Final Rating: 1.5/5
In Dark Match, directed by Lowell Dean, a wrestling company takes a well-paying gig in a small town but they soon find that things are not as they seem. The security is suspiciously heavily armed, the audience unnervingly cult-like, fully devoted to their mysterious leader. Each match features a gimmick based on one of the four classical elements of earth, water, fire, and air. And then there’s the detail that the matches only end when one combatant dies.
Dark Match starts off strong, introducing a central cast of faces and heels whose names tell you everything you need to know right away: Miss Behave (Ayisha Issa), Mean Joe Lean (Steven Ogg), Enigma Jones the Mute Mask, Joe Humble. The wrestlers are instantly memorable, each with their own distinct look, personality, and quirks. Each of the actors impressively pulls off a dual role, in and out of the ring.
The most exciting of these actors is AEW wrestler Chris Jericho, who plays the villainous cult leader Prophet. A former rival of Mean Joe Lean, Prophet turned to underground, independent wrestling after getting obsessed with the occult. Now, he masterminds fatal dark matches for some mysterious purpose.
But the film struggles immensely trying to settle on why the Prophet does what he does. Is he trying to summon Satan? Is he making snuff tapes to sell on the black market? Does he want revenge against Lean? While the answer is likely some mix of all three, the screenplay never ties any of those threads together. As a result, the Prophet is always just sitting in his chair, vaguely menacing, but increasingly clearly all bark and no bite. It’s a real shame, too, as Jericho seems like he could put in a good performance if he was allowed to do anything, but instead just ends up looming and smirking for an hour and a bit.
Unfortunately, the writing can’t bring out the potential in the other performances, either. Aside from Behave and Lean, who are the main characters of the film, no one has much to do. Humble, company star Lazarus Smashley (Leo Fafard), and the Beast Bros, as impressive as their names are, basically show up for one or two lines without affecting the film much. Kate the Great (Sara Canning) has maybe the third biggest role, but only really talks about how she and Behave are friends… or enemies. Sometimes both at the same time, or neither. It’s not quite clear.
There’s conviction in the acting, but everything feels disjointed. Smashley’s main line is about how his family was taken. It comes completely out of left field near the end of the film, unclear what he even means, and leaving him no time to elaborate before he dies. Kate clearly has an entire history with many other characters but doesn’t spend enough time with anyone for that to become interesting.
At 93 minutes, Dark Match isn’t long, but it drags. The main plotline involves a will-they-won’t-they romance between Behave and Lean that has its ups and downs, but never meaningfully changes. When the company arrives at the gig, a long section is devoted to a party with sinister undertones, but no character interactions. In a film with so much empty space, there’s no excuse for promising characters like Kate and Smashley to be underbaked.
Wrestling, but deadly, is a solid horror concept. Add the occult, and you’ve got the makings of a fun movie where over-the-top performers get to lean all the way into classic tropes while also having an excuse to beat each other up. There’s an exciting, schlocky potential to Dark Match as a campy midnight movie. Unfortunately, that potential is all there is.
Thank you to Route504 for the screener.
