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Menace II Society
Directed by
Albert Hughes
,
Allen Hughes
R
1993
1h 37m
Drama
,
Crime
,
and more
7.5
84%
93%
Add to Watchlist
This urban nightmare chronicles several days in the life of Caine Lawson, following his high-school graduation, as he attempts to escape his violent existence in the projects of Watts, CA.
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Where to Watch Menace II Society
Amazon Video
Rent $3.79
Buy $13.59
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Rent $3.99
Buy $12.99
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Rent $2.99
Buy $12.99
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Cast of Menace II Society
Tyrin Turner
Caine 'Kaydee' Lawson
Larenz Tate
Kevin 'O-Dog'
Glenn Plummer
Pernell
Jada Pinkett Smith
Ronnie
Samuel L. Jackson
Tat Lawson
June Kyoto Lu
Grocery Store Woman
Toshi Toda
Grocery Store Man
Reginald Ballard
Clyde
Khandi Alexander
Karen Lawson
Jullian Roy Doster
Anthony
Brandon Hammond
Five Year Old Caine
Eugene Lee
Man #1
James Pickens Jr.
Man #2
Nancy Cheryll Davis
Teacher
Marilyn Coleman
Grandmama
Arnold Johnson
Grandpapa
Saafir
Harold Lawson
Pooh Man
Doc
MC Eiht
A-Wax
Vonte Sweet
Sharif
Ryan Williams
Stacy
Cynthia Calhoun
Jackee
Garen Holman
Junior
Joy Matthews
Nurse #1
Clifton Powell
Chauncy
Too $hort
Lew-Loc
Christopher M. Brown
Lloyd
Stacy Arnell
Deena
Dwayne L. Barnes
Basehead
Ian Davids
Insurance Man
Alvin Mears
K-9 Police Officer
Bill Duke
Detective
Robert Gonzales
Car Dealer
Martin Davis
Car-Jack Victim
Erin Wiley Sands
Ilena
Charles S. Dutton
Mr. Butler
Charles J. Grube
Officer Fassel
Mike Kelly
Officer Gadd
Rolando Molina
Vato #1
Clifton Collins Jr.
Vato #2
Samuel Monroe Jr.
Ilena's Cousin
Daniel Villarreal
Vato #4
Yolanda Whitaker
Girl at Party
Anthony Johnson
Tony
Tony Valentino
Vato #3
Albert Hughes
Director / Writer
Allen Hughes
Director / Writer
Tyger Williams
Writer
Darin Scott
Producer
Menace II Society Ratings & Reviews
Donald Nelson
June 5, 2025
Great movie. I remember seeing it when it came out in the 90’s.
New York Times
Lawrence Ware
With a tragic hero at its heart, the Hughes brothers' debut drama painted nuanced portraits of characters rarely fleshed out in other films.
InSession Film
Brian Susbielles
A lot like Boyz N Da Hood released two years earlier, it is a bleak picture and captures lightning in a bottle in which the city was still fuming from the Rodney King riots.
Backseat Mafia
Rob Aldam
Remains a powerful indictment of a country which was failing young black men in in the 1990s.
Film Frenzy
Matt Brunson
From its shocking opening sequence to its fatalistic finale, Menace II Society is a raw and (mostly) realistic drama.
Tampa Bay Times
Steve Persall
Rather than being a positive step toward a solution, this one-sided, inflammatory film and its after-effects on impressionable youth may be yet another menace for American society to suffer.
Los Angeles Times
Peter Rainer
The Hughes brothers are torn between the hopelessness of what they depict and a kind of haloed view of a better life.
Baltimore Sun
Stephen Hunter
It's a movie that takes you where you might not want to go, and makes you care about hell in a very small place.
Common Sense Media
Barbara Shulgasser
Intense '90s film about oppression has violence, drugs.
Hartford Courant
Malcolm Johnson
Pounding "gangsta" rap also drives forward this tour of the projects and bungalows of Watts. Sharp, slangly dialogue and intense action scenes also make this a watchable and often wrenching vision of the way too many young Americans live, and die, today.
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Don't let the silly styling of the title put you off; this is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts.
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Bleak, brilliant, and unsparing: a full-scale vision of the madness that is tearing up the black inner city.
TV Guide
An impressive first feature from the 21-year-old twin brother directing team of Albert and Allen Hughes.
Variety
Leonard Klady
Fierce, violent and searing in its observation, the film makes previous excursions seem like a stroll through the park.
EmanuelLevy.Com
Emanuel Levy
The most stunning feature debut in the new African-American cinema, even more so than Boyz N the Hood to which the coming-of age feature bears thematic resemblance.
Film Threat
Brad Laidman
It makes the Hood seem worse than Vietnam.
New York Times
Stephen Holden
If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character.
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Nothing the Hughes brothers have done in their videos for Tone Loc, Tupac Shakur and others prepares you for the controlled intensity and maturity they bring to their stunning feature debut.
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Anyone who views this film thoughtfully must ask why our society makes guns easier to obtain and use than does any other country in the civilized world. And that is only the most obvious of the many questions the film inspires.
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
As uncomfortable as it is to have your nose shoved in this nightmare, it's unforgettable in its violent lyricism and the bloody power of its message.
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