The Horrible Dr. Bones (2000) Horror

The Horrible Dr. Bones (2000) -  This low budget collection of three stories is called "Urban Evil" at Netflix and although it is not of the highest quality there are some fun things in it. The stories Demonic Tunes, The Killing Kind and Hidden Evil are three completely different stories without the connecting tissue often used in these kind of films. You would think that since the title included Dr. Bones that he would be the character that either appears in each story or that he would be the "crypt keeper" type character introducing them. Unfortunately he is just the main villain in the first story and is not seen again. Why Netflix changed the name of the disc is beyond me, was it conscious to connect Urban with the all black cast?  I understand that each story is about city characters but really.
  Demonic Tunes is the story of a young band that tries for a starring gig at a local club. The club run by Dr. Bones (Darrow Igus) and his assistant Theodora (Rhonda Claerbaut) is looking for the right sound to intertwine their nefarious plan with. He is a voodoo doctor with a skin problem who is tired of  zombies who have to be dead. Bones comes up with the idea that if he performs the ritual sacrifice while broadcasting the magic through music then he will control the living listening audience the same way he controls the dead sacrifice victim. Its a great plan but he needs just the right music to make it work.
  This is where the band The Urban Protector comes in. Lead singer Lisa (Sarah Scott Davis) and her players Wanda (Tangelia Rouse), Pookie (Derrick Delaney) and Phil (Danny Wooten) audition and have just the sound that Dr. Bones is looking for. Only there sound man Jamal (Larry Bates) notices that things are not quite right with this setup. Will he be able to save his friends from the mind control of Dr. Bones? The climax of the film is at the first concert with the band playing upstairs and the voodoo priest performing his ritual downstairs, wired into their sound system. Jamal who notices the wire running through the entire club to Bone's cellar room interrupts him, but is he too late? The story end rather quickly and in a really simplistic way that is not very satisfying.
  The Killing Kind is a story of a family rap group who takes a stand against a local drug kingpin. Originally titled "Ragdoll (1999)" and release the year before this DVD the version in this trilogy must have been severely edited because it really seems like parts of the story are missing.  After embarrassing the Kingpin, the thug goes after the Gran (Freda Payne) of the family rap group. There is a scene where family leader Kwame (Russell Richardson) uses his grandmother's voodoo magic to call the Shadow Man (Frederic Tucker) for protection. This magical being asks for a payment in return for the magical protection, and the flustered Kwame promises him anything. That was not a smart move as Kwame finds out. Shadow Man brings to life a ragdoll to deal with the drug dealing thugs. It is very reminiscent of the little African doll in the 1970's Trilogy of terror in that the doll is evil and will kill the thugs. Problem is that for each thug the doll takes the price is someone that Kwame loves is also killed. In quick order the doll does its deeds but when gran finds out that Kwame has used black magic she has to intervene to save the rest of the family. With the help of the surviving sister Teesha (Jennia Fredrique) the family attempts to break the deal with the Shadow Man. Is it possible? Will the family be safe from the Kingpin? Like I said earlier the edits to this story really hurt the final product and although the story completes you are left with the feeling that you did not see the whole story.
  The final story "Hidden Evil" concerns the releasing of an evil spirit in a condemned former school for freed slaves, in South Central LA. I know it seems a bit of a stretch and it really is. The slave in question was locked in the basement of the school after killing 5 other slaves and drinking their blood for some kind of ritual? Originally entitled "The Vault (2000)" it is very original if a bit unbelievable.  Set in modern LA and there is a group of kids from Crenshaw High with their history teacher Mr B (Ted Lyde) heading to a condemned school to try to save what they can of the heritage of the building. They know it was once a school for ex slaves but are not aware of the evil ghost in the basement. Director James Black does a decent job in this low budget horror story. You can read my review of that film by clicking the link above. The students are reasonably competent actors, Michael Cory Davis, Michael Maurer, Austin Priester, Kyle Walker, and Parrish Washington as well as the beautiful Shani Pride.
  Overall this trilogy is a bit of a mixed bag. I have seen worse and I have seen better. Unfortunately some of the acting is just not up to snuff and the ideas not thought out quite enough. Still if you see this one in a discount bin it may not be a total waste of time. One really positive thing about the set of stories are all the black character are not black stereotypes. Sure there are character stereotypes, the evil record producer, the vengeful drug dealer, or the geeky student, but they are not necessarily race based and that is refreshing. In each film there are positive black characters with drive and motivations outside of race. The "N" word is never used and for the most part the protagonists are all positive.
  Know this is low budget and not the highest of quality but might be worth a view, I want to recommend it but the films are not really that good. Sure I enjoyed them but I am not sure many other people will.
Rating (4.1) 5.0 and up are recommended, some more recommended than others.

The Vault (2000) - Horror

The Vault (2000) - A teacher takes a group of detention serving students to an abandon high school to document its history before it is torn down. The story is that the school was originally used as a depot for slave being brought into the country. Horrible treatment of the slaved marked this period of the building. Then after the civil war it was converted into a school for former slaves to teach them to read. After this the building became part of the school system until age finally made it necessary to close it down. So with only a few days before demolition a teacher Mr. B. (Ted Lyde) brings Kyle (Michael Cory Davis), Desaray (Shani Pride), Willy (Austin Priester) and Zipper (Kyle Walker) to the building.
After seeing a mural on the wall with nondescript figures they are warned by a security guard, "I don't think having these kids in here is a good idea." What? High school age kids wandering around a dilapidated building, what could go wrong? On top of this Desaray is having a bad feeling about being there. Several scenes allow the audience to get to know the kids. Kyle tough on the outside but struggling to keep himself together dispite his drug using parents. Desaray the pretty girl who can't see past peoples exteriors. Willy the jock everyone loves and Zipper the nerd who can't stop himself from putting his foot in his mouth. Then there is Mr. B. who has recently lost his wife and surprisingly came to the school to walk down memory lane. The school is where he graduated high school and met his wife. None of the characters get much more developed than that but honestly Kyle seemed to draw the most emotional connection of the kids.
When things get weird it happens a little at first before going full tilt. When Mr. B. is talking to the security guard there is this point where he recognizes him as a janitor during the time he was a student at the school. He also has not aged a day, I wonder why that is? Later Desaray and Willie are walking down this nicely (cheaply) lit corridor of red and blue light, they don't notice that each door they pass closes. Finally after being warned not to go in the cellar, the two are in the cellar and find the titular door. Naturally Willy just has to know what is in that locked door but there is no key. Lucky for the story that Desaray is possessed by some sounds in her headphones and punches a wall revealing a key...to the lock...to the vault...of course.
When the lock is off a horrible banging on the door starts up and then breaks out, Willy and Des see inside the room are shackles on the walls. You see in the past slaves were kept in these rooms. In fact there is at a later time a story shared that a witchdoctor was put into one of the rooms back in slave days but her killed the other five slaves in the room as part of a ritual of power, the ritual was incomplete though and his soul was trapped in the room. The kids have now released it and he will try to complete the spell by killing a new six people.
The first is the van driver who did not even come in the building. The kids do notice though that his face is now on the mural they saw earlier. In fact each of the group that is killed appears in the painting, so the kids must try to find a way to get the spirit back in the room and lock it before they are all killed. This is not a horrible plot. It is a shame that the budget for this film was so small because I think the idea can work. There are some very nice CGI and practical effects including a pipe through a chest, a head cut in half, and some glowing red eyes. The pace picks up as the film goes on but the early scenes really dragged this film down with its less than effective character development. The negative of the are a drawback but I think director James Black did a decent job on this film not really going to recommend it because the production value is not up to par, the characters are too cardboard and there is way too much just following people as they walk around to make the compelling story compelling enough.
Rating (4.2) 5.0 and up are recommended.