Let's give it up for Pakistan, shall we? Hell's Ground is the very first horror film to come from the region, but what's more amazing is that besides the mixture of English and Urdu, the funky Middle Eastern soundtrack, a killer madman dressed in a Burqa, and a cast of local Pakistani actors, it's like any low-budget, American horror film! Actually, and more specifically, it's like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead.
Director Omar Ali Khan is clearly a huge fan of horror films, and decided to create a pastiche of all his favorites in Hell's Ground, his first movie (he runs an ice cream parlor in Pakistan). Khan has essentially made a Pakistani equivalent of Grindhouse, and he mostly pulls it off.
Hell's Ground follows 5 college kids who have lied to their parents to take a pot smoking road trip to see a concert. So far, a fairly typical horror movie set-up. Along the way, the gang meet a group of the undead, contaminated by the local water, which, considering only 5-8% of Pakistanis have access to clean water, likely makes the infected just that much more scary to a Pakistani.
The kids skip past the zombies pretty quickly, too quickly, and that wraps up the the zombie portion of the film. Once the kids pick up a psychotic hitchhiker who threatens to drink their blood, the movie changes into a slasher film. And if picking up a deranged hitchhiker in van sounded a bit like Texas Chainsaw Massacre to you, there's a good reason: it's the exact same plot line.
Don't worry, the zombies won't be here for long.
Having introduced the crazy family, Khan is now free to unleash his own contribution to modern horror: the burqa-wearing, mace-swinging, man child of Hell's Ground. Khan was hoping to reate his own iconic killer, a la Jason or Freddy, and it works. He's creepy-looking, has a completely weird background, and has his own crazy weapon. Check, check, and check.
Hell's Ground may not be breaking new ground, but considering all Khan had to go through to make a movie like this, it's still a surprising viewing. The gore is respectable, and the look and mood of the film is competent. Frankly, plenty of low-budget American efforts could learn something from the love that Khan put into his movie.
Hopefully, Khan is allowed to make more horror films, since Pakistan is one of the last countries to offer the movie distribution.