The one thing I enjoyed the most about Tales from the Hood 2 was Keith David. The moment I saw his face, I knew that at least the wrap-around story would hold my attention. Mr. David has a strong screen presence and a resonant, unique voice and thus is the perfect choice for a storyteller. However, while I did enjoy his presence in the movie, the stories left a lot to be desired.
The first story, “Good Golly”, had a lot of promise. The Museum of Negrosity’s proprietor talked about the atrocities visited upon Blacks that the silly visitors (one black, one white) were making light of. I appreciated the reminder/history lesson of what Africans went through as slaves and as second class citizens in this country, much of which continues to this day. I also liked how the segment insisted that we in the present not make light of the past, but to learn from it. Excellent job on that part.
Then, the segment went downhill from there. I will not spoil it, but suffice to say I laughed out loud at what eventually transpired. Why? Because it came out of left field. There was no foreshadowing, no clues…it just happened. Yes, I understand the theme behind it, but honestly the execution left a lot to be desired. That is not to say I was not entertained, because I was.
The second segment, ”The Medium”, was my favorite. I loved the setup and the execution. The actor who played John Lloyd, the psychic nailed his role all the way through. (Fun fact, he also played Sal in Mad Men, and I liked him there too.) He hammed it proper, giving us a great performance in an interesting story.
“Date Night”, the third story was something most horror fans have seen in one form or another. The story was rudimentary and full of tropes. Absolutely nothing to write home about here.
The fourth segment, “The Sacrifice”. (long pause)….I truly hate to say this, but it seemed more of a hardcore after-school special than a segment in a horror movie anthology. Listen, I got the underlying message, I did. Great idea, poor execution. I also think this was the longest of the segments and I felt every single minute. This could have been a spectacular segment if the plot had been tightened a little more. The narrative was not as cohesive as it could have been, and the story suffered from it.
The end of the wraparound story was predictable, and the effects looked exactly like the effects in Halloween 3 (the lasers). And who didn’t know that Keith David was more than he seemed? The robot was pretty cool though.
The bottom line? I was entertained. I’m glad it was made, but it certainly was not on the level of the original Tales from the Hood. I would watch that before I watched this one again.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.