Wrestlemaniac is a Surprisingly Good B-Movie
Wrestlemaniac has a good villain, excellent location, passable back story and the ‘dream team’ of horror victims.
Written by BHM Contributor Ronnie Angle
October 12, 2008
Wrestlemaniac Horror Movie Trailer
Release: March 11, 2008 (U.S. DVD)
Written and Directed by: Jesse Baget
Starring:
Rey Misterio Sr. as El Mascarado
Irwin Keyes as Stranger
Adam Huss as Alphonse
Leyla Milani as Dallas
Margaret Scarborough as Debbie
Jeremy Radin as Steve
Catherine Wreford as Daisy
Zack Bennett as Jimbo
I think it’s rather fitting and fairly obvious that I would write this review. Who better than BHM's resident wrestling horror freak Ronnie Angel? That a horror movie would be made based on my chosen profession of wrestling is odd, yes, yet it has been a long time coming. We have movies about killer ice cream men, clowns, truckers, baseball players and cheerleaders, after all. Why not a killer Luchador? Surprisingly Wrestlemaniac was not the average B movie – it was pretty well done!
Wrestlemaniac is about a van full of people traveling through Mexico to a porn shoot location. Wow… can’t ask for a better slasher-film setup than that. The characters include the sleazy porn director/star, the sluggy blonde, the sexy/sassy Asian contortionist, the nerdy cameraman and a random drunk girl with her stoner friend. This�is a veritable dream-team of victims with those last two having seemingly no purpose whatsoever other than being victims.
The crew gets lost in the desert and, despite the standard warning by the standard gas station weirdo they decide to stop at the reported home of a killer Luchador.
Now the backstory; El Mascarado (played by Rey Misterio Sr., not the more well known Rey Jr,) was a Luchadore, or a traditional Mexican wrestler, in the 1960s. He was also part of some government experiment and apparently snapped and started to kill his opponents in the ring. Consequently he was exiled to the far-off ghost town of La Sangre De Dios for “treatment”. This is, of course, the same place that our dream team ends up. and film some hot action scenes as well while they are there.
Can you guess what happens next? The crew, of course, runs into El Mascarado who offs them one by one in a horrible way. See, Mascarado is propelled by the rules of 
Lucha which means that when an opponent is defeated the victor takes their mask. Obviously most people don’t wear masks every day, so in this case he takes the next closes thing… their faces! Yikes! Ouch!
The only way to stop this Luchador is to take his mask. Standard but unapologetic slasher fare ensures, sometimes crossing the line into hilarity. In the final chase scene, for example, the Asian girl gets soaking wet and looses her shorts, leaving her to run around in a wet T-shirt and panties for the rest of the film. Very subtle.
All jokes aside, Wrestlemaniac is actually a really decent little B-movie. Sure there is enough cheese to keep a McDonalds in business for weeks… but there is more to this film than that. The back-story is excellent and the setting is amazing. Wrestlemaniac is one of the more original ideas I have seen put to use in a horror film in years. The jokes are good and, save for a couple characters that are offed right away, the acting is pretty damn good for this type of movie.
The villain, Mascarado, is quite good and I hope will be put to good use again. Based on the ending this is a real possibility. The music works well in this film as well. The gore-dogs out there will be particularly pleased with this one – there is plenty of it.
Wrestlemaniac has good gore, colorful victims, a great villain and some genuine edge- of-the-seat moments. All in all I was pleasantly surprised by this little B movie and can recommend it with a clear conscience. Questions or comments about Wrestlemaniac? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
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