There are few sports stories as bizarre and tragic as tale of the Von Erich family, a family of professional wrestlers whose luck was so singularly awful that it popularized something called the “Von Erich Curse.” Was the curse real? You might find out if you watch “The Iron Claw,” the upcoming sports drama from A24 and filmmaker Sean Durkin, named after the wrestling move the family popularized. And you can watch the trailer above.
An extremely chiseled Zac Efron stars as Kevin, Jeremy Allen White (equally buff) as Kerry, Harris Dickinson as David and Holt McCallany as their domineering father Fritz. (Part of Fritz’s schtick early in his wrestling career was dressing as an evil Nazi character.) Maura Tierney and Lily James also star.
If you know anything about the Von Erich Curse (or watched the episode of “Dark Side of the Ring” that brutally recounted the saga), you know that the brothers were extremely skilled physically but carried a lot of weight around emotionally and psychologically. How that weight was applied and how it led to many of them battling some serious demons will no doubt be dramatized in the movie.
“The Iron Claw” is only Durkin’s third movie as a writer/director after 2011’s buzzy “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and 2020’s elliptical “The Nest.” It will also be A24’s last release of 2023, following “Priscilla,” “All Roads Taste of Salt” and “Dream Scenario’s” releases in November and “The Zone of Interest” earlier in December. Because, really, what better way to spend Christmas than to head down to the multiplex with your whole family and watch an extremely depressing sports drama? (“Foxcatcher” was almost 10 years ago.)
“The Iron Claw” hits theaters on December 22.
