Pariah (1998)
Starring: Damon Jones, Dave Oren Ward, Aimee Chaffin, David Lee Wilson
Director: Randolph Kret
Synopsis: aimless piece of neo nazi drivel. No denying its awfulness.
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

The DVD cover claims the film to be "amazing, riveting, mesmerizing, courageous, accurate and astonishing" among others, some one even goes so far as calling Pariah "A Clockwork Orange for the 90's". The truth is the film is indeed astonishing in its sheer awfulness.

Within moments of the hand held cinema verite style opening sequence one lapses into a sense of disbelief at how shoddy everything appears. The acting is the first thing that hits you - amateurish would be an understatement to put it mildly. The action set to a torrent of raucous skin metal focuses on a group of Neo Nazi's who live like rats and justify their existence by beating up the odd minority here or there.

The plot involves a chubby young lad who is terribly in love with his lurvely black girlfriend and the two are thinking of marriage despite. The couple is prime target not only for the scummy Neo Nazi's but also for the local black posse waging its own war of hatred and exclusion on the street. One night the Nazi's hold down boyfriend Steve and force him to watch his girlfriend get gang raped which leads to her ultimate suicide. So, a distraught Steve seeks revenge by turning into a Skinhead and trying to infiltrate the very group that raped his girl.

The film is an embarrassment from beginning to end with no redeeming features at all. The acting is truly "amazing, courageous and astonishing" for all the wrong reasons. The direction lacks any suggestion of talent or potential and the name Randolph Kret is certainly not one to remember. The whole film is an ugly experience, not so much because of the subject matter but more the style of execution and the lack of artistry involved. Pariah belongs in a stinking heap of garbage. The best thing about it is that at least they didn't waste massive amounts of money on sets or actors. Now I can see why Romper Stomper has been hugely admired while Pariah, an amateurish home movie serenading as the real thing has managed to fool me into buying it on DVD. It goes on re-sale as of now.