What Not To Watch: Enter the Blood Ring

If I could only tell a person one thing about 1995’s Enter the Blood Ring, it would be that Deron McBee, aka Malibu from American Gladiators, is the second best actor in the movie behind Robert Z’Dar.

That one bit of information is all anyone really needs to know about the movie, but in the event that is not enough for you please continue reading…

• The Hero: Luke Genera (Ben Maccabee in his first starring role) plays a single dad who works as a cab driver, but also finds himself competing in Los Angeles’ underground fight circuit in order to make enough money to pay for his son Adam’s operation. Adam was diagnosed with a brain tumor and the only brain surgeon in the world who can help is located in Sydney, Australia. Ben Maccabee (or Benjamin Kobby as he is credited) seems like a nice enough guy and like the type of guy who would probably do anything for one of his children (incidentally Enter the Blood Ring is purportedly based on a true story) but giving this sort of role that required different levels of emotion to a novice actor seemed like a battle that could not be won. This is the type of script a guy like Jeff Wincott would have been perfect for.

• The Villains: There’s no denying that Robert Z’Dar is one of those actors who our good friend Timon Singh would say was “born to be bad”. In Enter the Blood Ring, Z’Dar plays Sal the mob boss. Sal has a great deal of interest in the underground fight scene in LA. Sal’s top fighter is Gregor (Deron McBee, The Killing Zone) and right from the start of the film, Sal claims to have big plans for Gregor. My backhanded compliment in the intro aside, this really was the best use of Deron McBee in any of the Deron McBee movies I have seen. McBee (who was credited as Malibu) was perfect as the cocky Gregor, who was a great fighter and knew it. Action Movie 101 would dictate that Enter the Blood Ring is going to end with Luke vs. Gregor. The confrontation is teased at the beginning of the film. Then later, it is all but served up on a silver platter for the viewers as Gregor and Luke exchange words the night before the big tournament… but the fight NEVER happens.

• The Tournament: There’s a reason the fight never happens, but first a little backstory… Sal is goaded into a big money bet by his poker “buddy” Bryce. After Bryce loses a hefty sum of cash in a poker game to Sal, he inexplicably challenges Sal to a million dollar bet. Bryce will pick one fighter (SPOILER ALERT: It’s Luke!) to compete in the aforementioned big tournament against a stable of Sal’s best fighters. So Sal with the odds clearly in his favor and with a top notch fighter like Gregor in his stable, decides to throw a curve ball. Sal calls up a friend in Brazil and gets a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert in as a ringer… and the BJJ guy ends up eliminating Gregor in the first round! WTF?!?!? McBee deserved better than that.

• The Sub Plots: What Enter the Blood Ring lacked in logic, it made up for with useless side stories… There’s Luke’s “romance” with the lady cab driver… Then there is the guy making a documentary about the underground fight scene… Luke’s estranged relationship with his step father is explored in one scene… Luke’s “Adam Fund” being stolen by his “friend” seems like a huge plot twist but goes nowhere fast… The lady who works for Bryce posing as a case worker for the Department of Child Welfare may go down as the most useless character in the movie… all these things add nothing but time to the proceedings.

While I can applaud their ambition, Enter the Blood Ring felt like one of those movies where many of the key players bit off more than they could chew… and the result was a pile of unswallowed bolus.

Before I wrap up this review, I have some Bonus Bullet Points for you to chew on…

• Familiar Face: T.J. Storm was one of the fighters in the tournament. You may remember Storm from such films as Boone: The Bounty Hunter, Kickboxer: Vengeance and Doomsdayer.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see/hear a church choir sing the National Anthem prior to an underground fighting tournament, then Enter the Blood Ring is the movie for you. And you are the only person who should watch this movie.
• Interactive Moment: After the poker showdown between Sal and Bryce ends, one of the other players proclaims “Something stinks!” to which I yelled from my couch, “Yeah… the movie!”