A small crew of amateur pornographers head south-of-the-border in a van to find filming locations. In a drug-addled haze they lose direction, by-and-by ending up in a decrepit abandoned town. Finding this mysterious spot ideal for filming, they proceed to shoot their impromptu porn scenes and are having a great time...until they find themselves in a life-or-death face-off with a psychotic Mexican wrestling legend who inhabits the creepy ghost town in solitude.
This little movie surprised the hell out of me. This is not to say that I'm falling all over myself with praise for the high production qualities and flawless execution of WRESTLEMANIAC(which, truth be known, are merely average, or perhaps slightly better thanks to some interesting camera-work and a great atmospheric filming location). What I AM more enthusiastic about is the canny and eccentric handling of the material which, despite having a mildly intriguing slant in it's storyline, treads some mighty tired slasher ground. The characters(all complete losers, but likable regardless) are well written, and deliberately almost over-the-top. This makes sense, however, as the whole affair crackles with a mordant undercurrent and winks knowingly as it tosses out every exploitation film cliché in the book. Make no mistake, though...this isn't a genre parody. There is actually a decent buildup of suspense, and some brisk action(not to mention a few really gross gore moments)...it almost plays like a homage to grindhouse cinema without being a complete contrivance(unlike some films by a certain Hollywood Golden Boy who shall remain nameless). Performances are a tad spotty, but the largely unknown cast members handle their parts capably enough(and all obligatory female eye-candy bases are definitely covered).
Although it isn't by any means a stellar or important picture, it succeeds quite nicely as fodder entertainment...wisely, it never aspires to be anything more.
I enjoyed WRESTLEMANIAC as the base-level cheap thrill ride that it intended to be, and I'm not a bit sorry for it. 6/10
This little movie surprised the hell out of me. This is not to say that I'm falling all over myself with praise for the high production qualities and flawless execution of WRESTLEMANIAC(which, truth be known, are merely average, or perhaps slightly better thanks to some interesting camera-work and a great atmospheric filming location). What I AM more enthusiastic about is the canny and eccentric handling of the material which, despite having a mildly intriguing slant in it's storyline, treads some mighty tired slasher ground. The characters(all complete losers, but likable regardless) are well written, and deliberately almost over-the-top. This makes sense, however, as the whole affair crackles with a mordant undercurrent and winks knowingly as it tosses out every exploitation film cliché in the book. Make no mistake, though...this isn't a genre parody. There is actually a decent buildup of suspense, and some brisk action(not to mention a few really gross gore moments)...it almost plays like a homage to grindhouse cinema without being a complete contrivance(unlike some films by a certain Hollywood Golden Boy who shall remain nameless). Performances are a tad spotty, but the largely unknown cast members handle their parts capably enough(and all obligatory female eye-candy bases are definitely covered).
Although it isn't by any means a stellar or important picture, it succeeds quite nicely as fodder entertainment...wisely, it never aspires to be anything more.
I enjoyed WRESTLEMANIAC as the base-level cheap thrill ride that it intended to be, and I'm not a bit sorry for it. 6/10