It’s an age old story. A town of innocents is put upon by the forces of evil. The good citizens have no means to defend themselves, no hope of survival… until an unlikely band of would-be heroes rolls into town.
If you’re of a certain age, you’re thinking The Magnificent Seven. If you’re of a particularly refined taste, Seven Samurai. If your tastes are less refined, you’re definitely thinking Three Amigos.
Whatever your frame of reference might be, you’re in the ballpark. But instead of ruthless outlaws, The Unbreakable Bunch has aliens. And instead of samurai or gunslingers, this film has professional wrestlers.
Careening towards a theater near you this fall, The Unbreakable Bunch is an action-packed, family friendly adventure about a small town under siege and a group of wrestlers on one last loop.
The journey to the screen for the wrestling movie took as many twists and turns as the fictional film wrestlers themselves. Producers Ray “Glacier” Lloyd and Steve Luther Wilson, aka “Big Sexy” Luther Biggs, trained at the Power Plant and broke into the business about the same time. A decade ago, the two started talking about a movie.
“We had this idea,” says Lloyd, “What if a bunch of pro wrestlers had to step out of their wrestling world and into a fantasy world where they have to battle aliens?”
Ray “Glacier” Lloyd and Steve Luther Wilson, aka “Big Sexy” Luther Biggs, dreamed of an ensemble wrestlers vs. aliens movies a decade ago. Photo courtesy The Unbreakable Bunch website.
Lloyd and Wilson took a great deal of inspiration from the ensemble cast movies of the 1960s and ’70s. “We’re both big fans of The Magnificent Seven, The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, and The Professionals. They were all ensemble casts, and most of them were somewhat diverse. We thought, ‘What if we could make a movie like that and celebrate the wrestling business?’”
Their passion project gained new momentum when The Expendables hit theaters. After seeing Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and so many more action movie legends sharing the screen, they wanted to do the same for pro wrestling.
Right from the very beginning, they wanted to make this a film that portrays the wrestling world as they know it. “Most wrestling movies either focus on the dark side, or they go for the campy humor,” says Lloyd. “They make movies like The Wrestler, which was very good and yes, that is how some guys turn out. Or they make fun of wrestling and wrestling fans. We wanted to celebrate what’s great about being a wrestling fan and what’s fun about the business without making fun of it. We didn’t think that anyone else was going to make a movie like that, and even if they did, they probably wouldn’t get it right.”
That feeling, that no one else was going to do it, kept the creative juices flowing. After a few years of kicking ideas around, they realized they needed a script to take the next step. Lloyd and Wilson connected with screenwriter Jon Waterhouse, who listened to all of their ideas and assembled a first draft.
“The story changed a lot from that first draft, but we tried to stay true to the essence of the characters and what they stood for,” explains Lloyd.
With a script in hand, Lloyd and Wilson started to gain some traction with the project. They took meetings with people who could finance the film while reaching out to friends and colleagues they wanted to include in the all-star wrestling cast, and they rounded up some of the toughest men ever to set foot in the ring:
- Ernest “The Cat” Miller, a karate and kickboxing champion who portrayed The Ayatollah in The Wrestler.
- Stan Hansen, one of the stiffest men ever to set foot in a wrestling ring.
- Tonga Uli’uli Fifita, aka Haku, aka Meng, often reputed to be the toughest, most dangerous man in the wrestling business.
- Larry Zbyszko, a true legend who feuded with the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Abdullah the Butcher, and Superstar Billy Graham.
The cast also includes WCW Champion turned fitness guru Diamond Dallas Page and the former leader of The Brood in WWE, David “Gangrel” Heath.
“An ensemble cast like this has never been done in a wrestling film.” says Lloyd. “We also worked with some great actors we cast in the non-wrestling roles. Nicholas Logan did a tremendous job in our movie, and he’s had some great roles before and after The Unbreakable Bunch. I’m excited to see where his career goes.”
The wrestlers in the movie play professional wrestlers brought together for one last loop. While that’s hardly a stretch for the ensemble cast, what sets The Unbreakable Bunch apart is the way these aging wrestlers are portrayed in the film.
“These are men like us who have their life together,” says Lloyd. “They have good jobs, a nice home. You also see how these guys come together to put on a show. It’s a team effort, whether it’s for one night or a tour. Then they all go their separate ways. That’s something we’ve never seen in a movie about wrestling, and we wanted to portray that.”
The story of the wrestlers plays out alongside the story of a small Florida town under siege by a strange invader from outer space. The film jumps back and forth between the town and the travelers, leading to the inevitable moment when the wrestlers find themselves in a town in desperate need of heroes.
Wrestlers assemble! An ensemble cast faces off with aliens in The Unbreakable Bunch. Photo courtesy The Unbreakable Bunch website.
The Unbreakable Bunch promises a good deal of action, both of the wrestling and the alien-fighting variety, but the producers were careful not to go too far. Parents of young wrestling fans will be pleased to know they intentionally kept the language and the action at a family-friendly level.
“Wrestling is at its best when everyone can enjoy it,” says Lloyd. “A lot of the fans I meet at shows and convention are grown ups who were kids when I was first on TV. Now they’re bringing their kids because they want the next generation to enjoy wrestling like they did. There’s definitely some action, but we kept it to a PG or PG-13 level. We really want families to enjoy this picture, even if they don’t watch wrestling.”
Lloyd promises a film that will make wrestling fans and action movie lovers happy. The Unbreakable Bunch never takes itself seriously, delivering the kind of fun, over-the-top excitement wrestling fans and alien movie lovers will enjoy, no matter what the age.
“We want this movie to be something that wrestlers and wrestling fans will be proud to recommend to people,” says Lloyd. “At the end of the day, it’s about camaraderie, loyalty, friendship. It’s about the noble side of professional wrestling.”
The Unbreakable Bunch is an independent film production directed by Luke Lantana, Harold McConnell, and Robert Pralgo. Jon Waterhouse wrote the script based on a story by Ray Lloyd and Steve Luther Wilson.
RELATED LINKS
- Nov. 13, 2024: Tommy Milagro’s review
- For more information on the film visit www.theunbreakablebunchmovie.com
- Follow The Unbreakable Bunch on Facebook
- Interview with Ray ‘Glacier’ Lloyd