Don't Let The Gate Close On You 4.75 out of 5.00 - Film: 4 Extras: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 7/3/2001
Veteran porn star, Jonathan Morgan, has reached deep into the darkness of the afterlife for his latest film (shot on video) from Wicked Pictures. THE GATE stars the very talented Alexa as Hanna Stone, a young lady that has entered a mental institution for killing her husband and acting quite insane. Hanna hears voices in her head as she screams like a banshee through the halls and rooms of the mental home, headed by Dr. Archer (Mike Horner in a non-sex role). The rest of the cast includes Joel Lawrence as the even more insane Frank Maddox, Kylie Ireland, Sydnee Steele, Brad Armstrong, and Kaylynn.

The story is a bit of a supernatural drama. It is very dark. Do not look for fun and kicks here. Morgan delivers a powerful, sometimes brutal, film. Our heroine, Hanna, hears voices in her head. They are telling her to do awful things - at least we think. In reality, she has opened a gate to a world she wants no part of, and she continues through the film in a raging fit, trying to convince everyone of its truth. Morgan's direction, lighting, composition, and powerful camerawork bring this thriller true to life. I often forgot that I was watching an adult film. The acting is also pretty damn good for a porno, and Alexa is nearly perfect as the psychotic, unfortunate Hanna Stone. She shows true acting talent in this film, and we already know that she is hot and she can fuck like there is no tomorrow.

Alexa and Joel Lawrence have a very good chemistry together. Lawrence as Maddox is reminiscent of Brad Pitt's character in 12 MONKEYS. At first, he does an excellent job of playing a nut, but as the film moves on, we can see that he is acting too hard, and his hand and eye movements become a bit too cheesy as he becomes quite annoying. Even in the last sex scene, he looks very corny as Alexa sucks his cock in her dark room.

THE GATE opens and closes with great strength and power. The opening title sequence is one of the coolest and most artistic I have ever seen. It is creepy and intriguing. It will suck you right in, but it looks as if you are about to see something a little more twisted then you really do. I felt that Morgan's production was very good, but the sex scenes were far too normal and average for a film this powerful and artistic. He should have taken a few lessons from Michael Ninn when planning this one. I expected a far-out line of twisted and dark gangbangs, but all I found were mediocre scenes that were for the most part flashbacks.

The first fuck fest is with Kylie Ireland and Lee Stone. Ireland is a nurse and Stone an orderly. They are both on the night shift working very hard, and then a good fuck ensues. Kylie looks good going doggy style up against the file cabinets before taking it in the ass on the office chair. The scene is not a bad one, but it is quite typical - too typical for a film of this caliber.

My favorite scene stars Sydnee Steele and Brad Armstrong. It is a flashback and Sydnee looks so fucking unbelievable soaking wet in a black bikini. As she struts out of a pool of water, it is reminiscent of The Lady of the Lake in the King Arthur legend. Instead of handing Arthur Excalibur, she herself swallows the sword. Sydnee Steele always looks awesome wet and I think she is one of the sexiest women in adult films today.

This DVD from Wicked is two discs and it is gold mine for extras. Each disc has a fully loaded arsenal containing a cool screenplay feature, audio commentaries, a true "making of" segment, Alexa's body mold, and many others. It is a disc that will set a new standard in porn DVDs. The menu itself is a haunting, truly fascinating one that will make a host of mainstream DVD companies jealous.

THE GATE is a nearly perfect film that will pull you in and make you forget you are watching an adult film. Alexa shines, and I hope too see more important roles from her in the future. The ending is very climactic and it will make you think about life on the other side. You must hear the voices now. Check it out. They are calling for you!

      By: Victor Polanski

Satisfaction Awaits Within THE GATE! 5 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Extras: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 6/20/2001
In a genre where creativity and imagination in erotic movie-making are often suppressed by the bankrupt standards of cheap and cheesy products which overrun the DVD market, it's reassuring to know that there are a small handful of ambitious studios determined to offer the overwhelmed consumer and the discriminating fan, a commitment to quality instead of quantity. Such is the case with Wicked, a company which one again raises the standards of erotic excellence with THE GATE, a shot-on-video feature film directed by Jonathan Morgan which is given the royal treatment in this two disc set.

Beginning with the eye-catching, silver-embossed cover of sexy Alexa, and throughout the superb video design and presentation, Wicked takes the time and effort to present this ninety-minute feature as a true DVD event. The plot is almost vaguely reminiscent of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, due to the obvious setting within a mental hospital, and combines action seemingly inspired from TERMINATOR 2 with reference to scenes where the Sarah Conner character resists her institutionalized status. However, the sex and the dramatic angles are all derived from the inspired minds of co-writers Martin Brimmer and Morgan. Moreover, lead actor Joel Lawrence (doing his best Charlie Manson imitation) and featured actress Alexa are convincing in their roles without succumbing to overwrought dramatics or lame parody (though Joel's character often straddles that fine line between amusement and annoyance).

Director Jonathan Morgan, best known for his groan-inducing attempts at stand-up humor in features such as BLOOPERS, as well as his more successful work acting in erotic comedies like HAUNTED NIGHTS and directing award-winning features like DOUBLE FEATURE, does impressive work in balancing the erotica with the drama. A touchy subject such as mental illness (even if it just has to do with Alexa's haunted state of mind) would hardly seem appropriate for a porno movie, especially when the subject matter is approached with such deadpan seriousness, offering elements of fevered emotion -- even in the non-sex scenes. However, Morgan adeptly fashions the underlying story to enhance and develop the visually arresting sexual situations. Other movies like Sin City's BELLE DE JOUR and Metro's NOTHING TO HIDE 3 & 4 (which I had raved about in a prior Empire Review), occasionally allow the heavy plots and subject matter to interfere with the sexual proceedings, effectively reducing the overall erotic heat. THE GATE, however, never allows the story's novelty to intrude in on the hardcore action.

Kylie Ireland, looking absolutely lovely as a brunette (the sexy nurse's uniform doesn't hurt either), shows that she is more at home making videos for Wicked than she was at other studios, when she attacks Lee Stone in an after-hours sex session. Hearty blowjobs, pounding anal sex, and a splash of manly wetness all over her chest and mouth kick this movie off to a big bang. Believe it or not, a full ten minutes of story exposition takes place before we're off to the next sex scene starring the stunning Sydnee Steele, but this was one of those very few films where I wasn't bored and anxious for the next fuck and suck scene. Emerging from a Jacuzzi in a eye-popping black bikini (this girl always looks great in dark outfits; just take a look at her in a skimpy black dress in EVE'S GIFT and in ebony spandex in GIRLS NIGHT OUT), Sydnee deep-throats Brad Armstrong lovingly before riding on his hard-on reverse-cowgirl and missionary style. The director also gives us several superb initial vaginal penetration shots without any of the tiresome visual repetition which afflicts modern porn. If there is one minor criticism I have to say about this scene, it's that I wish it went on a bit longer, which is actually a testament to its appeal. Most sex scenes in porn are way overlong and redundant, but Morgan economizes the action for greater effect.

Next, blonde and busty Bridgette Kerkove throws herself at Herschel Savage for a frenzied quickie in a highly arousing segment of seduction. Rather than simply diving into the action, Bridgette is allowed to use her ability to tease and entice Herschel before the real action starts. The vampish looks she flashes at Mr. Savage while going down on him reminds me of a young Amber Lynn at her performance best, where the constant eye-contact can be hypnotic. However, even Amber would be impressed by the way Ms. Kerkove handles anal sex, when she takes some Max Hardcore-ish pile-driving captured perfectly in his visual style. Ms. Kerkove is known for her energetic performances, and she lives up to her reputation every single time she spreads her legs for the camera.

My favorite scene happens to occur when Joel Lawrence is teamed up with call girl Kaylynn. Decked out in an orange sundress which hugs her tight little body and shows off her long, slender legs, Kaylynn is deliciously appealing from the moment she appears on-screen. She delivers one of the wettest and most seductive blowjobs I have seen since Celeste made her mark in adult entertainment. With her long, flowing dark hair being thrown from side to side, and all-natural body bouncing to the beat of Joel's pummeling thrusts (which includes anal), Kaylynn looks so damn good at every camera angle, that again, I was sorry to see the scene end so quickly (fortunately, we are given an extended edit of this scene on Disc 2's bonus materials!).

The movie takes a break from all the rough and tumble action (but not for long) when Alexa and Voodoo (a relatively new actor who had the envious privilege of boning Ginger Lynn in VCA's NEW WAVE HOOKERS 6) have a slow, loving couples-oriented encounter on a couch. Alexa looks gorgeous in a red tank top and pants, and her sweet, wide-eyed expressions remind me of Stacy Valentine's natural charisma (a girl-girl scene between the two of them would be an ideal match). Alexa makes also shares a scene with fellow nut-job Joel, which is set in their padded cell. As expected, the sex is technically top-notch, but the director commits an artistic faux pas in employing so much slow motion accompanied by an overbearing rock song. The music here sounds like a strident mix of a poor man's Aerosmith covering a generic tune written by Night Ranger, and the whole scene is edited like some outtake from Michael Bay flick. Nevertheless, these creative touches do not greatly diminish the overall affair, but since it is the last scene in the flick (right before the tragic ending), I was a wee bit disappointed that we weren't given a more memorable finality. I was also somewhat dismayed to realize that we were not given a single lesbian scene, or even a threesome for the sake of variety. However, these complaints were raised only after I had sat down to write this review, which just goes to show that there is very little that was missed or found wanting during my initial viewing experience.

The picture quality of THE GATE has that same dreamy, soft look of other Wicked flicks like CROSSROADS and HEARTACHE, which is to say that it's excellent. Oftentimes, I prefer the look of film over video, but when the images are this appealing, there is nothing to complain about. The trailer on the video is matted for a widescreen look, but the actual feature is appropriately displayed full-screen, with no picture information missing from any of the sides. The audio on all three track choices is likewise excellent; you may end up watching the flick three times in a row just to catch all the entertaining commentary.

The extras on this release are absolutely superb. Whereas other companies are content to giving us a series of blurry stills for a photo gallery, or some random snippets of footage masquerading as a trailer, Wicked gives us all the goodies spread over two silver platters. Recently, Warner Bros gave SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE the royal treatment in its premiere DVD format, with plenty of exceptional extras and loaded with goodies that exceeded the expectations of even the most ardent collectors and fans. Well, Wicked has done the same here with everything one can expect from a movie of this magnitude. In the extended scenes section, Wicked has seen fit to give us longer cuts of my two favorite segments involving Bridgette Kerkove and Kaylynn. Unfortunately, a big, fat "Wicked Pictures" logo appears on the upper right hand side of the screen (to signal the presence of an extended scene) which obscures some of the additional action, including Bridgette's sexy facial expressions. Since I am absolutely against any kind of icon or graphic interfering with the original video image (my poor wife is forced to tolerate my constant whining every time I see a station identification logo on the TV screen), I have to say that placing them here was a mistake. Fortunately, I was able to disable the logo with the click of the speed search button, so what could have been a maddening experience instead became a very slight nuisance of no consequence. The deleted and extended scenes, bloopers, and so many other features really add to the viewing experience, and can be enjoyed separately from the movie at your convenience.

Admittedly, there are those who will be slightly turned off by the overall plot, and the dissonant mood and depressing setting which lead up to the fateful ending (which is why I didn't care for WICKED WOMAN starring Jenna Jameson, in which I felt the dark storyline sometimes neutered the heat of the sex scenes). But when the overall hardcore is done so well in a movie of this ambition, I think that any complaining would be nitpicking. To quote a certain industry trade publication, this DVD gets my pre-nom for Best Overall DVD at the next Empire Awards.

Open up THE GATE, and satisfaction will await you!


      By: Diesel

Unlocking The Gate 4.5 out of 5.00 - Film: 3 Extras: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 6/7/2001
With a track record like the one Jonathan Morgan has writing and directing adult films, failure is something that would have to happen sooner or later. And while The Gate isn't a disaster, it doesn't live up to the quality fans have come to expect from a Jonathan Morgan directed title.

Jonathan's films seem to be either light comedies or dark explorations of the soul, and The Gate fits into the latter category, telling the story of a woman (Alexa) who may or may not have killed her husband and is now under psychiatric care and evaluation.

The film opens up well enough, with a spooky (no pun intended folks!) credit sequence and the introduction of Frank Maddox (played by Joel Lawrence) a resident of the ward. We'll find out lots more about Maddox's background later in the film, but for now we watch as he attempts to make what appears to be an escape. Fortunately for Maddox, the orderly (Lee Stone) and nurse (Kylie Ireland, looking great in a nurse's outfit) are more preoccupied with each other than they are with the patients. This opening sequence is one of the best sexual encounters in the film, and watching Kylie get anal from the bulked-up Lee Stone was a real turn-on.

After the first sex scene, we discover that Joel isn't interested in escaping...he merely wanted to check out the "new girl", Alexa. Kylie catches him and sends him back to his room, but we start to find out a little more about Alexa's character and the fact that she is hearing voices in her head.

Some of the other patients seem to have some otherworldly things going on inside their heads as well, and one of them is Brad Armstrong, who recounts an encounter with Sydnee Steele near an outdoor pool. After Brad and Sydnee's scene, Bridgette Kerkove (who is also a patient) tells about her encounter with Herschel Savage. Of course, as with almost any scene involving Bridgette, there's a good deal of anal here, as well as a nice cumshot which Herschel shoots across Bridgette's body and onto her face.

Mike Horner is the resident doctor running the asylum, and he is interested in what may or may not be going on inside Alexa's head. It is at this point in the film that we find out that Mike had also run experiments with Joel's character, which drove him insane. Mike wants to use Joel to get to Alexa, and as a favor, he brings in a hooker (played by Kaylynn) to have a little fun with Joel.

The sex scene between Kaylynn and Joel is probably the hottest one in the film, and could have easily been a great scene, had it not been for Joel's trying to stay in character throughout. While I usually applaud actors for staying in character in a porn film (since so many of them obviously don't), Joel's performance of Maddox is so over-the-top, it becomes annoying and distracting during the sexual action. There is an extremely nice facial here, however, as Joel stands above Kaylynn and jerks off, letting his cum drip its way down to her waiting mouth and face.

At this point in the film, the viewer begins to wonder if he or she will ever see Alexa in action, and we finally do in the final two scenes of the film, the first one being a flashback scene with Voodoo, who is not playing Alexa's husband, but a man she is having an affair with. It is after this sex that Alexa starts getting the voices in her head...voices that may or may not have led to the killing of her husband. Did Alexa's infidelity bring the voices on, and if so, why would they lead her to kill her husband and not her lover or even herself? There are no real answers here, just ideas by writers Jonathan Morgan and Martin Brimmer that are never fully developed.

The final pairing is the obvious one, as Alexa and Joel finally do it. But now Joel is hearing the voices in his head as well (as if his brain weren't already screwed up!) and this all leads to the final conclusion of the film.

The bonus features on this DVD, however, are where The Gate is second to none. Not only has Wicked provided the usual bonus features we would find on one of their discs, but they have added a second DVD which is completely loaded with additional bonuses. Some of these include a behind the scenes look at the making of the film, extended sex scenes, the box cover shoot, bloopers, and the option to view many of these with or without running commentary. There's also a look at an Alexa body molding session for the making of her sex toy (this feature is also available on the Wild Thing DVD), as well as both the original and Jonathan Morgan's shooting script for the picture. While The Gate may not live up to expectations as a film, it's a sure bet this DVD at the very least is going to receive some accolades come awards time for its bonus features alone. Additionally, both the video and audio are top notch on both discs, and what fans have come to expect in quality from Wicked DVDs.

There are some interesting ideas in The Gate, such as are crazy people really crazy, or are they being manipulated by hidden forces? This isn't an original idea, neither in the adult film world or the mainstream one, but it has been better developed in other films in both the adult and general worlds. The sex in The Gate (which can often save a dull story) doesn't rise above the norm either, so what the viewer is ultimately left with is a so-so story with so-so sexual action.

A few weeks ago I watched Joel Lawrence in the VCA title Objects of Desire, and I stated then how good I thought Joel would be at playing a truly evil character. While the character of Maddox is more deranged than evil, Morgan makes a mistake by letting Lawrence play the character too broadly, almost a caricature of every insane person we've seen on film in the past. A more toned-down and sinister Maddox might have made this movie more intriguing. There's still a great bad guy role out there for Lawrence (who seems to be the hot ticket when looking for male actors after his performance in Raw), but unfortunately this isn't the one.


      By: Spooky

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