Zac Efron grapples with the curse of the Von Erichs in The Iron Claw trailer

The curse of the Von Erichs looms large over the world of professional wrestling. A wrestling dynasty that never was, the Von Erichs were among the most promising wrestling families of the sport’s first golden age. Then tragedy struck, and then it struck again. And again. And again.

Setting us up for an emotional slobber knocker, A24 released the first trailer for The Iron Claw, Sean Durkin’s wrestling biopic about the Von Erichs. The film stars Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich, the eldest surviving son of Frtiz Von Erich (played by Holt McCallany), a top star in the ‘60s and the owner and promoter of World Class Championship Wrestling. Fritz made Kevin a star and champion in WCCW and elevated his brothers Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson), and Mike (Stanley Simons) to the promotion’s biggest attractions. By 1993, Kevin would be his generation’s only surviving Von Erich.

Directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw digs into the legend, promise, and tragedy of the family. With an eye for authenticity, Durkin’s ring awareness is all over the trailer’s flashback to the Texas territories of the ‘70s and ’80s. It was a time just before Vince McMahon’s WWE (née WWF) took monopolistic control of the pro-wrestling landscape, when the most popular grapplers in the country all shared a last name.

But like all wrestling movies, Iron Claw doesn’t appear to shy away from the physical and mental toll holding fixed matches takes on the performers. Fritz Von Erich trained his boys with an iron, um, fist, forcing them to compete with each other to put butts in seats. By the end of the 80s, the promise of the family was all but broken.

Iron Claw dropkicks into theaters on December 22, 2023.