This grisly wrestling documentary shows surprisingly supportive families who embrace the violence.
While working on a professional wrestling show, director-producer Paul Hough, a lifetime aficionado of the sport, was introduced to a different kind of wrestling by two 12-year-old-boys. Their videotape showed teenagers engaged in a more violent form of wrestling that takes place in the backyard using unconventional weapons such as staple guns, light bulbs, razor blades and mousetraps purchased at the dollar store.
Backyard Wrestling is Everywhere
Hough’s research on the Internet revealed that hundreds of backyard wrestling federations exist around the world. After visiting one of these staged fights and interviewing parents who support their teens’ weekly “death matches,” Hough knew the subject required a feature-length documentary. His 2002 documentary film The Backyard (now on DVD) explores the people involved in this extreme sport.
“When I saw backyard wrestling portrayed in the news, it was always very negative, as you can imagine,” Hough said in a telephone interview when the film was making the festival circuit. “So I wanted to get the kids’ point of view across and talk to the parents who support them.”
A California resident, Hough traveled to Arizona, Nevada, New York, England and around California to shoot a variety of backyard wrestling matches with males (and occasionally females) ranging in age from 10 through 26.
No Problem Finding Participants
“I had no problem finding people to film,” he said. “Even most of the parents were willing to speak on camera. But when the boys were under 18, I got permission from their parents before using the material.”
The Backyard required Hough to travel on short notice and with limited resources to cover the matches and interview the participants and spectators. To save money and inspire trust, he usually worked alone, without the benefit of additional crew, using one wireless microphone and a lightweight camera to capture images such as two brothers enduring “The Three Stages of Hell,” a trilogy of terror for those unaccustomed to backyard wrestling.
Because everything was shot on location with minimal sound equipment, getting high-quality sound was particularly troublesome. In addition, as many of the matches involve fighting with barbed wire, fire, thumbtacks, and glass, Hough sometimes had to dodge flying objects as he edged nearer to the action. Besides backyard wrestlers including The Lizard, Scar, Sic and Heartless, The Backyard features commentary from professional wrestler, Rob Van Dam.
“Violence is not the subject of the film; it’s a film about people like The Lizard, who want to make it out of the backyard and into professional wrestling,” Hough said, adding that The Lizard has enormous potential for a professional career. “I watched him grow over the past year and work even further toward his goal.”
Despite the free-flowing blood, cries of pain and sadomasochism depicted in the documentary, the wrestlers insist they rarely get seriously hurt and view themselves as teammates and performers, rather than opponents or enemies.
No stranger to controversy, Hough began his love of filmmaking at age 7 when he was given an 8mm camera. He wrote and sold a script for a thriller when he was 16 that enabled him to go to New York University Film School. After graduation, he directed the television interview series Reverse Angle for Fox Sports, which later banned the show from the air because of its unflattering celebrity insights.
- The Backyard
- Director: Paul Hough
- Run Time: 78 Minutes
- Rating: Unrated
- DVD Bonus Features: Wrestling Superstar Featurette; Deleted Scenes; Audio Commentary; Trailers
For more information about documentary films, read reviews of Air Guitar Nation, Midnight Movies, and Young @ Heart.
