4
out of 5.00 -
Film:
4
Extras:
4
Video:
4
Audio:
4
-
11/1/2007
The so-called alt-porn movement is nothing new, though it has seen some promising growth in the last few years thanks to directors like Eon McKai and Jack the Zipper. Vivid jumped on the alt-porn bandwagon last year with their new Vivid Alt line. Their first title,
The Rebelle Rousers, was shot by LA-based photographer Octavio Wiknytiki, a retro pin-up specialist. While his first video played like an homage to exploitive grindhouse cinema of the 1960s, his follow-up takes a more eclectic approach, drawing inspiration from manga, video games, and cold war-era paranoia.
Following a highly stylized opening credit sequence the movie begins with tattoo-covered Melodie Gore lounging on her sofa playing a video game. She's so engrossed in the twitch-heavy gameplay that she doesn't pay much attention to her topless roommate, Stoya. But the camera takes notice, giving Stoya a few flattering passes. Later, Melodie attempts to turn off the tv, but it won't respond. Upon smacking the set, she's suddenly sucked into the tv and instantly becomes the heroine of the
Man's Ruin video game, wearing a pink wig and a green nurse outfit.
In the first level, Chris Charming plays a weird doctor busy examining Ava Rose in a medical facility. Cheery music from the 40s fills the sparsely lit room, piped in from a raspy radio as Chris starts shaving Ava's legs. For the most part Ava lies still, even as Chris begins fondling her tits and fingering her pussy. But she eventually comes to life as Chris fucks her on the exam table. He sticks it to her in missionary, doggie, and side saddle, eliciting some moans of pleasure. Some foot play follows as Ava strokes Chris's cock with her feet. Following some more missionary prodding, Chris jerks off into a test tube. But his specimen is destroyed by Melodie, taking the covert form of a stop-motion animated squid.
Next, Roxy DeVille plays a willing prisoner in some sort of Satanic dungeon. Apparently the set design was a little too authentic for the Vivid censors, as some imagery is blurred out. The action gets underway rather abruptly as Roxy goes to work on Barry Scott's cock, sucking him like a champ. He answers back by fucking Roxy from behind next to an object that is intentionally blurred. The stylized editing keeps things interesting for the remainder of the scene as the pair run through a rather routine line-up of positions. At the end, Barry jerks off in Roxy's mouth, but most of this is obscured by a bluish filter that covers and somewhat distorts the imagery. As ordered, Melodie defeats the Satanist to advance to the next level.
A smoky gambling den is the site of the next scene as Justine Joli and Satine Phoenix step away from their dice-throwing boyfriends for a little girl-girl fun. Satine is the aggressor early on, licking, spanking, and fingering Justine. But Justine eventually gets the chance to return the favor. Satine breaks away and heads to the restroom where she yanks Celeste Star out of a stall for some rough fondling. They munch away on each other in a cramped stall before leaving, joining Justine on a sofa for an all-girl three-way finale. Afterward, Melodie arrives and fights off the gambling thugs in a sleek kung-fu sequence.
Melodie's next target is a pornographer on the set of an old school stag flick. Before the takedown, a partially bound Mia Rose prances around in front of a body builder, played by Jay Huntington. Jay removes the restraints around Mia's ankles so he can easily duck down between her legs to taste her kitty. He then hammers it in from behind while the pornographer lurks in the shadowy background. Once again, Winkytiki's style and editing compliment the relatively routine action as Mia gets fucked in several positions. Jay closes out the scene by popping his load on Mia's back and hair. But the action isn't over until Melodie (dressed in an anime-inspired outfit) strangles the pornographer.
In the final level, Melodie must save Go Go (Lystra) being held captive by Claire Adams. Before Melodie arrives, Claire (in a silver and black outfit) torments Lystra, wrapped in a tight body stocking. When Lystra finally emerges from her cocoon-like wrap, Claire slaps and spanks her with a riding crop. She then summons a dildo-equipped robot which fucks Lystra in a doggie setup. But just as the thrusting machine gets up to speed, Melodie arrives, vanquishes Claire, and frees Go Go. Mission complete!
I'm happy to see the Vivid Alt titles are given a bit more care than their standard Vivid counterparts. For one, there are no cheesy phone sex ads at the beginning of the disc. Equally impressive is the packaging which is constructed of a high-grade card board in a tri-fold arrangement with a plastic holder for each of the two discs. There's even a sleeve inside holding a rub-on tattoo. Beyond the hip packaging, the DVD looks good too, sporting a fairly crisp transfer. There's some inherent grain and light pixelation, but that's to be expected from a production with such low lighting. One downside is that the video is presented in non-anamoprhic widescreen format. Although the audio is only presented in a stereo format, the mixing here is top notch with a near perfect blend of background music and natural on-set sound. Usually I'm not a huge fan of music, but the selections chosen here work perfectly with the theme of each scene.
With the exception of some photo galleries and trailers, most of the extras appear on the second disc. First up is the 1965 propaganda film "Perversion for Profit." It's an actual educational film attempting to link pornography to a greater Communist conspiracy. The whole film is presented here, running around 31 minutes in length. Next is the director's 2.5 minute edit of the same film, which plays like a quick-paced music video emphasizing some of the more memorable lines from the film. This is followed by a 21-minute BTS featurette offering some good interviews and on-set action. Rounding out the extras are an "unreleased" trailer for the feature and a Winkytiki photo gallery showcasing some of his gorgeous pin-up photography.
Man's Ruin attempts to prove that porno can be so much more than just a simple stroke flick, and for the most part it succeeds. The attention to detail during production and post is rather astounding, with artistic lighting, sexy make-up and outfits, crafty camera work, and unparalleled editing room wizardry. But it's tough to say if this avant garde meets hardcore experiment will find an audience. Clearly, this sort of movie isn't for everyone. But if you're tired of the same old couch porn dreck, try this one on for size.
By:
Dr. Mabuse