Watching "Hell's Ground" was like watching snippets of several different movies: the buddies from different social classes hitting the road and the political overtones à la "Y Tu Mama Tambien," the supernatural effects of environmental pollution last seen in "The Host," the plodding zombies from "Dawn of the Dead," creepy hitchhikers and psychotic relatives plucked straight out of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and the gory butchering of human body parts similar to the "Saw" series...man, they just keeping on churning out those "Saw" movies.

In essence, there's a lot going on in "Hell's Ground," which detracts from the film's rather interesting juxtaposition of underdeveloped rural Pakistan with the young, urban Western-influenced central characters. OJ, Roxy, Ayesha, Vicky, and Simon are attractive, occasional dope smokers who easily flit back and forth between Urdu and English and collectively lie to their parents in order to road trip it to a rock concert five hours away from home. Part of the plot hinges on the notion of "these spoiled city kids have it coming to them" (sixth film reference: "Cloverfield") and the general downward moral spiral of society that leads to a gruesome reckoning.

The low-budget special effects are initially laughable (don't let the film's intro discourage you from finishing the movie; it does get better), the comic-book title screens that state the obvious before it happens should have been omitted, and the film gradually ups the gore factor though not necessarily the fear factor. Had director Khan pared down on the film's elements and influences, "Hell's Ground" could have been more hellish and more grounded in plot.

A film more clearer in vision is "The Glow of White Women," in which Yunus Vally discusses how his upbringing as a Muslim Indian in South Africa shaped his proclivity for gals of the Caucasian persuasion. The set up is mainly Vally and other interviewees speaking directly to the camera, mixed with substantial archival footage from news reels, commercials, films, and news clippings from Apartheid-era South Africa. Vally illuminates everything from South Africa's geographical segregation of Whites, Blacks, Indians, and Coloreds (people of mixed race) to the Immorality Acts which banned interracial sex.

Most of the media pieces are examples of the glorification of white beauty and the paranoia built around men of color having sex with white women. But Vally goes beyond simply providing historical background and cuts deeper into the issue through his interviews. One of the most interesting parts of the film I found was the discussion of the interracial sexual relationships between young, anti-Apartheid activists (one white former activist admits she had a fetish for Black and Indian men) which Vally says was strictly carnal to him and not because he thought having interracial sex could save the world.

The confessional style of the interviews allows for more honest personal answers in addition to commentary on race in South Africa. The format makes the film seem longer than it is (there's a lot more talking than observing as in traditional documentary films), but the content is definitely worthwhile.

"Hell's Ground" screens at 11:00 pm, Saturday, November 15 and "The Glow of White Women" screens at 6:00 pm, Sunday, November 16, both at the Castro Theater, San Francisco.

This blog entry is graciously sponsored by Toyota Matrix. Check out their website dedicated to the best in Asian American film.