Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story Review

On a Sunday afternoon in St.Petersburg on May 3rd, I had the honor of viewing a documentary that has been a long time coming. A bonafide tribute to the life and career of a wrestler that can only be labeled as unique, daring, badass, ballsy and in your face. Women’s Wrestling Talk was in the house for the 2026 Sunscreen Film Festival to see Lunatic. The story of the one and only Luna Vachon. 

When the lights went out and this came onto the screen I knew that I was in for a treat!

This documentary begins with allowing the viewer to be taken back to the humble beginnings of Trudy Vachon. The young girl who had the soft, sweet voice of an angel. 

We initially hear the voice of Paul Vachon. A father who had the wear and tear of the wrestling business, as well as many health scares bring him a semi immobility and shattering to his vocal cords that makes it sound grainy and  gravelly. Yet, this doesn’t take away from his ability to draw you in. 

Paul Vachon, in this film, is a father who wants to look back on his sweet angel that could’ve been a beauty queen. With her adorable curls and innocent face. Instead, his little girl was bitten by the wrestling bug when she attended her first WWF show at Madison Square Garden. There was no turning back after that. 

Luna went in head first with this dream of being in the wrestling business. She hit a hurdle and was a bit deflated when The "Fabolous" Moolah told her that she was too sweet to ever be a heel in the wrestling business during her training days. Instead of giving up Luna used that ammunition to go forward.

She  was a woman that battled being bipolar and was still able to handle the extreme nuance and energy to create such a unique and powerful character like we were blessed to see. 

The kind of character that can easily take over someone’s entire being. 

The signature shriek, razor blade sharp voice and rage filled facial expressions made her one of my all time favorites

Luna made sacrifices that cost her time with her sons and left regret with each career accomplishment that she made.

She was a woman who gave everything to the wrestling industry, but never received the ultimate recognition, of wearing the WWE women’s championship. EVER….

I truly loved seeing the candid, raw and honest conversations surrounding mental health and how attempting suicide is sadly common with people trying to cope with being bipolar. 

The “successful “ attempts to end it all can greatly affect family members and friends that are left behind. 

Left to pick up the pieces and go on with life after having such a tremendous loss. 

As discussed with AEW's Aubrey Edwards discussing the sadness of seeing her father battle being bipolar and how she is a strong advocate for mental health support.

Without giving too much away, Lunatic brilliantly showcases a complex women who wants to break a ceiling so much, at a time when being the beast to a beauty like Sable can leave you in the wings of the stage. Hoping that someone applauds your performance and hands you a bouquet of flowers.

 It means being a few years too early to be able to enjoy the golden era in WWE for Women’s wrestling. 

That only occurred five years after Luna’s final exit from WWE. 

This documentary featured colleagues that could vouch for the treatment of women in wrestling during the 80s and 90s and still be around to see the amazing milestones that have been achieved to take women’s wrestling into the stratosphere . Like Madusa and Jackie Moore. Who both provided so many great nuggets of information on what it was like to work for WWE and WCW.

At a time when they had to fight for even the smallest amount of TV time and worth while feuds. While STILL having iconic hall of fame careers. You can see the sisterhood that was forged with these ladies and how they want to keep Luna’s legacy alive. 

You see the love and loyalty that Gangrel had for her during their marriage. As well as the ongoing love and mourning that still plagues him just by the thought of his former wife. 

One thing that I can guarantee, is that there won’t be a dry eye in the room when the credits come up. This documentary touches your soul in such a visceral way. 

It makes you want to root for Luna. Who is navigating such a hard path with being bipolar, not wanting to take medication and self medicating with harmful substances. 

You mourn for the loss of a childhood in many ways with Luna Vachon’s son Van Hurd in particular. 

As a viewer, you see his attempts to create time with his mother when he would play with Luna Vachon’s character in the WWF video game. 

While he felt her absence when she was miles away. 

You truly see Luna’s life struggles with the fight to hold onto a dream, the fight to stay sane and the fight to be involved in some way in her children’s life to be too much to handle. 

With many mistakes in between each chapter. 

In the end, she truly found peace when she put away the character of Luna aside and really found herself through her new found walk with Christ.  

When she found herself, she was able to embrace the newer generation of women’s wrestlers on the american and Canadian scene in the 00’s that were making a mark in promotions like Shimmer and Shine.  

The honest, flawed and in many ways broken person that Luna Vachon was at many points in her life is showcased in a layered and brilliant way in this documentary. 

I highly recommend this film to the long term Luna Vachon fan who has always wanted to see her get this spotlight and honor. 

Also, to new fans of wrestling that are curious to see how far women’s wrestling has come. Cheers to the pioneers like Luna who bust their asses to see women's wrestling get to this point!

The film screening was followed by an intimate Q&A that allowed the cast and crew of this documentary to take in the wonderful response from those attending. 

Lunatic:The Luna Story post screening Q&A with director Katie Kroll, cast Madusa aka Alundra Blayze, Penelope Paradise and Pink Cadillac

We were able to get more insight into the cinematography, hard work to obtain footage for the film, how the amazing interviews from Luna’s inner circle were conducted and the overall journey to make this goal of telling this legends story a reality. 

Director Katie Kroll, Referee Billy Silverman and THEE Madusa greeting the fans after the screening

Had a blast speaking to Katie Kroll about the film and fulfilling a dream of mine to actually meet Madusa

Be on the look out for the US release of Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story on streaming platforms soon! 

The super talented director of Lunatic is Kate Kroll. Be sure to follow her on instagram @katekroll.blackmoonmedia  to stay up to date on the documentary's future screenings!