Dark Match

I wasn't expecting much from this film but I was very surprised. As a big wrestling fan I had fun watching this cheese fest. But the reason I couldn't review this higher is because of the horrendous acting of Chris Jericho. As a former word champion I expected him to at least be able to act in a wrestling film of all things. But no his ridiculous bad guy cult leader is just painful to watch. He's more wooden than a barn door. Thankfully though the rest of the cast are fantastic. Well worth a watch just ignore Jericho and his obnoxious attempt at acting. Steven ogg as always is a huge shining show stealing star we need more of.

I'll admit despite the amateur theatric, jokey performances and(some) would say fake fighting, I would take wrestling over football anytime. At least there is a sense of fun, massive amounts of self-deprecating humour and fans that don't destroy front line service vehicles if their respective sides lose the game/battle.

It is the basis for one of the most underrated films of the last twenty five years-Stephen Merchants' Fighting With My Family and is the decent basis for a horror.

A group of wrestlers find themselves at the mercy of a group of bloodthirsty cult members.

The level of cheapness may put some off and the usual' tick box' of casting Ayisha Issa in the lead is tiresome. But remember, black woman are powerfully built and certainly would dominate the wrestling ring , she is no exception.

Her romance with the excellent Steven Ogg rings true and he convinces as a older wrestler just trying to earn a living.

This fun if forgettable horror is a mash up of The Running Man and The Wrestler.

Dark Match has a surprisingly unique premise, as we follow a group of wrestlers who sign up for an underground event called a "Dark Match." Shortly after the event begins, they realize that the stakes are much higher than championship belts and a few bruises.

The immediate eye-catcher for me was seeing Stephen Ogg in the cast. I've always liked his acting, and ever since GTA V was released, I've been a huge fan of him and his work. He is not the main character here, though; that role belongs more to his sort-of girlfriend, "Miss Behave," played by Ayisha Issa. Both actors portrayed their characters really well and got the most out of their roles, which were interesting in themselves. The rest of the cast, including Chris Jericho, was mostly good, with a few exceptions.

The movie features some entertaining wrestling sequences and consistently avoids becoming too predictable, always introducing something new to keep the audience engaged. At times, it felt like the film wanted to explore more themes than it could handle, which led to an inconsistent tone throughout. It also suffered from pacing issues and some poorly lit scenes. However, the strong characters and unique plot made up for those shortcomings. I found myself caring about the characters and genuinely curious to see what would happen next, which is generally a good sign.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't fully reach the potential of its premise, and there were only a few truly memorable moments. I enjoyed director Lowell Dean's previous WolfCop films for their trashy and schlocky charm, and while Dark Match had similar tones, it took a slightly more serious approach despite the bonkers plot. The film was overall enjoyable but also a bit messy and definitely flawed. Still, I had a decent time watching it, even though I don't know much about wrestling. I feel like fans of the sport could find even more to enjoy here, and I'm curious to see what director Lowell Dean does next. He always seems able to craft likable low-budget flicks with heart. [5.4/10]

Running a special show in a new arena, a woman hoping for a big break in her career joins several other local wrestlers in a run-down venue for a shady promoter, but when they start to become suspicious of their host they realize that there's Satanic rituals in play and must get away alive.

This was a bit underwhelming and had some issues with it. Among the main enjoyable factors with this one is the central setup of the group arriving at the venue and finding themselves at the beginning stages of the takeover. With just enough background on the different characters as to why they would go through the short-notice program just days before the supposed show, there's a lot to enjoy here with this one going for the slow-building revelation about them being duped once they get to the facility and put through the ringer during their matches. As the night goes on and they realize that the whole thing has been a setup, using the type of matches they're to go through involving special rules and stipulations as well as being fought to the death, this offers up an intriguing enough premise and some fine brutality in the action playing up to that. However, beyond that, there are some big drawbacks holding this back. The main detrimental factor here is that there's no clue what the plan for the villains really is as they introduce multiple plot threads to be an acceptable point but never settle on one. Initially brought into the venue thinking the purpose is to participate in a special show for locals only to get put off by the barbaric rituals, this sets up the idea of the show being a revenge killing against the new group arriving for the show. Then it brings up the purpose of the whole thing as a Satanic ritual used to summon their dark masters before bringing up the experience being recorded and broadcast to others who enjoy this kind of material and then finally a bit of revenge for his family. This is immensely disorganized and jarring leaving this one too scattered to be of much use. The other real detriment to this one is the rather unimpressive plot as a whole where it never really feels like much of an actual story is taking place. The idea of getting the group to the building and using them for nefarious purposes other than a wrestling card is fine, but how this one presents everything needs a lot of work. From the general lack of information on the different figures going along with the mission while also getting all the confusing information about the villains, what the purpose of the wrestling matches is supposed to accomplish, and where the throughline of the whole congregation of cultists getting what they wanted only to be turned off and frightened at it so the finale makes little sense, this has some real trouble getting some cohesion out of everything. As well as some rather obvious low-budget material found here, this one has some issues to hold it back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and drug use.

Also no pun intended - the Wolfcop is back ... well the actor himself only has a small part ... blink and you'll miss him. But the director thought of this little movie to do. I really wanted to like this more by the way ... but I think I am being way too fair with my rating as it is ... the idea is fun, I reckon and the characters have their moments.

But it can't really decide where to focus on ... Wrestling (some of the actors seem to have learned more or knew more than the others) or the horror of it all. The humor is hit and misses .. and even something I really loved (a Betamax versus VHS joke) probably will go over the head of most of those watching this ... we also get to see a bit of Chris Jericho and Steven Ogg ... and some other actors you may be aware of.

There is charm, there is humor ... but there is something missing ... the X factor ... that even the matches and the effects cannot really save (or put on top ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 and all that)