Can’t wait to see this one.
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http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=2946
October 15: Muslim zombies in HELL’S GROUND
Variety reports that Pete Tombs of the Mondo Macabro company, which has released numerous South Asian horror movies on U.S. and UK DVD, has co-produced the Pakistani fright flick ZIBAHKHANA (HELL’S GROUND) in conjunction with that country’s Bubonic Films. It’s about a group of teenagers who are diverted on their way to a rock concert by protestors demonstrating against polluted water; forced to take a back road, they soon encounter both a family of deranged murderers and rampaging undead ghouls. HELL’S GROUND marks the directorial debut of Omar Ali Khan, a film historian and ice-cream chain owner (!), who shot the movie on hi-def video this past summer.
“They are definitely the first Muslim zombies,” Khan tells the trade. “We don’t have songs or comedy sequences, none of the prerequisites of the South Asian film. It’s a complete ripping up of what’s expected from local productions.” The grisly makeup was created by Nawab Sagar, a veteran of many local genre productions. “If there’s a Pakistani horror movie, he’s worked on it,” Khan says. “But he was nervous when he realized what I expected from him. People on the crew were not used to this level of nastiness, which was very exciting for me.”
Among the familiar local faces in front of the camera was actor Rehan, whose credits include the Mondo Macabro DVD release THE LIVING CORPSE. Mondo’s Andy Starke edited HELL’S GROUND, which is being groomed for international release, presumably via Mondo in English-speaking markets. The movie has already been invited to the Sundance Film Festival, which waived the entry fee. You can see its official website here. —Michael Gingold