I saw Pariah on television and I thought it was a TV-movie made in the early 90s. I was quite shocked to then discover that it had been made a recently as 1998, after both American History X (AHX) and Romper Stomper. Had it have been made earlier I would have forgiven its amateurish feel and, to be frank, embarrassing handling of the plot and story line.
A good way of seeing how ineffective this movie is, is to compare it with the things it is trying to emulate. The story itself (for those unaware) is lifted directly from The Crow by J O'Barr. If you want to see the same plot idea handled in an incredibly powerful, subtle and truly masterful way then read the comic (not the film). I'd class Pariah's handling of the neo-Nazi aspect as being more like Romper Stomper in the way it superficially deals with the matter. However Romper Stomper does it so much better.
To focus on the movie itself, it's all very poor. The acting is poor, the scripts are poor, the directing poor....the whole thing is just poor. Some scenes had me flinching with embarrassment they were so bad. Despite the fact that I'm slating it, I still gave it 4/10. If it's on television and you have nothing better to do then watch it, it'll pass the time, it's not *that* bad. But if you enjoy the violent neo-Nazi romanticising movie then watch Romper Stomper as it's better. If you enjoy the revenge theme then read (or, to a lesser extent, watch) The Crow. I don't really want to draw any comparisons with AHX as that movie is in a different league and is one of my all-time favourite movies. AHX is the thinking man's Romper Stomper....I wouldn't even want to say what AHX is in relation to Pariah.
A good way of seeing how ineffective this movie is, is to compare it with the things it is trying to emulate. The story itself (for those unaware) is lifted directly from The Crow by J O'Barr. If you want to see the same plot idea handled in an incredibly powerful, subtle and truly masterful way then read the comic (not the film). I'd class Pariah's handling of the neo-Nazi aspect as being more like Romper Stomper in the way it superficially deals with the matter. However Romper Stomper does it so much better.
To focus on the movie itself, it's all very poor. The acting is poor, the scripts are poor, the directing poor....the whole thing is just poor. Some scenes had me flinching with embarrassment they were so bad. Despite the fact that I'm slating it, I still gave it 4/10. If it's on television and you have nothing better to do then watch it, it'll pass the time, it's not *that* bad. But if you enjoy the violent neo-Nazi romanticising movie then watch Romper Stomper as it's better. If you enjoy the revenge theme then read (or, to a lesser extent, watch) The Crow. I don't really want to draw any comparisons with AHX as that movie is in a different league and is one of my all-time favourite movies. AHX is the thinking man's Romper Stomper....I wouldn't even want to say what AHX is in relation to Pariah.