Get ready to rumble, because the tumultuous tale of the legendary Von Erich professional wrestling dynasty is coming to the big screen in all its gaudy glory.
When is The Iron Claw being released in New Zealand?
The Iron Claw hits New Zealand cinemas on January 25, 2024.
The Iron Claw
What is The Iron Claw about?
Written and directed by Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene), The Iron Claw takes us into the high stakes, high-injury-rate world of professional wrestling in the terrifically tacky 1980s. Specifically, we’re here for the tale of the hard-hitting Von Erich clan, whose patriarch, Fritz von Erich, pushed five of his sons into the ring with… well, mixed results. There’s a reason the phrase “Von Erich Curse” exists. So, we’re looking at a tale of athletic excellence, generational trauma, and, ultimately, tragedy.
The cast of The Iron Claw
Holt McCallany is Fritz, while former child star Zac Efron, lingerie model Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman are Kevin, Kerry, David, Mike, and Lance Von Erich, respectively. Maura Tierney is Von Erich mum Doris, Lily James is Kevin’s wife Pam Adkisson, and Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Ryan Nemeth, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Brady Pierce, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, and Kevin Anton round out the ensemble. Weirdly, Chris Von Erich, Fritz’s youngest son, has been excised from the film. That’s a bit weird.
The Iron Claw trailer
Why we’re excited about The Iron Claw
All we can say for sure is when we mentioned that this film was in the pipeline to a number of friends who are deeply into wrestling, the universal response was something along the lines of “Holy shit, you are not going to believe this story.” To be sure, the critics are loving it too, praising the performances and the wrestling choreography, but it’s the turnbuckle-head opinion that really counts on this one. Certainly, there are a number of historical accuracies (whither Chris Von Erich, as we pondered earlier) but that’s just showbiz, baby.
