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Movie Review: Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror
Stay away from 'Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror'
By Michael Farrar
Special to 2theadvocate.com
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PLAY OFFICIAL TRAILER
out of 4 stars.
“Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror” starts with a pretty eye-catching animation sequence called "The Myth," which has Snoop Dogg sacrificing himself to a demon to bring his little sister back to life. The animation has a very engaging style. Unfortunately, it only lasts a few minutes.
The first live action tale is "Crossed Out," a story of an orphaned artist (Daniella Alonso) who can kill graffiti artists by painting a red X over their graffiti designs. This deadly power flows from a new tattoo issued to her by some sort of Latin "caveman-like troll" known as the Derelict (Danny Trejo). Pastor Charlie (Billy Dee Williams) tries to guide Daniella away from her dark impulses, but she can't resist looking for revenge.
Things don't improve in "Scum Lords." In this story, a selfish Southern bigot (Anson Mount) is trying to chase a small band of aging veterans out of his father's home so that he can take the property. Ernie Hudson as Rosco Lee does what he can, but professional acting can't distract from the threadbare production budget and ridiculous plot.
No. 3 of the live-action shorts is "Rhapsody Askew." It's about an unknown rapper (Pooch Hall) who calls himself S.O.D., which stands for Succeed Or Die. S.O.D. S.O.D. offers up a prayer in church and promises to lead a good life if he can just become a rap star. Well, it works out for him, but he has to answer for setting up his friend to die.
“Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror” looks like they only had a week to make it and only one block to film it. It has the slightly out-of-focus look of a student film. This is quite odd for Stacy Title, who has been a working director/producer since her decent feature film debut, "The Last Supper," in 1996.
This film doesn't seem to be aiming at anything other than cashing in on the Dogg's marketing appeal. The animated opening and soundtrack are all that work here. When you plunk down enough dollars for today's ticket prices, you should get your money's worth, even if all you are looking for is a fast food kind of movie.
Snoop Dogg brings his charm for fans to enjoy, however, he can't make up for what's missing. Three shabby short films and one nifty animation sequence do not add up to a worthwhile movie. "Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror" could have been entertaining, but fell tragically short of its potential.
