Tales from the Hood 2
Tales from the Hood 2 | |
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Directed by | Rusty Cundieff Darin Scott |
Written by | Rusty Cundieff Darin Scott |
Produced by | Rusty Cundieff Darin Scott Elaine Dysinger Griff Furst Jim Steele |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Keith L. Smith |
Edited by | Miriam L. Preissel John Quinn |
Music by | Frederik Wiedmann |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Tales from the Hood 2 is a 2018 American
Frame story and segment plots
"Robo Hell" (beginning)
At some time in the not too distant future, Dumass Beach (Bill Martin Williams), a racist and sleazy prison operator, is working with his aides, Grant and Kelly, to lead a team to construct an army of AI "Robo-Patriots", which can learn from firsthand experience as well as from secondhand stories and function as law enforcement officers. He recruits the great storyteller Mr. Simms (Keith David) to fill their heads with information from his stories to help them better determine who is a criminal and thereby fill his prisons, suggesting "Black Lives Matter" as the theme. With that in mind, Simms tells the first story.
"Good Golly"
White siblings Audrey (
That night, the girls return with Philip, who also happens to be Zoe's boyfriend, and break into the museum to steal the doll. They end up breaking its glass display case when they knock over a
Months later, Audrey is ready to give birth and tells Floyd, dressed in surgical apparel, that she wishes to go to a hospital for the delivery for the sake of the child. Floyd says that he would not be able to explain the situation. Multiple miniature golliwog dolls then burst out of her stomach. Floyd commiserates with Golly Gee, back to doll size and in his repaired display case, telling him "How dare they call you a stereotype? You're just the creation they designed you to be!" As more golliwogs are born, Audrey dies.
Dumass enjoys the story, but questions Mr. Simms if he has any stories from a more criminal standpoint. He offers to tell a story about gangsters to honor Beach's request.
"The Medium"
Cliff Bettis (Creighton Thomas), a notorious pimp-turned legitimate businessman, is kidnapped and tortured by Brian (Martin Bats Bradford), Booze (Kedrick Brown), and Gore (Chad L. Chambers), a trio of thugs who seek to take the five-million-dollar fortune he possesses. Cliff refuses to surrender the money, explaining that he has used it to establish two
Meanwhile, phony TV psychic John Lloyd (Bryan Batt) records the chatter among his studio audience before the show and uses the notes provided by his staff to present the illusion of channeling spirits. The robbers see the show and hatch a new plan. They kidnap Cliff's girlfriend, singer Sandra Blake (Sandra Gutierrez), and bring her to Lloyd's house. Under their orders, she seduces him into opening the door for them to enter. They tell him to channel Cliff, using Sandra as a bargaining chip for him to tell them where the money is. When John rhetorically asks what would happen if he explains that he isn't actually psychic, the thugs say that they would kill him and rob his house so that their mission isn't a complete loss. Terrified for his life, John agrees to channel Cliff.
When John begins to act out a séance, he finds himself actually possessed by a series of different spirits accusing the robbers of unjustly killing them. Ultimately, Cliff begins to speak through John to the robbers, and they threaten to kill Sandra if Cliff doesn't tell them where the money is. Cliff
Dumass likes this story even better, stating that it's something the Robo-Patriot could learn from. While excusing himself, Simms notices Beach sexually harass the women on the design team. Kelly mentions that he does it to her as well, but she has learned to ignore it. Inspired by this fact, Mr. Simms proceeds to tell the next story.
"Date Night"
Ty (Alexander Biglane) drives with his friend Kahad (
As they set up a scene to film themselves having sex with the unconscious girls, Kahad finds that Carmen and Liz's bodies cannot be seen in the viewfinder. The girls wake up and reveal themselves to be vampires who proceed to chase and bite their attackers. When Ty and Kahad finally wake up, they find themselves locked in a makeshift prison with ravenous fanged men attempting to reach through the bars. Greeting the boys through a monitor in their cell, Carmen and Liz explain that the men on the other side of the bars are also Internet predators who, instead of being killed, have been accidentally turned into vampires themselves and left to starve. They beg to be let go, but Carmen and Liz decline and release the starved predators on the duo, who devour them as the girls laugh.
Dumass also likes this story, but excuses Ty and Kahad's actions by saying "boys will be boys". Mr. Simms asks if they have time for one more story.
"The Sacrifice"
In 1955, young
Henry holds a fundraiser at the house, where William Cotton states that his mission is to take Mississippi back to its core values, joking that Henry would have been serving them in those days. As he is collecting campaign contributions, William appraises Henry for the event, where it is revealed that Henry is supporting William because he has promised to make Henry mayor if he becomes governor. Emily comes downstairs and announces that Emmett is choosing to live, meaning that her child will have to die. She grabs a knife, runs out into the yard, throws it at the spirit of Emmett, which her husband and the fundraiser guests cannot see. Mama Bradley brings an elderly man, Mr. Winters (Wayne Dehart), who was with Emmett on the night of the lynching and can see his spirit. Winters says that Henry must change his vote so that the voting locations are not closed, but Henry accuses his mother of concocting the story in order to get him to change his vote.
Gwinnett returns and determines that the fetus is indeed shrinking. When Henry says that he is the father, Gwinnett insists that he will not work for an interracial couple. Emily suddenly insists that Henry kidnapped her and isn't her husband before she hits him with a lamp and Gwinnett drives her away. After being confronted by his mother and touched by Winters, Henry finally sees the spirit of Emmett, who mentions that he has been "blessed with a chance to see the future." However, Emmett laments that Henry is voting against the interests of his people, deciding that the horrific death he endured was all for nothing.
Henry is also visited by the spirit of
William Cotton arrives in SUVs labelled "Klan Patrol" as Emily accuses Henry of rape. Cotton and his men beat Mama Bradley and attempt to abduct Henry. He quickly promises to Emmett that he will vote against the closure of the voting locations. Emmett informs him that that is no longer an option, mentioning that Henry will have to go the extra mile and sacrifice his life. Henry agrees to do it and allows himself to beaten to death by the Klan Patrol. As history returns to normal, Henry's spirit senses that his child will now live. He and Emmett disappear, with Mama Bradley expressing her pride in her son.
"Robo Hell" (ending)
After expressing his dislike for the last story, Beach presents the "Robo-Patriot" at a press conference, claiming that it can predict who will commit crimes against lawful citizens. When activated, the Robo-Patriot identifies potential thieves and illegal immigrants in the audience. Analyzing the stories that have been stored into its memory, the Robo-Patriot identifies Beach and his team (who, after each story, have shown themselves to be greedy, racist, and misogynistic) as an immediate threat to American civilization. The robot kills Grant and Kelly, viewing them as accomplices of Beach for their inaction toward his behavior, while Beach himself flees, pursued by the robot.
As he runs away, Mr. Simms arrives, driving an SUV, and offers to rescue him. Beach discovers that he has been wounded by the robot and begins to verbally abuse Simms, but Simms simply tells him that they are not in a car. The car transforms into a hearse, Beach turns around and sees his own corpse inside a coffin behind him. Simms then reveals that Beach died from his injury, that Simms is Satan, and that they are in Hell, as the hearse becomes surrounded by flames. Demons then drag the screaming Beach out of the car while Simms cackles maniacally.
In a post-credits scene, Mr. Simms turns to the audience and proclaims "Now that was some shit!", before walking off into Hell.
Cast
Robo Hell:
- Keith David as Portifoy Simms; he was portrayed by Clarence Williams III in the last film
- Bill Martin Williams as Dumass Beach
- Jay Huguley as Grant Measpine
- Jeffrey Bryant Moss as Press Conference Crowd
- Toney Chapman Steele as Press member
- Rusty Cundieff as Reporter
- Leslie Castay as Reporter
Good Golly:
- Alexandria DeBerryas Audrey
- Jasmine Akakpo as Zoe
- Andy Cohen as Philip
- Lou Beatty Jr. as Floyd
- Kenneth Kynt Bryan as Golliwog
The Medium:
- Bryan Batt as John Lloyd
- Creighton Thomas as Cliff Bettis
- Martin Bats Bradford as Brian
- Kedrick Brown as Booze
- Chad L. Chambers as Gore
- Sandra Gutierrez as Sandra
Date Night:
- Alexander Biglane as Ty
- Greg Tarzan Davisas Kahad
- Alexandria Ponche as Carmen
- Cat Limket as Liz
- Zakery Jones as Vampire
The Sacrifice:
- Kendrick Cross as Henry Bradley
- Jillian Batherson as Emily Bradley
- Greta Glenn as Mama Bradley
- David Dahlgren as Dr. Martin Gwinette
- Wayne Dehart as Mr. Winters
- Cotton Yancey as William Cotton
- Christopher Paul Horne as Emmett Till
- Jayla McDonald as Carol Denise McNair
- Brandon J Williams as James Earl Chaney(uncredited)
- Stephen Doerfler as Michael Schwerner
- Terrance Sims as Martin Luther King Jr.
- John C. Coffman as Political Fundraiser / Klan Cop
- Cynthia LeBlanc as Political Fundraiser
- Elton LeBlanc as Political Fundraiser / Klan Cop
- Patrick Kearns as Klan Cop
References to other media and events
- In the segment "Good Golly", one of the dolls in the museum is the murderous doll held by Miss Cobbs in the original Tales from the Hood film.
Production
In January 2018, co-director Rusty Cundieff announced on Twitter the sequel was going into production within the year and that he was scouting locations in Louisiana.[2] In April 2018, it was announced that actor Keith David would portray Mr. Simms, the storyteller role originally played by Clarence Williams III in the original film. Williams did not return due to his retirement from acting.[3] The film was shot in Louisiana throughout April 2018.[4]
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada on July 13, 2018.[5]
The film was released direct-to-video on October 2, 2018.[6]
The film received mostly positive critic reviews. On review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a "fresh" score of 78% based on reviews from 9 critics. [7]
Sequel
A sequel, Tales from the Hood 3, was released on October 16, 2020 on Syfy.
See also
References
- ^ "Fantasia Festival – Tales from the Hood 2". Fantasia Festival – Tales from the Hood 2. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
- ^ Scott, Ryan (6 January 2018). "Tales from the Hood 2 Is Happening with Original Director". movieweb.com. Movieweb. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- ^ Kohn, Eric (13 July 2018). "'Tales From the Hood' Director Rusty Cundieff: Why It Took 20 Years to Make a Sequel to His Black Horror Anthology". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Miska, Brad (27 April 2018). "'They Live's' Keith David Tells of Several 'Tales From the Hood'!". bloody-disgusting.com. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- ^ Miska, Brad (14 June 2018). "'Tales from the Hood 2' and 'Rondo' Highlight Fantasia's Second Wave Announcement!". bloody-disgusting.com. Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 2018-07-09. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- ^ Miska, Brad (10 July 2018). "'Tales From the Hood 2' Trailer Conjures Up Vampires, Evil Dolls and Ghosts!". bloody-disgusting.com. Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- ^ "Tales From the Hood 2 - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2023-10-12.