Skinheads vs. Hooligans

Pariah is not a bad film. It has as its main good points a nice set of strong performances and an interesting plot. On the other hand, it is a very low budget, bad directed film with a very cheapish look and fell. Watch it at your own risk.

I have read all the bad reviews about this movie, and I have to agree with most of what has been said. It is true that the film is just plain ugly to look at, and the over-acting is sometimes embarrassing. But perhaps the critics are being a bit unfair by measuring it next to films like "American History X" and "Romper Stomper". If you put it next to a highly-produced Hollywood film like A.H.X, then sure this one will look sick in comparison. Or if you put it next to a truly fantastic piece of cinema like "Romper Stomper", a film that actually played in art house cinemas around the world, it just isn't fair. The only thing these films have in common is their subject matter: skinheads. Period. Pariah lacks the artistic merits of these "legitimate" films. But when looked at in the "trash film" context, then this one becomes at least entertaining. Perhaps watch this one in the same way that you would watch "Toxic Avenger", or "Shaft", or "Class of 1984" etc.. Of course the way they portray skinheads in this movie is nauseating, offensive, and highly inaccurate. But lets face it; there are so few films made about the punk and skinhead scene, that when something comes along, we just have to see it. Anyway, look at the way punks are portrayed in "Class of 1984". Murderous criminals! But like Pariah, that flick is good for a laugh. In short, look at this one while you're hanging out and drinking with friends. You have to admit, this trash film does deliver the goods when it comes to violence. It is stomach-turning in some places. And if you want to see a good, thought-provoking film about skinheads, see "Luna Park", the one about the Russian skinheads. But don't expect a lot of action there. By the way, remember "Skinheads: Second Coming of Hate" with Chuck Conners?? Now there is a classic. "Pariah" is almost good compared to that one! A.C.A.B.

The main character's black girlfriend gets raped by a gang of neo-nazi's. He is forced to watch it happening, but is not capable of helping her. She later blames him for this and commits suicide. Of course this has its results on his further actions. He infiltrates in the gang and hopes to have his own revenge. A thing he didn't realize is that he gets sucked in to these gang-activities himself.... Although very poorly directed, I thought the acting was good and the story interesting enough. Those who 'enjoyed' American History X, will appreciate this movie.

While Pariah is indeed a great film, I have to say that it is also simply one more in a line of films which choose to depict neo nazi skinheads as being aggressive and violent. While I'm not insinuating that they're not, these films don't seem to ever delve into their actual belief system and thus we as the audience are made to feel threatened by the characters. Sure, this may be an effective way to catch an audiences attention, but it further segregates the skin heads and leads to a more wide spread misinterpretation of them. I don't support Nazism, however I would like to see a film that explores the fact that neo nazis have lost their freedom of speech, rather than one that tells me everything I already know about the worst kind of skin heads around. There are various kinds of skins - some of whom don't believe in drunkeness which is often a key element to their behaviour in these films. That said, Pariah is a very powerful film, following along much the same path as Romper Stomper started out on without delving into a silly love triangle conclusion as the latter film did. Very down to earth performances from a relatively unknown cast.

I saw this movie a while ago, awaiting a good and critical movie. I´m not afraid of a little violence in movies, but in this movie it just made no sense. Random useless violence all the time. There just wasn´t any goal. Maybe the director wanted to bring this feeling to the viewers, but that could have been done in much better ways.

The characters in this movie also have a complete lack of personality. The are flat characters who just commit violent stuff.

A ´not so good´ movie which stands in no comparison to American History X and Romperstomper.