Inlewd VHS Review

The Backyard

The film opened in Rob Van Dam's Backyard. The next hour and twenty minutes began an intense and disturbing journey through the world of Backyard Wrestling (in the United States and all the way to England).

The Backyard is captivating and compelling from beginning to end. The film is an intense and disturbing physical journey in to the sardonic world of the featured Backyarders. These Backyarders exist through their decadent behavior and live in an abyss of excess.

Through this excessive existence they convince themselves their decadent behavior will one day be rewarded with what they all seek, The American Dream (Fame and Fortune).

Through all the decadent behavior the film managed to teach me something about myself and more so about American Culture. It illustrated the depths which people are willing to stoop too as long as they can convince themselves some greater light exists at the end of the dark tunnel they have begun to journey through. The light may or may no exist at the end of the dark tunnel but the sardonic nature of the quest certainly only leads to more excess and ultimately to inner torment. The vicious cycle simply co-exists to feed off itself and inevitably leads to more excess, which in the end ultimately overshadows the quest to obtain the illusionary dream itself.

In a sense the entire journey is simply an illusion itself to allow these individuals to live a life of malevolent excess against those who they claim to 'care' about. This malevolent excess allows them to pass their inner torment on to others through exhibitions designed to maliciously inflict bodily harm on to each other. The disturbing nature of the film becomes clearer and clearer as time passes (through witnessing siblings and parents partaking in this malevolent excess).

The Backyard opened my eyes to a world I knew existed in this culture, but decided to ignore. The Backyard is with out a doubt the best film I have seen all year. If you get a chance to see this film, If you are a wrestling fan or even if you are not a wrestling fan you owe it to yourself to go and see The Backyard.

THE BACKYARD is currently playing in film festivals across America, and the world. All screenings are in movie theaters. Viewer discretion is advised. For a listing please check the official web site.

Mark Roth, Editor in Chief/Owner LEWD Wrestling E-Zine