If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, American History X should feel flattered indeed over Pariah's gushing homage. (Honorable mention should also go to Romper Stomper.)

An ultra-low budget story of white supremacy groups in L.A., we are treated to the story of Steve (Jones), a white guy who is jumped in a parking lot by a group of skinheads who then rape his black girlfriend, making him watch. She kills herself, so Steve steels himself to infiltrate the skinhead group and exact revenge.

While the plot is noble, the telling of the story is problematic at best. Mainly, the film quickly degenerates into a series of fights between the skinheads and various ethnic/religious/sexually-oriented groups. A bunch of people die, and everyone gets beaten up. This goes on and on, as you can imagine, until the end, when Steve faces the expected test of character: To kill them is to become them.

For production values, Pariah does a lot with a little, but it's still not much. The direction, script, and especially the editing are the products of rushed mediocrity. The film isn't bad, it just isn't particularly original. Even touted "star" Angela Jones (the cab driver in Pulp Fiction) has all of 10 lines and does next to nothing to earn her salary. What's worse is the enormous disclaimer at the end of the film, stating vehemently that the filmmakers "ARE NOT RACIST!!!"

We got it, guys.



Bad seed.