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Who said pro wrestling is fake and doesn’t even hurt for real? Certainly not anyone who has participated in a (literally) deadly wrestling card designed by a satanist wrestler himself! From the creator of the excellent “Wolfcop” movies comes his newest wrestling feature film, with a fatal twist, “Dark Match,” starring real-life pro wrestling legend Chris Jericho, which made its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival.
Nick (Ayisha Issa), more commonly known under her wrestling alias Miss Behave, is dragged into an untelevised wrestling event by her promoter, Rusty (Jonathan Cherry; “Final Destination 2”; both “Wolfcop” movies). Along with them are their usual buddies and colleagues, including “Mean” Joe Lean (Steven Ogg; “The Walking Dead”; “Scared Shitless,” which is also world premiering at Fantasia this year, as well as the voice of Trevor Phillips in the video game “Grand Theft Auto V”), Kate the Great (Sara Canning; 2021’s “Superhost” and 2022’s “Influencer”), and a few other charismatic entertainers.
The location seems cheap and shady, but the paycheck is undeniable. Little do they know that the whole event has been organized by a pro wrestler named “The Prophet” (pro wrestling legend Chris Jericho), who has rigged the whole event to ensure that sacrifices are made and blood will fill the ring; no blading required. Brace yourself for a wrestling card with deadly gimmicks like no other!
Lowell Dean returns with his first film in six years and does it with style. Bringing back some familiar faces (including Leo Fafard, Lou Garou from the “Wolfcop” movies), who interprets a wrestler himself, Dean creates a true homage to independent wrestling. With blood, sweat, and tears, their tough, in-the-shadows journey through rabid fans and humble venues is depicted throughout the film.
However, he adds a much more violent, gory, and deadly variation to it with the Prophet’s satanic event. This latest project of his definitely has less humor than the cult “Wolfcop” franchise, demonstrating a much darker (pun intended) side of his directing. After the world premiere’s screening, during the Q&A, where most of the cast was present, Dean was asked how the idea for this film came to him.
He described being a wrestling fan as a child, then drifting away from it before being invited to an indie event in Canada and realizing how insanely passionate the fans were, as well as the connection with the crowd that the performers had developed. “It’s a cult,” he thought, and thus “Dark Match” came to light. He certainly did his homework, as lots of wrestling lingo can be detected and understood by the most hardcore wrestling fans. Not to mention some speeches from the Prophet sounding almost like old-school Chris Jericho promos throughout his wrestling career.
One simply cannot go wrong with the cast at hand. Ayisha Issa definitely grows on the audience as the strong, silent type who is the only instinctive wrestler of her group to suspect something sinister about their special wrestling event. Steven Ogg almost has that Hulk Hogan look going for him while bringing some fierce charisma to the table. Jonathan Cherry is hilarious and credible as always, not to mention absolutely killing it as an in-ring wrestling announcer.
Sara Canning chimes in with that refreshing bubbliness that everyone loves. Meanwhile, writer/director Lowell Dean actually brought wrestling credibility into the ring by integrating some real-life wrestlers to their group in Justin Lawrick and Mo Adan, the latter interpreting the masked and silent “Enigma,” who brings such a lovable presence to the screen despite uttering no words. Jericho, as the malevolent antagonist, brings an evil side to his character reminiscent of his mischievous Y2J days.
If there were some details to be picky about, it would ironically be about the wrestling (and, of course, brutal fighting) action itself. Like some movies mistakenly do, the camera is zoomed in far too close to the action, shaking about, thus blurring the onscreen battle and reducing the overall appreciation for the audience. For wrestling fans, some of the matches seem very rushed. Then again, you can’t expect to have multiple real-life 20-minute matches within a 94-minute runtime. To make up for that, the violence is brutal, the gore is decent, and the gimmicks of the matches associated with the elements on Earth are definitely creative.
With a killer soundtrack (including Chris Jericho’s own band, Fozzy!), a phenomenal cast, and the perfect harmony between wrestling and horror, “Dark Match” is simple, unadulterated fun. Horror fans will enjoy it. Wrestling fans will love it. Fans of both will ADORE it! With an ending you won’t see coming, you won’t want to miss Lowell Dean’s latest feature film, which merits itself a beautiful 4 eyes out of 5.
