Welcome II the Terrordome

This feature debut is an angry uncompromising take on race relations, guaranteed to put liberals on edge. Set ten or 15 years on in a claustrophobic black ghetto, it's the story of Spike (Nonyela) and his girlfriend Jodie (Burrows). Tensions are already running high - Jodie's pregnant and white - when a black kid is killed in a police raid and his mother goes on a vengeful killing spree. Onwurah's dystopia isn't a comfortable place to be and the film isn't easy to watch. The makers have done wonders with a minuscule budget, creating a stylised but still credible environment hemmed in by metal cages, pierced by strobing searchlights and a bombardment of urgent rap. This is a world which doesn't breathe so much as pant. The acting, however, is variable, and the movie is sometimes both naive and repetitive. Imperfect, then, but also provocative: it never lies down on you.