The 2023 QWI 200 number-one ranked pro wrestler Max The Impaler has a habit of terrifying opponents in the ring across the world, and now they’ll get the chance to do the same to horror film fans.
According to Variety, “The Nonbinary Nightmare” is set to make their feature film debut in the forthcoming horror film “Dolly.” Max portrays the titular character who director and co-writer Rod Blackhurst (“Amanda Knox,” “Here Alone”) describes as “a deranged, monster-like figure” who kidnaps a young woman named Macy in order to raise her as their child.
“The nonbinary champion of television now to champion movies,” the reigning NWA World Television champion wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to the reveal. “Someone once told Max they’d never be a monster. Little did they know saying that created the biggest monster they’d ever meet,” they added on Instagram.
Blackhurst and co-writer Brandon Weavil signaled to Variety that the film blends elements of 1970s-era American horror (think “Halloween” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) and the New French Extremity movement of the mid-2000s to mid-2010s (think “Antichrist” and “Martyrs”).
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“We made ‘Dolly’ as an elegant and twisted fairytale born out of a deep love of genre films and wanting to see something insane that 13-year-old Rod would want to watch,” Blackhurst said. “This film is a renewed investment in our ethos as filmmakers and our proud tribe of misfits.”
This is perfect casting based on Max’s image alone. Who better to enter the ranks of horror than an all-consuming power born of The Wasteland who overpowers opponents with both their physicality and presence? Their entire run in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling and rise on NWA programming over the last two years stands as a prime example of this fact.
The casting also continues the interesting relationship between pro wrestling and horror cinema that dates back to the 1950s when pro wrestler turned actor Tor Johnson starred in multiple sci-fi monster romps including “Bride Of The Monster” and “The Black Sheep.”
Pro wrestlers from nearly every era since then have found their way into cinematic creepfests ranging from the campy films of El Santo and Blue Demon to 1980s classics featuring Jesse Ventura and Roddy Piper. Even Diamond Dallas Page, Triple H, The Rock and the original Rey Mysterio found their way into the world of horror.
But Max’s inclusion in the film marks one of the few times that a figure from the rising LGBTQ pro wrestling movement has made the jump into another medium following EFFY’s turn as a bro-loving wrestling demon in the Netflix animated series “Dead End: Paranormal Park.” The already very queer history of horror is about to get an infusion of nonbinary terror in the best way.
“Dolly” wrapped filming earlier this month and is currently in post-production. Beyond Max, the cast includes Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott and Ethan Suplee, the latter of which has his own history of acting alongside pro wrestlers when he portrayed the son of multi-time world champion Vader on “Boy Meets World.”
