Movies - TV
The New Zac Efron Wrestling Movie Is Based On A Tragic True Story
By BJ COLANGELO
It was recently announced Sean Durkin, the mind behind films like "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and "The Nest," is working with A24 on his next film, "The Iron Claw," set to star Zac Efron. The title comes from the nickname and trademark move of professional wrestler Fritz Von Erich, a 23-time world champion and the patriarch of the legendary Von Erich family of wrestlers.
There have always been rumors that the Von Erichs weren't as heroic as they appeared, but given the circumstances of their eventual, cataclysmic demise and their legacy in the industry, many have chosen to let sleeping dogs lie. While Fritz Von Erich passed away due to natural causes, at the time of his death, he had lost five of his six children in unexpected and gruesome ways, including three suicides.
It's been called "The Von Erich Family Curse," with some antisemites even believing their deaths were part of a revenge plot from Holocaust victims for Fritz's years of making light of genocide by playing a Nazi character. Their devastating history has been compared numerous times to that of the Kennedys, and was the subject of one of the best episodes of "Dark Side of the Ring," which featured Kevin as "The Last of the Von Erichs."
This is all to say that given the intensity of Durkin's usual filmography and the real-life story of the family, it's safe to assume that this film is going to be dark, depressing, and difficult to watch. Hopefully, A24 and Durkin have been in communication with living members of the dynasty, so as to not exploit the disconsolate truth of the Von Erich family deaths.