Taking its name from an industry term for a non-televised fight that typically takes place before the main event to hype up a crowd, Canadian filmmaker Lowell Dean’s latest feature, Dark Match, almost exemplifies its title too well – presenting viewers with an infernal smackdown that feels more like a taster for a brutal satanic slobberknocker than a marquee-worthy event in its own right.
Miss Behave (Ayisha Issa) is fed up with the pecking order in her amateur wrestling league; stuck playing the heel to more popular performers like Kate the Great (Sara Canning), Miss Behave desires her own spotlight and hero storyline, but money, as is typical, comes first. Hard up for cash, she reluctantly agrees to join her fellow wrestlers for a dark match roadshow in the boonies, where she, Kate and the rest of their ragtag team (Steven Ogg, Jonathan Cherry, Mo Jabari, Michael Eklund) come up against a mysterious cult leader (Chris Jericho) whose staged bouts double as both entertainment for his bloodthirsty devotees and demonic ritual. Pitted against each other in five natural element themed match-ups, Miss Behave and her cohorts will have to flex their collective muscles and keep their wits about them if they want to live to rassle another day.
Best known for the hilariously hirsute WolfCop (2014) and its dirtier, hairier sequel, Dean chose to play things a bit more straight with his apocalyptic adventure SuperGrid (2018), and though the logline for Dark Match sounds more in line with the loose and parodic delights of his earlier work, the writer/director continues this trend of keeping things a little more grounded than the world demands. Set in the ‘80s, but not at all convincingly, Dark Match’s crew of ambitious nonprofessional brawlers are awfully flat next to the big hair and bigger characters that helped the industry surge in popularity on prime-time television throughout the decade, and the film seems almost disinterested in the joyous, cornball theatrics that endeared this style of physical performance to legions of die-hards.
Dean is more focused on toying with the now overfamiliar Satanic panic era fears of snuff films and ritual sacrifice, but again, treats the inherently ridiculous with (if not quite deadly seriousness) a fairly reserved, sober tone that can’t help but feel like a letdown when all you really want is to see Chris Jericho chowing down on scenery. Though the AEW superstar is somewhat wasted, Issa is a compelling enough presence that it’s easy to root for her even if she’s ultimately just as underwritten as the rest of her team. The bouts themselves are staged with enough athletic prowess, strong choreography, and handheld camera work to keep viewers involved despite the lack of flash and drama.
But, if there’s one thing Dark Match gets right about showmanship, it’s to always leave ‘em wanting more, and the film ends on a thrilling though frustratingly tardy supernatural note that fully delivers on the premise way too late. The cut to the credits is a simultaneous high and anticlimax, leaving Dark Match feeling like it’s all been a warm up for something truly great. “I told ya it’d be a barn burner” says one character in the film’s closing minutes; Dean may unfortunately leave the barn standing, but we’ll be looking forward to the next bout.
Movie Score: 2.5 / 5
Rocco T. Thompson is a writer and critic based in Austin, Texas. His work is frequently featured in Rue Morgue where he penned the cover story for the magazine's first ever Queer Fear special issue, and he served as producer for In Search of Darkness: Part III, the final installment in the popular ‘80s horror documentary series.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
