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Bo and Justin Gates act out their family psychological traumas with the help of a barbed-wire ring and their taunting mom.
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A world of hurt
The amazing documentary "The Backyard" is a mind-pounding look at teenagers across America and abroad who imitate pro wrestling in their backyards.
By JOSHUA TANZER
Offoffoff.com
(Originally reviewed at the Brooklyn International Film Festival in April 2003.)
Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
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| THE BACKYARD |
Directed by: Paul Hough.
Featuring: Rob Van Dam, Scar, Chaos, Jon Johnson, Joshua James, The Lizard, Bo Gates, Justin Gates, Bo and Justin's mom and grandma, Phil Snyder and family, The Retarded Butcher, Penny, Sanity, Wild Thing, Mantis, Sic, Heartless, Karnage, Turbo, Nympho, Razor Blade, El Salvador, 2DollarMan, Captain Anarchy, Botchie Rotton, The Haugan Family, Jennifer Choinsk, Cindy Bradshaw, T.J. Watson, Kristin Kowallek, Andre Jones, Mike Hughes and family, Tj Storm, The Gladiator, The Gump, Daddy Wigga, Jlow Bob, White Dragon, Dr. Michael Laughlin, Amy Crowe, The Suarez Family, Saton Avila, The Cook Family, Annette Lewis, Deathwish, Payne, Ivan Van Del, Beautiful Bobby Lee, LockJaw, Drastic, Smash.
Music by: Seth Jordan.
Related links:
Official site
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| SCHEDULE |
Cinema Village
22 E. 12th St.
(212) 924-3363
Opens Aug. 29, 2003
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| RELATED ARTICLES |
Brooklyn International Film Festival 2003
Reviews:
Kagami
All Night Bodega
The Backyard
Letters from the Dead
Previous festivals:
Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival 2000
Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival 2001
Official site
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I think my brain is bleeding from watching "The Backyard."
NYU film grad Paul Hough discovered the nationwide phenomenon of backyard wrestling — the subculture of teenagers who imitate their favorite pro wrestlers by bashing one another bloody for the entertainment of their friends and neighbors — and wound up with a spectacular smackdown of a movie. By the end of the film, I felt like I'd taken its hour and a quarter of body slams, barbed-wire massages, broken-glass gougings and flaming-club beatings personally.
It felt awesome.
"The Backyard" is an amazing and appalling display of what the youth of America can do given a little aggression, a pay-per-view subscription, a gruesome imagination and a backyard.
The documentary is filled with fascinating, if disturbing, characters like "Chaos," a high school dropout who wrestles in the extremely bloody High Impact Wrestling league of Tucson, Arizona. He likes it because it reminds him of "going downtown and gay-bashing."
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Scar has his parents' wholehearted support as a wrestler after struggling through childhood with a debilitating liver ailment.
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Chaos explains the difference between real "deathmatch" wrestling, which uses such paraphernalia as barbed-wire-wrapped club and fluorescent light tubes, not trash cans, breakable folding tables and "fucking weak barbed wire that's like rubber-tipped."
"That's some pussy stuff right there," he notes.
We also meet a 17-year-old impresario who bosses the teenagers of Modesto, Calif., by virtue of running the local cable-access wrestling show. There's a pair of brothers in Nevada who act out their angry family dynamics in what they call "3 Stages of Hell II," with their mother actively taunting them during the match. There's a high school junior named Matthew who goes by the name "Scar" because 28 major surgeries for a childhood liver ailment left his body covered in scars. His parents support his wrestling pursuits because "he just never had a choice with all the things happening to him and he ought to have a choice."
We see more parents and school officials who, surprisingly, support their kids' wrestling — but one of them emphatically doesn't. A schoolteacher for the first time watches her son fight under the name "The Retarded Butcher," and she sobs through the whole ordeal. You'd be horrified too, most likely.
Yet, there are two secrets that become clear as the documentary goes on. One is that most of the kids know pretty much what they're doing. Many of their stunts are designed — and repeatedly rehearsed — to look as entertainingly violent as possible without actually injuring anyone. Upstate New York college student Phil Snyder, who did regular high school wrestling as well, is planning to go into hotel management and notes that a scarred face might be a problem in his future career.
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| | Fluorescent light tubes, wooden boards, thumbtacks and more weapons are used to cause superficial but genuinely bloody wounds.
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It becomes clear that this stuff isn't fake but the arsenals are carefully chosen to break easily or to scratch the skin, maybe, but not to injure or wound. Opponents are never thrown onto hard ground — they're always thrown through breakable tables or boards to slow their fall. "It takes very little talent to fall through a stack of tables," one New York fighter points out.
But secret two emerges on a trip to England, where youngsters think of themselves as more sophisticated than the American brawlers but they still give away one of the disturbing tricks of the trade — calculatedly cutting themselves in order to bleed more. It's one of the few really sickening moments in the film.
Another comes when a Tucson girl is thrown right on her head, to the oblivious cheers of the small crowd. In the same backyard, Scar seems to land very badly on his back, and another kid is one false move from having his neck snapped in a flip. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see someone paralyzed from what they assumed was safe, harmless entertainment, and for that reason I can't accept backyard wrestling too easily. I sympathize with these kids more than I ever expected, but I really worry about them. You can view "The Backyard" with horror or amusement, but either way, you can't look away from this intensely real film.
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APRIL 29, 2003
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
Reader comments on The Backyard:
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| • | take my advice from WWE FAN, July 14, 2003 |
| | • | Re: take my advice from mike, April 29, 2006 |
| | • | Re: take my advice from ECWFAN, May 10, 2006 |
| | | • | Re: take my advice from mike, Feb. 5, 2007 |
| | • | Re: take my advice from ecwfan17, May 11, 2006 |
| | | • | Re: take my advice from Wrestler-frog, July 10, 2006 |
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| • | Be smart and professional from Mal, July 31, 2003 |
| | • | Re: Be smart and professional from ReNoStAr, Aug. 7, 2003 |
| | | • | Re: Be smart and professional from Dmon Ma chine, Oct. 6, 2004 |
| | • | Re: Be smart and professional from Insane Sam, Oct. 30, 2006 |
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| • | I know what it's like... from Steven Michaels, Aug. 20, 2003 |
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| • | sdfa from asj, Sept. 2, 2003 |
| | • | I know the passion you have for wrestling, but... from Hardkore Kid, April 5, 2004 |
| | | • | Re: I know the passion you have for wrestling, but... from john, Dec. 28, 2005 |
| | | | • | Re: I know the passion you have for wrestling, but... from wrestler-frog, July 10, 2006 |
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| • | HIW from Jen, Sept. 17, 2003 |
| | • | Re: HIW from CYRUS PHOENYX, March 5, 2006 |
| | | • | Re: HIW from The Belfast Bruiser, March 28, 2006 |
| | • | Re: HIW from jimmie groudy, April 6, 2006 |
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| • | help from nick brinkman, Dec. 15, 2003 |
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| • | This shit is crazy from Patricia Idle, June 3, 2004 |
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| • | wassup from Jeannette, June 17, 2004 |
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| • | [no subject] from , Dec. 15, 2004 |
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| • | [no subject] from , Dec. 15, 2004 |
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| • | I backyard wrestle and love it from Danny Sparks aka VIRUS, Jan. 21, 2005 |
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| • | Oh dear.... from Whiskey, Feb. 25, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from "Bond" James Bond, March 27, 2005 |
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| • | Some REAL advice on backyard wrestling from Jack "The Fat Man" Davison, April 8, 2005 |
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| • | The Retarded Butcher from "Bond" James Bond, April 17, 2005 |
| | • | bond' james bond from Madman mondo, Dec. 14, 2005 |
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| • | crazy shit from Crazy Dude, May 5, 2005 |
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| • | fuck u from M80, May 21, 2005 |
| | • | EFW in FL time to unite! from Rag Daul, April 4, 2008 |
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| • | The Backyard from "Bond" James Bond, May 24, 2005 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from Madman mondo, Dec. 14, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from Brad Whitaker, June 1, 2005 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from mark caton, Feb. 2, 2006 |
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| • | screw the WWE and screw Vince MacMahon from Jonny Reno, June 20, 2005 |
| | • | VINCE MCMHAON IS A GENIUS SO DEAL WITH IT from The Belfast Bruiser, June 23, 2005 |
| | | • | Re: VINCE MCMHAON IS A GENIUS SO DEAL WITH IT from Sanity, Jan. 2, 2006 |
| | | • | Re: VINCE MCMHAON IS A GENIUS SO DEAL WITH IT from ecwfan17, May 11, 2006 |
| | | | • | Re: VINCE MCMHAON IS A GENIUS SO DEAL WITH IT from jordsnsa, June 28, 2006 |
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| • | backyard wrestling is dead!! from The Belfast Bruiser, June 23, 2005 |
| | • | Re: backyard wrestling is dead!! from tim, June 30, 2005 |
| | • | HIW IZ THA BEST DEAL WITH IT!! from Madman mondo, Dec. 14, 2005 |
| | • | Re: backyard wrestling is dead!! from Sanity, Jan. 2, 2006 |
| | | • | Re: backyard wrestling is dead!! from english slam, April 20, 2006 |
| | • | Re: backyard wrestling is dead!! from "psycotic" Rob Staunches, March 18, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, July 3, 2005 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from Eric, July 22, 2005 |
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| • | lizard from d-torch, July 4, 2005 |
| | • | Re: lizard from Acid, Nov. 9, 2005 |
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| • | Re The Backyard from Jack Wade, July 7, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, July 11, 2005 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from The Angry Amish, Nov. 21, 2006 |
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| • | Scar, Lizard from The biggest fan, July 23, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Aug. 3, 2005 |
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| • | backyard wrestling from Commander James Bond, Aug. 12, 2005 |
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| • | Scar & Chaos from The Belfast Bruiser, Aug. 21, 2005 |
| | • | Re: Scar & Chaos from Tracey1978, Aug. 25, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Aug. 27, 2005 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from Goth Kirby, Sept. 1, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Sept. 2, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Sept. 15, 2005 |
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| • | [no subject] from PyRo, Sept. 22, 2005 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Sept. 25, 2005 |
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| • | BYW and PRo from Kolton, Oct. 1, 2005 |
| | • | Re: BYW and PRo from Acid, Nov. 10, 2005 |
| | • | Re: BYW and PRo from Sanity, Jan. 2, 2006 |
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| • | BACKYARD WRESTLING from PHOENYX FROM HCW, Nov. 6, 2005 |
| | • | Re: BACKYARD WRESTLING from The NightKrawler, Jan. 1, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Dec. 1, 2005 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from , Jan. 2, 2006 |
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| • | hiw and hwf from Madman mondo, Dec. 14, 2005 |
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| • | my website from Madman mondo, Dec. 31, 2005 |
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| • | We will always be here from Sanity, Jan. 2, 2006 |
| | • | Re: We will always be here from Madman mondo, Jan. 3, 2006 |
| | • | Re: We will always be here from Madman mondo, Jan. 3, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Jan. 3, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Jan. 6, 2006 |
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| • | backyard wrestling from Madman mondo, Jan. 7, 2006 |
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| • | this is for the belfast Brusier from Kolton, Jan. 9, 2006 |
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| • | Actually Belfast read this: Appology letter from Kolton, Jan. 9, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Jan. 11, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, Jan. 11, 2006 |
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| • | backyarders from Madman mondo, Jan. 14, 2006 |
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| • | [no subject] from kolton, Jan. 17, 2006 |
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| • | ew ew ew from Lauren, Feb. 2, 2006 |
| | • | Re: ew ew ew from Zodiac, Feb. 28, 2006 |
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| • | idiot from austin glodowski, Feb. 6, 2006 |
| | • | Re: idiot from Zodiac, Feb. 28, 2006 |
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| • | Fuck yeah from Nasty, Feb. 28, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, March 4, 2006 |
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| • | [no subject] from , March 17, 2006 |
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| • | Belfast Buiser from Kolton, March 20, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from Shane Finn, April 3, 2006 |
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| • | Why not publicize decent BYW? from Jason Phoenix, April 12, 2006 |
| | • | Re: Why not publicize decent BYW? from , May 4, 2006 |
| | • | Re: Why not publicize decent BYW? from psycotic, May 4, 2006 |
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| • | WDF FOR LIFE from wdfdraven, April 14, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, April 17, 2006 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from Madman mondo, April 29, 2006 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from psycotic, May 3, 2006 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from psycotic, May 3, 2006 |
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| • | the real story from O.W.F champ, April 29, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, May 5, 2006 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from psycotic, May 6, 2006 |
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| • | what its all about from psycotic, May 11, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, May 14, 2006 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from psycotic, May 22, 2006 |
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| • | TNTW from TNTW CEO, May 28, 2006 |
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| • | Not so bad as it seems from KTW Comissioner, June 4, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Belfast Bruiser, June 14, 2006 |
| | • | Re: The Backyard from Thomas Idol, Dec. 28, 2006 |
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| • | 5 Years Later.... from MTW Guy, June 20, 2006 |
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| • | u from cudlles, June 30, 2006 |
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| • | big up the backyard from joey, June 30, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from The Fighting IrishMan, July 4, 2006 |
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| • | this is inspiring..... from PIW Wrestler 4 life, July 10, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from Finn, July 20, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from Captain Mick Sparrow, Aug. 17, 2006 |
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| • | where do i join from aidan, Aug. 31, 2006 |
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| • | The Backyard from Shane Finn, Sept. 3, 2006 |
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| • | My Personal Experiences from Ryan Reckers, Oct. 1, 2006 |
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| • | T.B.W. "A CUT ABOVE THE REST" from Dante, Jan. 23, 2007 |
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| • | [no subject] from zack, Feb. 22, 2007 |
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| • | Backyard is for men only from switch blade, June 6, 2007 |
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| • | Karnage from justin doan, Dec. 2, 2007 |
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| • | Wwe vs Bywf from Die Hard EDDIE, Dec. 26, 2007 |
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