Who’s the greatest horror host in history? Joe Bob Briggs? Svengoolie? The Crypt Keeper? Well, true horror heads know that Clarence Williams III may claim that grisly throne from his single outing as the sinister Mr. Simms, the mortician guiding three gangbangers through terrifying tales meant to petrify and terrify. However, there’s a lot more than regular supernatural shrieks here: Only the third film released by Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks not directed by Lee himself, it’s the connecting thread between Blacksploitation and modern horror noire. – Richard Whittaker
