For years there has been a high crossover between fans of horror and wrestling. Now, in Lowell Dean’s Dark Match the two collide on-screen as a travelling wrestling troupe find themselves the pawns in a dangerous performance orchestrated by a wrestling worshipping cult. This marriage is set to be heaven on screen for horror and wrestling fans as Dark Match is filled to bursting with intricate grapples and gore-soaked chaos.
Set during the late 80s, Dark Match is yet another film that is tapping into the nostalgia of the bygone era. However, where others lean heavily into the decade, Dark Match is not overtly 80s. The time period is merely a backdrop and a way to explain the popularity of touring groups of wrestlers. Dark Match is a welcome respite from the Stranger Things saccharine, and instead conjures up the greasy vibe of the era. In this way it is similar to fellow 2024, 1980s-set thriller, Love Lies Bleeding, the focus on muscular being a further similarity. Otherwise the pair are very different creations.
In the world of wrestling there are Faces (the ‘good’ guys) and Heels (the ‘bad’ guys), and Dark Match opts to follow the path of the Heels. It’s an interesting tact to take as it forces the audience to root for who, when performing at least, are the villains. Showing the truth behind the Heels offers an insightful perspective and commentary on the difference between the mask and the person behind it. Dark Match studies the relationship between fan and famous personas in a very interesting way. Leading the pack are Miss Behave (Ayisha Issa) and Joe Mean the Lean (Steven Ogg), two very sympathetic Heels who draw the viewer into their drama.
That the primary lead is a female wrestler continues the trend set out in Love Lies Bleeding and the revival of Gladiators of muscle mammas ruling 2024. More than just celebrating a muscular female figure, by making the lead a woman, Dark Match makes itself very progressive for the wrestling world. Although women have been a part of the wrestling industry for years, many of them were used purely for eye candy. This is exactly the stigma that Miss Behave is trying to break away from, with Ayisha Issa perfectly encapsulating her frustration. Also amongst the female wrestlers is Sara Canning who plays Miss Behave’s arch rival, Kate the Great, with the rest of the group made up of variations of popular wrestlers from yesteryear.
Not content to fill his roster of wrestlers with actors, Dean also places the well known real-life wrestling star, Chris Jericho, into the piece. He stars as Joe Mean’s bitter rival, Prophet, and although his screen time is fleeting, he is in ultimate beast mode whenever the camera is on him. A lifelong fan of horror, Jericho is having a whale of time, and as he enters, the bloodshed begins. Miss Behave and Joe Mean find themselves seduced by the townsfolk at their latest stop, but as the fighting starts the two realise that it is far more real than their normal displays. The battles are ritualistic, with each focussing on a different element, a move that weirdly conjures up thoughts of Paul W. S Anderson’s Mortal Kombat. Like Mortal Kombat the fight sequences are suitably weird, and heavy on the blood and guts.
In all the best ways, Dark Match plays like The Iron Claw and Glow meets The Wicker Man. Its analysis of the cutthroat world of low budget circuit wrestling is fascinating, as is its exploration of the cult of wrestling. A welcome marriage of two popular fandoms, Dark Match is a gore-soaked great time.
Dark Match
Summary
Hardcore to the extreme, Dark Match investigates the cult of wrestling in gleefully horrific ways.
Dark Match was reviewed at Fantasia 2024. It will next screen in the UK at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest.
