Take my word for it – you don’t need to be a professional wrestling fan to be drawn to the devastating true story of the Von Erich family. A24’s new film “The Iron Claw” seeks to tell the story of Kevin, Kerry, David, and Mike Von Erich, four brothers whose famed wrestling careers were eventually overshadowed by lives of trouble and tragedy. The sobering first trailer dropped today and it gives us a good taste of the meteoric highs and disastrous lows that this complicated family faced.
The film is directed by Sean Durkin (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”, “The Nest”) and stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, and Stanley Simons as the Von Erich brothers. It also stars Holt McCallany as their father and wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich. This first look shows Durkin giving equal time to both the professional and personal side of their lives. I can’t imagine it will be an easy watch, but it looks to be a thoroughly compelling one.
“The Iron Claw” opens in theaters on December 22nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Keith & the Movies 
I’ll watch it but when it is released on DVD.
Hopefully it’ll be soon. I’m really excited to give it a look.
I think it could be very good, but I have to admit that I find bad wigs in any film highly distracting. I graduated high school in 1981, so I’ve seen plenty of big hair.
There’s some wild hair for sure. But the cast did impress me (in that small sample size).
Fuck yeah I want to see this. I know the story of the Von Erichs as I’m intrigued to see what Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White could as Kevin and Kerry. I’m also intrigued to see MJF as the fake Von Erich cousin Lance as well as Ryan Nemeth as Gino Hernandez, and Chavo Guerrero Jr. as the Sheik (not the Iron Sheik aka Sheiky Baby) who is also a consultant in the film.
I know the story well and it should be a sobering watch. Im encouraged that someone like A24 is doing it. Let’s me know it’s more that some garden variety biopic.
Pass
Boo Hiss
Not on Keith
My dad was a close acquaintance of Fritz so I knew them all quite well, in the ring and out of it. They were at the top of their game during my childhood and rarely did I miss a night of Saturday Night Wrestling.
What I remember most is how they never broke character around me, to the point my friends and I were in utter shock when they had wrestling at our local high school and we snuck in to the locker room through a back door we had unlocked when the ring was being set up. And there sat the Von Erichs laughing it up with the evil Gary Hart! It couldn’t be! Was it fake? 😳 No, because Kevin recognized me and called us in explain they were just being nice to him to get him to let his guard down. Underhanded for the good guys, yet it was effective!
I’m looking forward to this movie and hope they do the family justice, who were just normal people in the spotlight, where the fame wasn’t kind to them. A sad story for sure.
WOW. That’s an amazing personal story. What an amazing connection to have. As for the movie, I’m really happy A24 is putting it out. They tend to do a more reverent job that some of the bigger studios.
Yeah, it was fun back in those days. Of course we just knew them like many locals, so wasn’t a big deal to anyone. I’m wondering if the movie will address CTE and everything we’ve learned (mostly from football) about it. Remembering back I vividly recall them having concussions (and having headaches) over and over yet back in those days you were expected to “shake it off”.
Exactly. There was nowhere near the attention given to it like there is today.