After a career peak directing several well-received fantasy features for Sin City, Michael Raven stubbed his toe with this poorly directed (and horribly edited) supernatural thriller for Vivid Video.
Much of the blame goes to DCypher, credited here under his alternate moniker Devan Sapphire, as screenwriter. The story is alternately way too obvious and then suddenly relying on ridiculous gimmicks -it's never believable. Likewise the stock characters.
Eric Masterson is the ultimate male chauvinist pig, constantly abusing his wife (Vivid contract star Raylene) both psychologically and physically, latter with the aid of a riding crop of his belt to punish her. He's a total rotter, carrying on an affair with Raylene's sister Sydnee Steele.
Ava Vincent is Raylene's friend who runs an art gallery, and introduces Ray to artist Evan Stone. Evan is overtly sinister, and immediately mesmerizes Ray, causing her to hallucinate under his power, including imagining she's watching a torrid threesome in a cave, where Bobby Vitale and Erik Everhard (who is unrecognizable, looking more like Anthony Hardwood than the EE we all know and love) are ravishing busty redhead Shelbee Myne.
There are cryptic shots that seem to be spoiler flash-forwards inserted from time to time, and a key set-up after all the sex footage is over is very poorly staged, utterly unconvincing. Worse yet, Raven has a lingering shot of Ava Vincent in the middle of the movie with an evil smile on her face that is strictly a red herring -she's not a bad guy or schemer as implied.
Raven lets down his audience by having sex scenes that are not justified by the story, and the contrived story badly directed to boot.
Much of the blame goes to DCypher, credited here under his alternate moniker Devan Sapphire, as screenwriter. The story is alternately way too obvious and then suddenly relying on ridiculous gimmicks -it's never believable. Likewise the stock characters.
Eric Masterson is the ultimate male chauvinist pig, constantly abusing his wife (Vivid contract star Raylene) both psychologically and physically, latter with the aid of a riding crop of his belt to punish her. He's a total rotter, carrying on an affair with Raylene's sister Sydnee Steele.
Ava Vincent is Raylene's friend who runs an art gallery, and introduces Ray to artist Evan Stone. Evan is overtly sinister, and immediately mesmerizes Ray, causing her to hallucinate under his power, including imagining she's watching a torrid threesome in a cave, where Bobby Vitale and Erik Everhard (who is unrecognizable, looking more like Anthony Hardwood than the EE we all know and love) are ravishing busty redhead Shelbee Myne.
There are cryptic shots that seem to be spoiler flash-forwards inserted from time to time, and a key set-up after all the sex footage is over is very poorly staged, utterly unconvincing. Worse yet, Raven has a lingering shot of Ava Vincent in the middle of the movie with an evil smile on her face that is strictly a red herring -she's not a bad guy or schemer as implied.
Raven lets down his audience by having sex scenes that are not justified by the story, and the contrived story badly directed to boot.