Dark Match Review – Retro Horror Swings Fast and Hits Hard

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Wrestling and horror collide inLowell Dean’stroma-inspiredDark Match, streaming on Shudder Friday, January 31st. It’s a gritty and grimy throwback to the heyday of the WWE and VHS cassette tapes. Dean — who previously brought audiences the audacious cult classicWolf Cop— has a knack for the absurd, and showcases his talents with a clever homage to exploitation and grindhouse cinema.

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A struggling wrestling company accepts a gig in a small, backwoods town. The offer feels off somehow, but the pay is too good to pass up. Soon, the band of wrestlers find themselves fighting for their lives after it’s revealed that the town consists of an active cult, under the leadership of a menacing man known as Prophet.

The review

Cults — along with werewolves and witches — are among my favorite horror movie subjects. Cults aren’t exactly underused as sources of terror in cinema, and their stories and their purposes tend to stay within the same clichéd framework.Dark Matchis no different, featuring a prophetic leader, ceremonial sacrifices and the desire to awaken an unknown dark force to rule the Earth. It’s what Dean does with the genre that allows it to stand out as its own unique vision.

Through the use of unnatural neon lights clashing against muted backdrops with grainy imagery,Dark Matchtransports viewers back to a historic time in cinema. The film’s aesthetic, harkening back to the era of 1970’s grindhouse, intentionally (and successfully) captures the feeling of watching a VHS tape. It’s a vibrant love letter to the bonkers, boundary pushing films of the exploitation era.

Dark Match

Interestingly, the film focuses on the “heels” of the wrestling brigade, the villainous characters intended to act as the disposable foe for the crowd favorite heroes. Among these “villains” are Miss Behave (Ayisha Issa) and Mean Joe Lean (Steven Ogg), perhaps best known for playing Simon inThe Walking Deador Trevor inGrand Theft Auto V. By allowing the “bad guys” to act as the protagonists, we’re given an inside look at the staging of a match and a more layered examination of our leads.

Wrestling fans will be delighted to see WWE legend Chris Jericho taking on the role of Prophet, the man behind the ill-fated match and the town’s charasmatic leader with a dark past. It’s details like these, and the continued use of pro-wrestling lingo, that suggest Dean has a true passion for the sport. The film’s title,Dark Match,refers to an untelevised match that acts as a warmup preluding a televised event. Of course, there’s a second meaning relating to the dark nature of the team’s fate.

Dark Match 2

IsDark Matchworth watching?

Dark Matchis a tag team duo of fun and absurdity, a gore fueled journey through hell that lands square in the center of a wrestling ring. As an homage to the genre that inspired it,Dark Matchis a rousing success, bouncing off the ropes and delivering a powerhouse kick of vintage appeal. Steven Ogg is the standout, bringing a surprising softness to the stereotypically grizzled wrestler.