By Ben Bussey
The arrival of yet another no-budget zombie gore movie – even one that involves female wrestlers – is liable to be met with little more than a dismissive shrug by many of us. However, the UK DVD release of Fight Like A Girl is a more momentous occasion than we might realise. As it stands, this is the second film from Melbourne writer-director Daniel Armstrong, who made his name with 2014’s similarly low-budget/low-brow roller derby slasher movie Murderdrome, which proved to be one of my favourites of that year, and quickly garnered something of a cult following. This success prompted Armstrong to pick up and dust off that which was meant to have been his first film, wrestlers-vs-zombies flick From Parts Unknown: Fight Like A Girl (not sure why Monster Pictures felt the need to abbreviate the title for the UK), which had initially gone into production all the way back in 2007 (i.e. before Murderdrome), but hit some major bumps in the road along the way. Given how easily it might have never seen completion, Armstrong definitely deserves serious kudos for getting the film finished, even if it took the better part of a decade.
But so fucking what, I hear you cry? Why should we give a shit how hard it was to make a film; we only care about whether it’s any good or not!
Well, you’re some hardened, insensitive bastards, aren’t you…? And of course, I’m in complete agreement with you. How the film got made is a secondary question at best; the quality of the film itself will always be the primary concern. Well, as with Murderdrome, we shouldn’t anticipate Fight Like A Girl making a splash at awards shows or earning itself a Criterion edition, but within the arena of contemporary low-to-no budget horror, this one definitely packs a bit more punch than most.
Charlie (Jenna Dwyer) is a young Australian woman leading something of a double life. By day, she’s a put-upon assistant in the corporate office of a video game company; but by night, she’s Daddy’s Little Girl, up-and-coming pro wrestler. It’s a dream she struggles to reconcile with her day-to-day life; she’s perpetually late for work, and her straight-laced boyfriend Vince (Paul Cousins) cannot abide it, but it’s something she feels compelled to do to honour the memory of her father, superstar wrestler Buffalo Daddy, who she saw die in the ring in her childhood. No one seems to support Charlie’s efforts at all other than her somewhat over-eager co-worker Frank (Ross Ditcham).
However, it soon transpires that Charlie’s grappling and body-slamming skills are going to prove most useful, as her employers have been developing a new wrestling-based videogame by somewhat dubious means: utilising military-grade nanotechnology to download the personalities of real wrestlers directly into the brains of players. (Or something along those lines. I dunno. We shouldn’t really get hung up on that, as I get the sneaky suspicion that absolutely none of this is based in real science.) Naturally, this technique proves somewhat hazardous, as the nanobots – which take the form of a luminescent green slime – have the unfortunate side effect of transforming those who come into contact with them into belligerent zombies. However, these aren’t the brain-dead shufflers of old; these zombies are strong, agile, and articulate, and as the virus spreads throughout the upper echelons of company management, they plot to take over the world. At which point, it’s time for Charlie and her few remaining fellow humans to – you guessed it – fight like a girl.
Right then, let’s get the minus points out of the way. It’s screamingly obvious from the get-go that this movie was made for next to nothing, as clearly indicated by the flimsy-looking sets, often fairly crude make-up FX, and basic-looking DV photography (that said, I’ve seen far worse examples of all these). Most unavoidable are the audio issues; Armstrong told us back in 2014 that the main set-back in the film’s initial post-production period was the loss of the original sound files, which obviously proved the main challenge in rebuilding the film years later. This, unfortunately, does hinder Fight Like A Girl at times; in dialogue scenes, the volume fluctuates like nobody’s business, with some lines left practically inaudible. As such, I think the film might have benefited from a little more judicious editing; there are more than a few scenes which feel a little overwritten dialogue-wise, and it surely wouldn’t have hurt to trim the bits which are almost impossible to hear anyway.
But then, this is a more ambitious movie than you might anticipate. Again, I know, the words ‘microbudget zombie movie’ tend not to inspire much confidence, but Armstrong and co really are aiming a little higher; not content to just make a crash-bang-wallop gorefest, Fight Like A Girl makes genuine efforts to present an inspiring tale about staying true to yourself and going the distance, Rocky-style. And believe it or not, it works. Jenna Dwyer does a wonderful job in the lead, conveying vulnerability and kick-ass strength in equal measure – and obviously it doesn’t hurt that she looks very good in all that spandex.
As for the wrestling scenes: I’m hardly an authority on the subject, so I don’t know how much they’ll impress fans of the sport (or ‘sports entertainment’ or whatever the fuck they call it now), but it’s an impressive enough spectacle to my eyes. Add in some pretty decent digital FX work, a rockin’ soundtrack, good performances from the whole cast with some genuinely funny banter (although the Army of Darkness quotes get a bit repetitive at times), and it all adds up to a very entertaining 80-odd minutes.
At the time of writing, Armstrong and his team at Strongman Pictures have not long since wrapped on the their third movie, sci-fi splatter flick Sheborg Massacre, and have gone straight into production on their fourth, cabin in the woods horror Tarnation. It’s safe to say he’s braved the bumpy road, and is now here to stay, and I for one can’t wait to see what’s next.
The DVD also features a short film from Armstrong, footage of wrestling matches from the Melbourne premiere, and several music videos directed by Armstrong, including a few tracks from the Fight Like A Girl soundtrack. (I’ve had Little Mercy by The Mercy Kills on earworm for days now.)
Fight Like A Girl is out on Region 2 DVD on 9th May, from Monster Pictures.