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A no holds barred investigative documentary that lifts the (garbage can) lid on the brutal world of backyard wrestling. A cable TV phenomenon that grew into an underground industry, backyard wrestling is not for the squeamish. Although the combatants employ some of the theatrics of WWF superheroes, they are just as fond of attack with baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire, buckets of flammable liquid or broken glass.
Real blood is shed and ambulances called as teenagers from small-town USA compete to put one another into emergency rooms. Director Paul Hough follows the antics of a number of loosely organised 'backyard federations' across America.
More than wallowing in the violence, Hough explores the deep-rooted racism that grips some adherents. He also makes a number of returns to the career of The Lizard, a lumbering, gap-toothed veteran who seems to have taken one too many blows to the head. Fight Club gone horribly wrong.
"An utterly compelling, visceral look at a subculture that most Americans, and many wrestling fans, would prefer not exist." - Barry Blaustein, director of Beyond The Mat
Londoner Paul Hough wrote and sold a film script at the age of 16 that enabled him to attend NYU Film School. Upon graduation he directed Reverse Angle for Fox Sports TV, a series that was eventually banned due to its graphic nature. The Backyard is Hough's first feature documentary.