Film Review: The Death Tour (Slamdance Film Festival)
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
Professional wrestling documentary The Death Tour (Canada, 2024) — directed by Stephan Peterson and Sonya Ballantyne — chronicles one season in the titular tour, so named because of its grueling challenges across Canada’s far north as its members seek to bring entertainment and education to Indigenous communities.
Legendary wrestling promoter Tony Condello, a former pro grappler himself, has headed up the tour for more than 50 years. The hazardous weather is just one of the reasons that the tour received its name, though some refer to it as “The Life Tour” because what the wrestlers go through temporarily is what the Indigenous people go through daily — that is their life — and because of the positivity the events can bring to those communities, some of which are hit hard by high suicide rates.
The focus of The Death Tour is on what the tour members go through both emotionally and physically, with real-life drama taking precedence over in-ring action — though there is a nice amount of that, as well. Condello and his wrestlers — including Sarah “McKenrose the Scottish Warrior” McNicoll, Sean “Massive Damage” Dunster, Sage “The Matriarch” Morin, and Dez “The Eskimofo” Loreen — drive for as long as 10 hours, set up the ring, perform, tear down the ring, and drive again.
Queubecer McNicoll worries about having to use English rather than her native language French, Dunster reflects on how he has seen wrestler friends die because of drug abuse, Indigenous people Morin and Loreen discuss trying to strengthen their communities while Morin deals with the loss of one of her sons because of a drunk driver and Loreen grapples with missing his child and wondering if he truly has what it takes to compete with the more experienced wrestlers on the tour.
Codirectors Stephan Peterson and Sonya Ballantyne make the most of their access to the group, crafting a documentary that highlights both the trials of Indigenous communities and the ordeals that Condello and the wrestlers go through to try to bring joy to the lives of people for whom the suicide rate among young members is alarmingly high.
The Death Tour deftly explores both social issues and personal ones. The personalities of the wrestlers are engaging, and their journeys both on the road and within themselves are fascinating to watch unfold.
The Death screened as part of the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival, which celebrated its 30th edition in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, from January 19–25 and virtually on the Slamdance Channel from January 22–28. For more information, visit https://www.deathtourdoc.com/.
Joseph Perry writes for the websites Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), B&S About Movies (bandsaboutmovies.com), The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict (gbvreviews.com), and Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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