I was reading the Guardian (UK) Film/Music supplement yesterday, when I came across an article about 'Bollywood Horror' - Bollywood being used in the typically broad UK sense of referring to ALL south asian cinema. The main subject of the article was Zibahkhana / Hell's Ground, directed by one Omar Khan. It didn't take me long to confirm that this is the same Omar Khan of Hot Spot Online/Mondo Macabro fame.

Anyone seen this yet? It sounds good but is unlikely to play anywhere near me.

Trailer

(I was spoilt for choice on where to post this - Asian, Horror or Cult exploitation)

Yep, saw it a month ago at the New York Asian Film Festival, with Khan and the movie's producers, Mondo Macabro's Pete Tombs and Andy Starke, in attendance to chew quite a bit of fat with the audience. They also brought a reel of clips from Khan's private collection of vintage Pakistani horror, exploitation and general pulp flicks.

The movie itself is nothing to write home about, aside from its unusual origins and attendant cultural-political context. I'd just seen THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE a couple weeks previously for the first time in many years (and for the first time theatrically). ZIBHAKHANA looked like particularly small beer in the shadow cast by one of its biggest "inspirations." But it was a hell of a fun evening... uh, night (midnightish screening). You could read a more detailed review, plus some other ramblings, in this piece I wrote for Twitch.

At least one of the fest's organizers is a regular on this board and can probably supply more anecdotage.

It's really clumsily directed and edited and dependent on slasher movie formulas that were old 25 years ago, but the NYAFF screening was a lot of fun and Khan seemed like a charming, funny guy. I imagine it would have been far less fun seen alone on DVD. His reel of highlights from '70s Pakistani cinema was more enjoyable than HELL'S GROUND itself.