Tags:
Film: Dark Match
Year: 2024
Director: Lowell Dean
Writer: Lowell Dean
Starring: Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg and Chris Jericho
Review:
This was a film that I decided to check out since I’m unable to go to the movie theater at this time due to the birth of my son, David. I went through my streaming services, added to my lists 2025 wide release films so I could continue my pace and have featured reviews on these podcasts. This one sounded the most interesting of the ones that were available that I hadn’t seen.
Synopsis: a small-time wrestling company accepts a well-paying gig in a backwoods town only to learn, too late, that the community is run by a mysterious cult leader with devious plans for their matches.
This has an interesting way to start that I appreciate. We are at an event and we’re introduced to the members of this independent wrestling company as they describe ahead of their matches. Ones of note are Lazarus Smashley (Leo Fafard) who is against Mean Joe Lean (Steven Ogg). He’s the main star currently as well. Kid Humble (Mitchell Clarke) is fighting Enigma (Mo Jabari), a tag team of Thick (Jonathan Lepine) and Thin (Justin Lawrick) who are going up against the Beast Brothers, Wicked Wolf (Andrew Lewis) and Bad Badger (David Mercer). The main event is a women's match between Miss Behave (Ayisha Issa) and Kate the Great (Sara Canning).
A major issue here is that Kate the Great is a ‘face’ so she wins over Miss Behave. She gets upset during the end of the match and hits Kate, for real without pulling it. Miss Behave is also seeing Joe. She tells him that it might be time to move on since they’re never going to give her a shot at the title. The guy who runs the company is Rusty (Jonathan Cherry). He had to dock her pay. There are no hard feelings, it is just business.
That night he gets a call from a mysterious person. They’ve been trying to get this group to go out of their way to a dark show. Rusty tells them the price to do it and they agree. The crew loads up and heads out. When they arrive, there are red flags. There isn’t a hotel. It is a large community. There is a welcome party for the visitors and it is here that Joe gets drugged and panics. He thinks that a former opponent of his is here. He went by the name of The Prophet (Chris Jericho). Now he’s going by the Leader.
There are things that happen and it causes tension the next morning. Regardless, the show must go on. Miss Behave looks at the match-ups and they notice something odd. The types of matches are associated with the elements. There is a wind, water, earth, inferno and the last is a mystery match. The first up is Thick and Thin against the Beast Brothers, but there’s something not quite right about how intense things are. We are seeing things from the point of view of the ‘heels’ and they’re now fighting for their lives.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I did love the concept here. This definitely was made by someone who loves wrestling. Getting Chris Irvine aka Jericho is a good pickup. Knowing that he’s a horror fan helps for sure. It also looks like Jabari might also be a wrestler, but I don’t recognize him. What is interesting here is that we’re incorporating things that I enjoy like a cult, rituals and then the backdrop of wrestling, it makes for an intriguing idea.
Let’s then delve deeper into what we’re getting here and I’ll begin with the wrestling aspect. This is acknowledging the truth that professional wrestling is predetermined who wins. Notice here that I’m not saying it is fake. People can get hurt. The moves that they do cause pain. They are choreographed in a way to alleviate as much of that as possible. Leader is annoyed that people think it is fake so he’s taking these a step farther to show it isn’t. These matches are to the death. I do like that they’re done in ritualistic sacrifice style where each one is corresponding with an element. There is a great reveal here though showing that a cult leader will do things even if they don’t believe it. It shows it is all about control.
Something I’ll also credit here is the names of the wrestlers. They are clever like Miss Behave, Mean Joe Lean, Thick and Thin. I’ve already said that I like films with cults in them so having a wrestler who was religious and going by the Prophet, then becoming the Leader is a good touch. It is even more terrifying that they’re in his compound that is in line with someone like David Koresh or Jim Jones. These two and their groups are inspirations. It helps build the atmosphere.
Next then will be discussing filmmaking aspects. I’ve already said that I liked the atmosphere and I think that the cinematography helps there. They’re able to frame things in a way where it almost feels surreal. There are moments where people are drugged and they capture that well. If I have a gripe, you can tell that these wrestling scenes are filmed without the crowd so it does lose that element. It gives us shots of them to make us think they’re there. It just is missing that vibe of watching a match on television. The effects though are done practically and are brutal. I did love that. Soundtrack also helps build what was needed with the vibes. There is a gripe that I have where for whatever reason, it just is missing something and feels incomplete.
All that is left then is acting performances. I like Issa as our lead. Something I haven’t brought up is that she has these dreams of becoming champion, both figurative and literal. She plays a good heel wrestler. Unfortunately, Ogg does steal the show though. I’m just a fan of his, first hearing his voice in Grand Theft Auto V. He has a grimy feel that fits a guy who’s been an indie wrestler for decades and can’t give it up. Jabari is interesting as this masked guy. Canning, Fafard, Clarke, Lepine, Lawrick, Lewis, Mercer and any other wrestlers are good. Jericho is great as our villain. The cult members also round this out for what is needed.
In conclusion, this film was one that sounded interesting and I enjoyed my time. They do well at capturing this independent wrestling production, then putting them in a compound where a cult is forcing them into a ritual. The acting performances are good to bring their characters to life. This is made well enough to capture the atmosphere through the setting, cinematography, framing and the brutal effects. If I have a gripe, it just feels a bit disjointed and doesn’t fully come together. Still enjoyed my time and glad that I sought this out for sure. I would recommend it, especially if you are a horror fan who loves wrestling.
My Rating: 7 out of 10