Emerging Indie Women Filmmaker Review
Sexy Female Wrestlers, Hollywood Sleazeballs & Rise of the First Latina Slasher Villain
By Elia Esparza
Indie Filmmaker/Actor Carolin Von Petzholdt is never afraid to tackle the issues of how far some women will go to achieve their dreams of working in films and TV. In her first movie, Testing Life, Carolin’s protagonist is a young woman whose only life goal is to become an actress but can’t afford acting school. In desperation, she signs up for to be part of a medical research group testing a controversial new drug. Imagine all the drama and sacrifice chasing this dream will cost her.
Her second film, The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling, Von Petzholdt again features women willing to do almost anything to become rich and famous celebrities, and all that is keeping them from achieving their dream is to be discovered. When an audition call goes out for a new all-girls wrestling show, there is no shortage of willing participants ready to sell their souls.
According to an industry Celluloid Ceiling Report, women are most likely to work in the documentary, drama, and animated film genres. They are least likely to work in the action, horror and sic-fi genres. Well, Von Petzholdt’s Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling has just exploded this fact like a Fourth of July firecracker!
The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling is a low-budget indie with a large cast: Crystal Santos, Melissa Stubbs, Danielle Replogle, Carolin Von Petzholdt, Andrew Hamrick, William F. Bryant, Rasheed Stephens, Patricia Lauriet, Kelly Park, Maxie Solveig, Melissa Biethan, Karen Pellant, and Sarah Levin.
This ensemble represents, the ingénue, the sexpot, the jealous kleptomaniac, a sleazy producer, serious athletes and a woman hell bent on revenge.
The story unfolds introducing us to six female athletic actors who get cast to be part of a team of superheroes on a wrestling show. The women have to deal with sexism and the casting coach with a sleazy producer, and the hardest training workout most ever encountered. Eventually they are ready for their first major gig in Las Vegas. The team, producer, and trainers– all pack into a bus for their road trip. The driver takes a back road short cut, gets lost and then the bus breaks down leaving them stranded in the middle of a ghost town.
I wish the backstory of main character Lisa Turner (Crystal Santos) had been gone deeper to get into her psyche because she is the most complex of protagonist/antagonist. She’s a spiritual woman whose experience with a lying, sexist boss have finally taken its toll. We learn she practices Santeria aka brujeria – casting every curse she knows on the sleazy producer Richard (Andrew Hamrick). It is obvious there is no love lost by seeing the number of needles stuck in to the Richard VooDoo doll.
The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling is loosely based on the director’s personal experience of once being part of a female wrestling league. “Everything in the movie is true with exception of all the gory bloody killings,” Von Petzholdt recalled with a chuckle. The movie is campy, fun and entertaining—especially if you like slasher flicks. Kudos to the director to cast a diverse group of women and for the main antagonist, she infused Latino brujeria and Santeria. I’m not advocating these type of rituals, but they are part of our cultural DNA and to deny it is lying. It’s presented here in the same vein that Freddie Kreuger was introduced to us with his exaggerated features and costumes.
“I myself lived a life as a female wrestler in Los Angeles,” recalled Von Petzholdt. “I did the whole wrestling shebang, training so hard I couldn’t move a finger and having bruises all over. One day, I came down with a cold, high fever and couldn’t work for three days. I got cut. They never talked to me again nor did they pay me. Even my friends didn’t call nor let me know they were leaving for Las Vegas for their first Live Show.”
It was this experience that led Von Petzholdt to her movie idea. “I was so disappointed that I sullenly thought ’I wish that the bus breaks down and they all get stuck in the middle of the desert in a ghost town”. And, there it was, my movie premise was born,” She declared.
The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling is two stories in one—first it reveals the sexism, hardships women wrestlers are subjected to, and then there is the story of one wrestler-trainer who has had enough and retaliates her revenge and as a result turns this film into a ‘horror genre’ with a Latina twist.
When Crystal Santos was asked if she wanted to be a hero or a villain, she choose villain. Santos, who is also a popular stuntwoman, never had a moment’s doubt. “Hero roles are more appealing, but Lisa Turner was complex, misunderstood, victimized… a woman who had had enough and took a stance,” said Santos. “Plus my dark features and crazy eye color makes me a better villain visually.”
Santos asked how many women—Latinas—get to play a slasher? “Not many or none if I understand this correctly,” she stated. “The slasher archetype is definitely the boys club and as you know, I like to break those barriers,” she laughed. “I like to prove that women can perform at the same level as their male counterparts—that women can kick ass, blow things up, and be a compelling and complex slasher if they want to be.”
As Lisa Turner, Santos got the opportunity to prove her skill set coming from her stunts and martial arts training and experience she brought to the role.
“After all, where was the female Freddy Kreuger or Jason Voorhees equivalent? So I was fortunate that Carolin wrote the part of Lisa the way she did and that I got cast to play this intensive character. Plus,” she wickedly smiled, “I have one up on the boys. I can do this in high heels and not bat an eye!”
Crystal Santos is the perfect Lisa Turner – I can’t think of a more qualified and better-trained actor-athlete to play the female slasher in this horror-action movie. She puts on a mask and becomes a supernatural immortal slasher— killings that are laced with Santeria.
The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling, an Exciting Films Productions, is a movie that proves that there is a place for female action heroes and villains.
Stay tuned. With Lisa Turner being the only survivor, we are pretty sure there will be a sequel to the The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling franchise. Otherwise, how else will we know how the deadly sexy Lisa’s new team turn out?
Follow The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling: IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3038254/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBoomBoomGirlsOfWrestling?fref=ts&ref=br_tf Website: http://www.theboomboomgirls.com/
The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling 85-minutes Director/Writer: Carolin Von Petzholdt Producers: Ursel Walldorf and Carolin Von Petzholdt Awards: Marverick Movie Awards nominees for best actress: Melissa R. Stubbs Marverick Movie Awards nominees for Best Soundtrack: Marco Meister
Crystal Santos Website: http://www.crystalsantos.tv/crystalsantos.tv/Hello_And_Welcome%21.html
Comments