfelt sequence that has an illustrated lanky Snoop in a wife beater exchanging life and death with his sister after he accidentally peels her cap back. Nothing better than watching an animated hip hop icon say "Man go fuck your self nigga". After this classic opening Snoop begins his wrap around narrations laced with Snoopisms through out. He is light, entertaining and adds a much needed interests to this series of gory tales told in the vein of "Tales from the Crypt" and the mid 90's sleeper "Tales From the Hood". This film is more like the latter because of the rap soundtrack that plays throughout this comeuppance parade that delivers charming narratives and plenty of goopy and extravagant effects.
The first story sold me just for featuring everyone's favorite cult actor Danny Trejo who plays a devilish character. The first story is about a female named Posie (Daniella Alonso, "Hills Have Eyes 2" and "Wrong Turn 2") that has beef with a rival graffiti gang. The devil enlists her to be an assassin of sorts and to rid the streets of these petty criminals. This story starts out the most promising but ends up the most weak of the three tales but at least features an attractive empathetic character with a sad pass. I enjoyed that by her crossing out gang members tags she instantly creates insane death sequences that are hilarious in tone. The villain characters do a good job being seedy and stereotypically unlikable. However they may have not deserved the death they were served so I guess when viewers see the ending it will make sense to them. I just wonder why the writers made the heroine a sympathetic character just to eventually turn on her. I'll give credit to the ending of this portion of "Hood of Horror" for not being a feel good ending. Basically everyone is a heavy in this piece. There are also some witty quotes by Posie that made the ride fun! Some of the music seemed inappropriate for a horror film and more like just favors for rap stars. I will say that the song Snoop Dogg delivers is awesome and just a taste of what he offers later on during the closing credits.
Snoop Dogg ends and begins the next sequence after dropping life lessons with puns. The next story is my personal favorite of the three. It's about a confederate scum bag Tex Wood Jr (Played by Anson Mounte that conveys all of the despicable traits of a true heartless hillbilly) that has to live with African American war heroes who once served under the command of Tex Sr. He has to spend a year with the ex-soldiers (Ernie Hudson is the ringleader of this likeable crew of actors) in order to receive the money his father left him in the will. He does this crew of war heroes unfair by extorting them for money and making all of the senior citizens do hard labor to pay off debts. This episode is the best when it comes to revenge and the most effective when it comes to creating one asshole of a character you will most likely love hating. Tex Jr. starves a bunch of harmless guys that could do no wrong while feeding their tiny dog caviar. This episode features some beautiful girls like Sydney Tamia Poitier as the home nurse. Also Tex Wood Jr's wife played by the voluptuous Brande Roderick in an equally scummy role. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this episode and I would rate it a classic if it was a film by itself. I got a kick watching the old geezers strategizing on how to take out the white trash that is known as Tex Jr. Tex is a hilariously mean and greedy sociopath I couldn't wait to see get his ass eliminated. I recommend everyone pick up this release solely for this installment. I respect Ernie Hudson, a well respected actor for participating in the campy fun and playing it straight without seeming miserable being in this low budget horror spectacle. Director Stacy Title should be extremely proud of this chapter. It was entertaining, mean spirited and there wasn't a single dull moment. The ending was spectacular and I predict that if you don't enjoy it your either dead or your personality is as bland as rice cakes. Before the introduction showcases a side-splitting animal killing that looked more or less authentic.
Snoop Dogg continues to recite prologues into the next mayhem filled rap tale while rolling with his puking dwarf friend instead of the stable of vampire hoes during the other episodes. Also I forget there are more anime that shows Snoop escorting his subjects into hell. Next I watched the tale of two rappers/producers making it big and the drama that entails. Sod (Pooch Hall) and Quon (Aries Spears) meet after Sod prays to god to make it big. As luck would have it he runs into Quon who is a talented producer and the two take off. While Quon is a smarter business man and less flashy, Sod is a fame hungry and bling loving egomaniac starving for attention. The story moves on to Sod making it large on his own after Quon tragically gets murdered. He is now winning awards and rolling with his manager played by none other than Diamond Dallas Page ("The Devil's Reject's" and "Hood of Horror" co-writer Tim Sullivan's upcoming "Driftwood") . Also the celeb factor is elevated by featuring Jason Alexander and go to horror actress Lin Shaye ("2001 Maniacs" and "Dead End"). After a award show Sod is partying with his entourage until a knock at the door changes everything. Lin Shaye plays Clara, a mysterious woman that shows up to force Sod to relive some of his past misdeeds. This is a very predictable story that remains a breeze because it's pleasing on a "Leprechaun in the Hood" level. Aries Spears does a remarkable job playing a sincere decent human being and later has a blast playing a deformed and gun wounded joke cracker. There are tons of lessons about thug imagery, statchitory rape/ R. Kelly references but not much gore. This episode features the least amount of red stuff but the ending is my second favorite and quite slick.
This film was a fun anthology you must observe by checking your brain at the door. I am now a fan of hip hop anime and I totally am serious. I would love for this to become an art form! Snoop Dogg closes the movie by rapping three verses about each lead character in this solid anthology. It's Snoop in top form and the style in which he raps in is darker like "Murder Was the Case" that I much prefer over the stuff he does with the Neptunes.
This film won't break any new ground but it will kill time while killing the viewer with stereotypical hilarity. Also the gore is thick and should satisfy fans of fun eighties horror, EC comics and fans of creative "Final Destination" kill gags done with mostly practical effects. The budget was $5 million so the entire crew should be applauded for taking part in one hoot of a genre film blended with celebrities and Executive Producer Snoop Dogg. Tim Sullivan sure keeps taking part in fun horror movies and gives the genre a much needed boost of energy. I am trying to do my research but I am having trouble finding out if this was shot on film or video. It has that bright and dark at the same time look that Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" has. No matter if its film or DV it's an achievement in amusement. This movie should have got a wide release and I am jealous of anyone who has seen it in limited run or at festivals. Be open minded while watching this and you'll most likely take it out of your player only to eventually pop it back in when you get a craving for thug anime or an urban anthology.
Rating - ***
-Russ Rutter
