Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror

Well, it's finally Halloween and, like so many other people this time of year, I've been on a bit of a horror movie kick the last two weeks or so. Rather than revisit some of the horror classics like Psycho, Frankenstein, Halloween, or The Shining I've been taking a look at some lesser-known titles. Movies like Dog Soldiers, WolfCop, American Poltergeist, Exorcism of the Dead and The Tooth Fairy. In keeping with that trend, today's film is Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror. This is an anthology movie similar to Creepshow or Tales from the Crypt, and it consists of three stories. Our narrator and connecting thread between the different tales of horror is the Hound of Hell (played by Snoop Dogg).

The first of these three stories is titled 'Crossed Out'. A woman named Posie (played by Daniella Alonso) is given a magical tattoo on her arm by a stange and mysterious man played by Danny Trejo. This tattoo gives the Posie the ability to kill anyone simply by spray painting a red 'X' over any tag they have left on a building. She doesn't have to kill anyone, she chooses to. And with her choice to make the hood even more violent than it already was, Posie has to pay the ultimate price.

Next up is 'The Scumlord'. Tex and his girlfriend Tiffany (played by Anson Mount and Brande Roderick) are offered the opportunity to receive a hefty inheritance after Tex's father dies. There is a catch though; They have to move to the hood and live with four of the father's old Vietnam war buddies for one year. Tex in particular treats the vets like crap and eventually pushes them to their breaking point, resulting in the death of both Tex and Tiffany.

And finally the last of the three is 'Rapsody Askew'. This one tells the tale of a rapper known as SOD (played by Pooch Hall) who has seen a meteoric rise to fame. Much of this success can be attributed to SOD's friend Quan (played by Aries Spears), who always stuck by his side even though SOD is a pretty terrible person. One night after a big awards show, a mysterious woman enters SOD's hotel room telling him that she knows all about his misdeeds. Soon after, a zombie version of Quan appears and reveals that he now knows that SOD had him killed. The zombified Quan then kills the hitman and disappears, thus framing SOD for murder.

Overall, I think this is a pretty fun movie. It's obviously no cinematic masterpiece but has a pretty decent cast, it's well paced, and the three tales are all distinct and entertaining. Of the three, I think 'Crossed Out' was probably the one I enjoyed the most. I'm not going to go as far as saying that this should be a 'must-watch' every Halloween but, if you come across it give it a try.

 I give this one a 2.5 out of 5