Hmmm, I saw the director actually respond to comments on the discussion boards, and I'm sure he's not a bad person, so I will keep this "civil".
Part of my problem with this was that I was hoping from the title to see "El Santo/Luchadore/Mexican Wrestler" style silliness, but what I got was straight horror with a few comedic elements, done on the cheap.There were still elements of a good story in here...although I can't help but wonder why, if the guy had so much money and power, "Angus" didn't just hire a hit-man/sniper to kill "Shane" for revenge. Selling your soul to the devil so you can raise the dead and kill a whole bunch of innocent people along with your target seems to be the long way around.
The story is all over the place, the pacing is off, most of the wrestlers are oddly unimpressive once removed from the usual "RAW" type staged events, the soundtrack is irritating generic Death Metal, most of the scenes seem disconnected from each other to the point of incoherence (cast members seem to wander off and appear in various parts of the prison with no transition). And the artistic choices (depiction of the blood and guts, lighting, costumes, zombie makeup, fight choreography, etc) range from cheesy to disgusting to laughable. It's possible that the film makers just had problems adjusting to telling a movie-length story, as opposed to the episodic 10 minute "soap opera in spandex" stuff they usually do. Or even how to choreograph a movie fight vs one for a TV show. Or they were hamstrung by a tight budget.
It's not totally worthless. There are some good individual shots and set-ups here and there. Piper manages to salvage most of the scenes he is in, and the script gives him some decent lines to deliver now and then. No one here can really act, but now and then a cast member will let some actual personality escape in front of the camera, and you are reminded these are actual human beings trying to hit their marks and deliver their lines convincingly. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is always a hoot to watch. And the bagpipe music that accompanies the ending credits is a lot of fun.
This is not the worst movie I've ever seen, or even seen lately. Compared to "Birdemic"or "Project Of Evil", this is like "Blade Runner". But you can give this one a miss unless you want to see every last bit of footage ever made with your Pro Wrestling favorites.
Part of my problem with this was that I was hoping from the title to see "El Santo/Luchadore/Mexican Wrestler" style silliness, but what I got was straight horror with a few comedic elements, done on the cheap.There were still elements of a good story in here...although I can't help but wonder why, if the guy had so much money and power, "Angus" didn't just hire a hit-man/sniper to kill "Shane" for revenge. Selling your soul to the devil so you can raise the dead and kill a whole bunch of innocent people along with your target seems to be the long way around.
The story is all over the place, the pacing is off, most of the wrestlers are oddly unimpressive once removed from the usual "RAW" type staged events, the soundtrack is irritating generic Death Metal, most of the scenes seem disconnected from each other to the point of incoherence (cast members seem to wander off and appear in various parts of the prison with no transition). And the artistic choices (depiction of the blood and guts, lighting, costumes, zombie makeup, fight choreography, etc) range from cheesy to disgusting to laughable. It's possible that the film makers just had problems adjusting to telling a movie-length story, as opposed to the episodic 10 minute "soap opera in spandex" stuff they usually do. Or even how to choreograph a movie fight vs one for a TV show. Or they were hamstrung by a tight budget.
It's not totally worthless. There are some good individual shots and set-ups here and there. Piper manages to salvage most of the scenes he is in, and the script gives him some decent lines to deliver now and then. No one here can really act, but now and then a cast member will let some actual personality escape in front of the camera, and you are reminded these are actual human beings trying to hit their marks and deliver their lines convincingly. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is always a hoot to watch. And the bagpipe music that accompanies the ending credits is a lot of fun.
This is not the worst movie I've ever seen, or even seen lately. Compared to "Birdemic"or "Project Of Evil", this is like "Blade Runner". But you can give this one a miss unless you want to see every last bit of footage ever made with your Pro Wrestling favorites.