Dark
Match
2024
Director- Lowell Dean
Cast- Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Chris Jericho, Mo Adan, Jonathan Cherry, Sara
Canning, Michael Eklund, Jonathan Lepine, Justine Lawrick, Leo Farad, Mitch Clark
Something that
every organization or community has is its own lingo; phrases and terms that
outsiders don’t usually know. This is true for martial arts dojos, union halls,
the military, the boy scouts, and cults. Professional wrestling practically has
its own lexicon of hundreds of terms known only to its participants and loyal
fans.
The term in question here is “dark
match.” It refers to a non-televised match. In the old days it might be used to
describe matches before or after a televised show, or occasionally a
non-televised match where something unpopular might happen, like a heel (the
villain) winning a title.
The term isn’t used much
anymore since every organization is always looking for more content for all the
various streaming services. Today the much less menacing term “house show” is used
to describe non-televised events where fans can see their favorite wrestlers, usually
in much smaller venues, competing in matches that don’t affect the planned
storylines.
Dark Match follows a tiny
independent wrestling promotion in the late 1980s. Very small, it consists of a
handful of wrestlers, either past their prime or never having made it to the
big time. The protagonist of the film is Miss Behave (Ayisha Issa), a heel character
who regularly loses to her blonde babyface opponent, Kate the Great. Miss Behave
dreams of the big time but knows she’ll never get it working in the small
organization. Her boyfriend, Mean Joe Lean (Steven Ogg), is an aging former
champion on the tale end of his career.
The organization gets invited
to perform in a dark match for a celebration in a rural town. Even though it
seems sketchy, they are offered a sizable enough chunk of change to lure them
all in. After arriving, they find themselves the prisoners of a satanic cult
led by The Prophet, a former wrestler who had a religious gimmick and was
eventually black balled from wrestling (played by real life pro wrestling
champion Chris Jericho). The cult is planning an elaborate ritual that requires
five sacrifices and the wrestlers are forced to fight each other to the death.
It’s a fun concept and well
executed. There isn’t a lot of wasted time and we get to know the principal characters
pretty quick. The film doesn’t look cheap, but it does have a dull gritty appearance
that will remind you of watching an old VHS. If I had any complaint its that
only a few of the wrestlers’ characters are developed. I think of the classic fighting
match movies like Enter the Dragon or Bloodsport and those movies did a pretty
good job of giving a lot of the fighters distinct looks and personalities. Dark
Match could have benefited from more of that.
If you are old enough to
remember wrestling before the WWE was luring in global audiences, you’ll
remember the old regional promotions with wrestlers mainly known only to people
in a 3 or 4 state area. You might see the recorded matches televised on a local
channel on a Saturday afternoon and were just as likely to see the wrestlers
picking up a 6 pack at a local gas station as they passed through. Dark Match
conjures up just enough of that feel to cause some inner synapse zaps for
people that can remember those days.
Check it out it if you’re a
fan of wrestling and horror or if you are just looking for something different.
