Tales from the Hood
Four short, moralistic horror vignettes (a la EC Comics) that deal with mostly black characters. The framing story introduces three youths out to pick up a drug shipment at a funeral parlor from the strange director, Mr. Simms. As the three punks wind their way through the parlor, Mr. Simms tells them the last stories of some of his more interesting clients.
Despite its tight budget of $6.0M, Tales from the Hood became a commercial success, earning $12.0M worldwide—a 100% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Tales from the Hood (1995) reveals deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Rusty Cundieff's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 38 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Mr. Simms
Stack
Martin Moorehouse
Clarence
Walter Johnson
Carl
Jerome 'Crazy K' Johns
Dr. Cushing
Officer Stokes
Main Cast & Characters
Mr. Simms
Played by Clarence Williams III
Mysterious funeral home director who narrates three horrific tales to three gang members seeking drugs.
Stack
Played by Joe Torry
Young gang member who arrives at the funeral home with his crew to pick up 'the shit'.
Martin Moorehouse
Played by Tom Wright
Black activist and city councilman brutally murdered by racist cops, who returns as a zombie for vengeance.
Clarence
Played by Anthony Griffith
Black rookie police officer who witnesses his partner's murder of Martin Moorehouse and faces a moral crisis.
Walter Johnson
Played by David Alan Grier
Abusive monster who terrorizes his girlfriend and her son, haunted by a demonic voodoo doll.
Carl
Played by Brandon Hammond
Young boy terrorized by his mother's abusive boyfriend, who finds supernatural help through a voodoo doll.
Jerome 'Crazy K' Johns
Played by Lamont Bentley
Violent gang member subjected to experimental behavioral modification by a mad scientist prison official.
Dr. Cushing
Played by Rosalind Cash
Deranged prison official who conducts torturous behavioral modification experiments on Black inmates.
Officer Stokes
Played by Wings Hauser
Brutal racist cop who murders Martin Moorehouse and terrorizes the Black community.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Three young drug dealers—Stack, Ball, and Bulldog—drive through a foreboding nighttime cityscape to Simms' Funeral Home, establishing a world of danger, criminality, and moral corruption lurking beneath urban life.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Mr. Simms insists on showing the dealers the "goods" in his own way, beginning the first tale about Clarence, a Black rookie cop who witnessed his partners murder civil rights activist Martin Moorehouse—disrupting the dealers' simple drug pickup with moral horror stories.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Moorehouse rises from the dead to exact vengeance on the corrupt cops, and the dealers are now trapped in Simms' narrative web—they cannot leave without hearing all the tales, crossing from passive listeners into unwilling participants in moral judgment., moving from reaction to action.
At 50 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat The dolls overwhelm and kill Duke Metger in gruesome fashion, marking a false defeat that signals the tales are not mere entertainment—they are warnings. The dealers' mockery fades as the violence becomes undeniably real and the funeral home increasingly claustrophobic., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 74 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Crazy K, unable to change, is released back to the streets where he is immediately gunned down by rivals—dying as he lived. The "whiff of death" becomes literal as the dealers realize the tales may be prophecy, not fiction, and their own deaths may be imminent., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 79 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Mr. Simms reveals his true identity as a supernatural agent of justice—possibly the Devil himself. The dealers realize the funeral home is their final destination, and the "shit" they purchased was actually the drugs that killed them in a deal gone wrong., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Tales from the Hood's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Tales from the Hood against these established plot points, we can identify how Rusty Cundieff utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Tales from the Hood within the crime genre.
Rusty Cundieff's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Rusty Cundieff films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Tales from the Hood takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Rusty Cundieff filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Rustom and The Whole Ten Yards. For more Rusty Cundieff analyses, see Sprung.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Three young drug dealers—Stack, Ball, and Bulldog—drive through a foreboding nighttime cityscape to Simms' Funeral Home, establishing a world of danger, criminality, and moral corruption lurking beneath urban life.
Theme
Mr. Simms cryptically warns the dealers that "the shit you do always comes back to haunt you," stating the film's central theme: evil actions carry supernatural consequences, and justice—though delayed—is inescapable.
Worldbuilding
The frame narrative establishes the funeral home setting as Stack, Ball, and Bulldog meet the eccentric Mr. Simms. Their impatience for the drug stash and dismissive attitudes toward death set up their moral blindness that will be challenged through the tales.
Disruption
Mr. Simms insists on showing the dealers the "goods" in his own way, beginning the first tale about Clarence, a Black rookie cop who witnessed his partners murder civil rights activist Martin Moorehouse—disrupting the dealers' simple drug pickup with moral horror stories.
Resistance
The first segment "Rogue Cop Revelation" unfolds as Clarence struggles with guilt over not stopping the murder. Mr. Simms functions as the guide, using the tale to demonstrate that complicity in evil demands accountability—a lesson the dealers resist but cannot escape.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Moorehouse rises from the dead to exact vengeance on the corrupt cops, and the dealers are now trapped in Simms' narrative web—they cannot leave without hearing all the tales, crossing from passive listeners into unwilling participants in moral judgment.
Mirror World
The second segment "Boys Do Get Bruised" introduces Walter, an abused child whose drawings come to life to protect him. This story mirrors the dealers' own damaged childhoods and introduces the theme of violence begetting supernatural consequence.
Premise
The anthology delivers its premise through segments two and three: Walter's monster destroys his abusive stepfather, then racist politician Duke Metger faces vengeance from voodoo dolls animated by the souls of slaves. Each tale escalates the supernatural justice theme while the dealers grow increasingly uneasy.
Midpoint
The dolls overwhelm and kill Duke Metger in gruesome fashion, marking a false defeat that signals the tales are not mere entertainment—they are warnings. The dealers' mockery fades as the violence becomes undeniably real and the funeral home increasingly claustrophobic.
Opposition
The fourth and longest segment "Hard-Core Convert" follows gang member Crazy K through a brutal behavior modification program that forces him to confront his victims. The dealers recognize uncomfortable parallels to their own lives as Mr. Simms' stories close in on personal truth.
Collapse
Crazy K, unable to change, is released back to the streets where he is immediately gunned down by rivals—dying as he lived. The "whiff of death" becomes literal as the dealers realize the tales may be prophecy, not fiction, and their own deaths may be imminent.
Crisis
The dealers demand their drugs and attempt to leave, but Mr. Simms reveals the coffins they've been passing contain familiar faces. Panic sets in as the frame narrative collapses into nightmare—they cannot distinguish story from reality, past from present.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Mr. Simms reveals his true identity as a supernatural agent of justice—possibly the Devil himself. The dealers realize the funeral home is their final destination, and the "shit" they purchased was actually the drugs that killed them in a deal gone wrong.
Synthesis
The truth unfolds: Stack, Ball, and Bulldog are already dead, killed in the drug deal they thought they were arriving to complete. Mr. Simms has been conducting their judgment, and the funeral home transforms into a hellish vision as each dealer faces their eternal fate.
Transformation
The dealers are dragged into Hell as flames consume the funeral home, their screams echoing the victims from every tale. The final image inverts the opening—instead of arriving for drugs, they depart for damnation, completing the film's moral circle of supernatural justice.