Zibahkhana
Encyclopedia
Zibahkhana is an Urdu
-English
slasher film
directed by Omar Khan. It premiered at the NatFilm Festival
in Denmark
and has since been screened at festivals all over the world including Toronto, New York City, London, Neuchatel, Stockholm, Cape Town, Austin, Philadelphia, Cambridge, Puerto Rico, Sitges, Valencia, Oslo, and Helsinki. Recently, the film has passed censors in Pakistan (with 8 – 10 seconds cut) and will soon become the first non 35 mm, HDV feature film released in Pakistan cinema history. It also holds the distinction of being shot in 30 days.
s. While he is vomiting he is bit in the leg by an unknown man. After crying for help and escaping his attacker he rendezvous with his group and they decide to move on. However, they haven't driven too far when they run into a crowd of zombies in the woods, who has turned into the undead presumably because of the contamination in their local water. The group narrowly manages to escape. Later, when the group feels lost, they are left with no choice but to seek help from the local natives living in the isolation of the Jungle. Upon exploration, a strange man dressed in a robe and representing the attire of that of a Fakir
agrees to help them. However, after witnessing his strange and obnoxious behavior the group decides to force the man out of the car. When he barricades the car with his body, Vicky drives over him, crushing his body. Eventually the rented van is out of gas, and Vicky decides to get help from a nearby house. Little did he know that the house was only used as a trap to lure visitors so they could be killed and butchered into pieces by a strange character wearing a Burqa
. From that point the plot unfolds to reveal the fate of each character.
played by Rooshanie Ejaz. She is the modest one of the group, she has the most trouble getting permission to go on the road trip from her mother and does not smoke Marijuana like her friends. She is very religious and wears a necklace with "Allah hu Akbar" engraved on it.
from her humble village, but she does mention she is grateful to Allah
as many customers come from the cities to purchase her "goats".
, he also has one hole in his mask to see like Jason Voorhees
in Friday the 13th Part II.
, played by Rehan, he is introduced as a retired actor who lost his career and ended up serving tea, the film does not explain how, but he denies being in the film industry when the teenagers ask him about it. He is proud of his shop and claims that many famous people including Queen Elizabeth, Lady Diana, Angelina Jolie
and Brad Pitt
have visited his shop.
played by Osman Khalid Butt, he is a fan of classic horror movies and is often seen smoking weed
, he is the first of the group to be attacked though he survives it, he later becomes a zombie
and tries to attack Ayesha.
and longs to go back to the U.S. saying "Nothing can keep me in this stinkin' shithole".
group of Pakistan
. He is bullied by his father who demotivates him from his studies telling him that the son of a sweeper will always be a sweeper. Like Ayesha he is slightly more innocent than his friends. He is played by Haider Raza.
but at the same time he is not obsessed with it, he isn't shown doing any drugs.
ZibahKhana is an Urdu word meaning slaughterhouse.
Zibahkhana will screen at the forthcoming Compass of Mystery Festival held in Bristol, UK on 18 October 2008.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
-English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
directed by Omar Khan. It premiered at the NatFilm Festival
NatFilm Festival
The NatFilm Festival, staged annually across 16 cinemas in Copenhagen, in addition to several in Odense, Aalborg and Århus, shows the widest programme of films to the largest festival audience in Denmark...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and has since been screened at festivals all over the world including Toronto, New York City, London, Neuchatel, Stockholm, Cape Town, Austin, Philadelphia, Cambridge, Puerto Rico, Sitges, Valencia, Oslo, and Helsinki. Recently, the film has passed censors in Pakistan (with 8 – 10 seconds cut) and will soon become the first non 35 mm, HDV feature film released in Pakistan cinema history. It also holds the distinction of being shot in 30 days.
Plot
"Doozakh-pur" (Hell's Ground) is a town that is notorious for crimes such as robberies and murders, and many lost commuters disappear without a trace. Some protesters are shown demonstrating against the act of polluting the drinking water. In the same scene, some villagers are seen gathering the same water for drinking purposes. Five college students, namely Vicky, Ayesha, Roxy, Simon, and O.J. are on their way to a concert. While in Hell's Ground they make a brief stop so O.J. could throw up near a river after eating spoiled LadduLaddu
Laddu or Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet popular in South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh as well as countries with immigrants from South Asia. Laddu is made of flour and sugar with other ingredients that vary by recipe...
s. While he is vomiting he is bit in the leg by an unknown man. After crying for help and escaping his attacker he rendezvous with his group and they decide to move on. However, they haven't driven too far when they run into a crowd of zombies in the woods, who has turned into the undead presumably because of the contamination in their local water. The group narrowly manages to escape. Later, when the group feels lost, they are left with no choice but to seek help from the local natives living in the isolation of the Jungle. Upon exploration, a strange man dressed in a robe and representing the attire of that of a Fakir
Fakir
The fakir or faqir ; ) Derived from faqr is a Muslim Sufi ascetic in Middle East and South Asia. The Faqirs were wandering Dervishes teaching Islam and living on alms....
agrees to help them. However, after witnessing his strange and obnoxious behavior the group decides to force the man out of the car. When he barricades the car with his body, Vicky drives over him, crushing his body. Eventually the rented van is out of gas, and Vicky decides to get help from a nearby house. Little did he know that the house was only used as a trap to lure visitors so they could be killed and butchered into pieces by a strange character wearing a Burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
. From that point the plot unfolds to reveal the fate of each character.
Ayesha
Ayesha is introduced as the Final girlFinal girl
The final girl is a trope in thriller and horror films that specifically refers to the last woman or girl alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story...
played by Rooshanie Ejaz. She is the modest one of the group, she has the most trouble getting permission to go on the road trip from her mother and does not smoke Marijuana like her friends. She is very religious and wears a necklace with "Allah hu Akbar" engraved on it.
Baley
Baley is the elder brother of the main killer and holds a similar profile to the Hitchhiker and Chop Top from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Baley's mother refers to him as a healer, he is introduced in a small tent reciting something, surrounded by candles, he gets into Vicky's van uninvited and gives them directions. He demands water and the teenagers tell him they don't have any, he retaliates by showing them a severed head of a previous victim and is immediately kicked out of the van. He is played by Salim Meraj.Bari Bua
Played by Najma Malik, Bari Bua is the mother and dominant member of the killer's family. She is initially shown as a sweet, hospitable woman living in a tent. She is widowed and she keeps the remains of her husband in a closet with his photograph attached to his skull. She dislikes urban development as the new highways are cutting the rest of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
from her humble village, but she does mention she is grateful to Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
as many customers come from the cities to purchase her "goats".
Burqaman
Played by Sultan Billa, the Burqaman is a large, hefty butcher wielding a morning star. The character is shown as a cross dresser, his history shows that he was born a boy, but as he grew up he became more feminine, started wearing make up and dressing like a girl. He is mute throughout the film, the only sound he makes is loud, heavy breathing. He works in a workshop where he butchers stranded travelers, his profile is similar to LeatherfaceLeatherface
Leatherface is the main antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror-film series and its spin-offs. He wears masks made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family. He is considered by many to be one of the first major slasher film villains alongside Michael...
, he also has one hole in his mask to see like Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th , as the son of camp cook-turned-murderer, Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S...
in Friday the 13th Part II.
Deewana
Deewana is the owner of a tea shop in the rural areas of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, played by Rehan, he is introduced as a retired actor who lost his career and ended up serving tea, the film does not explain how, but he denies being in the film industry when the teenagers ask him about it. He is proud of his shop and claims that many famous people including Queen Elizabeth, Lady Diana, Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
and Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
have visited his shop.
O.J.
A teenage stoner from IslamabadIslamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
played by Osman Khalid Butt, he is a fan of classic horror movies and is often seen smoking weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
, he is the first of the group to be attacked though he survives it, he later becomes a zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
and tries to attack Ayesha.
Roxy
A promiscuous teenage girl played by Rubya Chaudry. She is wealthy and spoiled by her family, she is Pakistani AmericanPakistani American
A Pakistani American is any citizen or resident of the United States who has Pakistani heritage.- History in the United States :Muslim immigrants from areas that are now part of Pakistan have been migrating to America and first entered the United States as early as the eighteenth century, working...
and longs to go back to the U.S. saying "Nothing can keep me in this stinkin' shithole".
Simon
Simon is a lower classed, but well educated boy from the minority ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
group of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He is bullied by his father who demotivates him from his studies telling him that the son of a sweeper will always be a sweeper. Like Ayesha he is slightly more innocent than his friends. He is played by Haider Raza.
Vicky
The unofficial leader of the group played by Kunwar Ali Roshan, he tries to be the dominant one and shows a courageous attitude whenever there is trouble, he drives the van for the group and is shown to be "in between" innocent and rule breaker, he tells O.J. to light up the charasCharas
Charas is the name given to a hashish form of cannabis which is hand-made in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and India. It is made from the resin of the cannabis plant...
but at the same time he is not obsessed with it, he isn't shown doing any drugs.
ZibahKhana is an Urdu word meaning slaughterhouse.
Zibahkhana will screen at the forthcoming Compass of Mystery Festival held in Bristol, UK on 18 October 2008.
Awards
- Won "Jury's Award for Best Film of 2008" at the Riofan Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Won "Jury's Special Award for Best Gore 2007" at the Fantastic Film Festival, Austin, Texas
- Won "Best Film" award at the Fantaspoa film festival 2009. Port Alegre, Brazil
External links
- 31 Flavors of Death - Bidoun magazine profile by Achal Prabhala http://www.bidoun.com/15_31flavorsofdeath.php
- - Official website
- Article on Zibahkhana - Time Magazine
- Zibahkhana at Fantastic Film Festival 2007, Austin, Texas
- Hell's Ground at the 2007 Philadelphia Film Festival
- zibahkhana at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...