‘The Iron Claw’: Kerry Von Erich’s Daughter Says A24 Film Is “So Inaccurate That It Was Heart-Wrenching”

The daughter of one of the Von Erich brothers doesn’t believe her father was portrayed accurately in the A24 movie The Iron Claw. 

Lacey Von Erich, daughter of Kerry Von Erich, is speaking out against the Sean Durkin-helmed project which centered around the influential wrestling family. On Monday’s episode of Investigation Discovery’s new docuseries Hollywood Demons, she says the depiction of her father in the movie was “so inaccurate it was heart-wrenching.” 

“My sister and I were not in the movie as my dad’s children, and he didn’t have a wife or anything,” Lacey says in the episode. “And that was a really big part of my dad. So how he was portrayed in the movie is so inaccurate that it was heart-wrenching.”

Lacey explained that she, her sister Hollie and her mother Catherine Murray were omitted from The Iron Claw‘s story. The film did, however, showcase Kerry’s motorcycle accident, which resulted in his foot being amputated, as well as his addiction and 1993 suicide. Notably, the real-life Von Erich family was made up of five brothers, though The Iron Claw left the youngest sibling, Chris, out of the film.

Kevin Von Erich, whom Zac Efron played in the 2023 film, also disapproved of his brother’s likeness in The Iron Claw. “Kerry in the movie was not a family man, but in real life he was,” he said.

Additionally, Hollie claimed that the family was not made aware of the film before they learned of it on social media, while Kevin said that he “endorsed” the project. 

The Iron Claw notably touches on the idea of the “Von Erich curse,” which refers to the untimely deaths of all the brothers, except for Kevin. Despite the presence of the curse in the film, Durkin told The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t believe it was real. 

“I do believe in the psychology of a curse, and when you’re in a family where a lot of bad things have happened and happened to you, it’s very easy to believe that you are going to get sucked into that pattern,” he said. “So, no, I don’t believe in it, but yes, I think the results of it can be the same.”