Director – Eric Palmer (Action!, Inheritance)
Starring – Melissa Sapienza (A Paranormal Documentary, Killer Campout Part II), Jim Bob McClane, and Clint Black
Release Date – 2019
Rating – 3.5/5
I’ve been reviewing horror flicks over at Horror Society for over a decade now and it still blows my mind when I get in contact with a filmmaker to review their hard work. It’s an absolute blast and something I hope never ends. However, as much as I love horror, I sometimes find myself a little burned out with my beloved genre. It’s not often but I do get asked to review non-horror flicks from time to time. Several months back filmmaker Eric Palmer sent me his found footage horror flick Action! to review.
I’m not saying the film was bad but I’m not a fan of found footage so it didn’t really find its mark with me. However, after speaking with him after I posted the review, he mentioned some other films he had made, and I agreed to check em out. One of the films caught my eye. The movie, Arm Wrestling Roulette, looked absolutely wild and I couldn’t wait to check it out. I decided to finally check it out after a huge horror marathon. I want to thank Eric for sending this one over for review!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows Chip (Jim Bob McClane) who finds himself in the middle of an arm-wrestling tournament after finding videos of it at night while on a bender. However, this is no ordinary arm-wrestling tournament. In this tournament the loser has to place a bullet in a revolver, spin it, and then place the end against their head as they pull the trigger. He’s been thinking about killing himself a lot lately but that changes when he meets another competitor and the two fall in love. He has something to live for but that, in itself, was short lived when she loses a match and is not so lucky with the roulette. Now, he’s hell bent on beating the man responsible for her loss resulting in her killing herself. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into Arm Wrestling Roulette completely blind and instantly fell in love with it. While I would struggle to categorize it, I would say that it borrows heavily from drama, thriller, and action genres which works. I would love to see Eric expand upon this story further in the future.
The acting in this one is so much fun. Jim Bob McClane is great as the drug addled man looking for some cheap fun or a way out. He carries the film for most of it’s run time, but we do have a great supporting cast with another great performance from Melissa Sapienza. Melissa has been in several films I’ve reviewed recently like another Eric Palmer film Action!, Brad Twigg’s Deathboard and Killer Campout Part II, and The Legend of Crick Foot. Honestly, I’ve been seriously impressed by her performances and it’s a shame she doesn’t have a bigger role in this one.
The story for this one really caught my interest and has the potential to have a follow up film or two. An underground arm-wrestling ring where the loser has to play roulette with a revolver is fucking brilliant. I don’t know if this was from something else that Eric had seen or thought of himself, but I absolutely love it. With that being said, the tone of the film is uneven and not very consistent. The film begins with a gritty atmosphere with the drug abusing drunk trying to remember the night before while looking for information about the arm-wrestling videos he saw before. When his love interest is introduced, the film does become a bit cheesy, which I don’t mind, but it doesn’t really fit the first part of the film. After her death the film dials up the camp as we get arm-wrestlers with gimmicks similar to late 80s and early 90s professional wrestlers. Honestly, I loved this but I do wish that the film followed this through the entire run time instead of the last leg.
Finally, the film has some blood but don’t expect a gory flick with a high body count. It does have some blood but nothing that will stand out for the viewer. The film focuses on the story more than it does the red stuff. Overall, Arm Wrestling Roulette has no right being as good as it is. The story is phenomenal, and the cast makes it stand out. I highly recommend checking this one out if you ever have the chance.
