Défiance

This starts as if, as the title perhaps suggests, it is a Sadean tract. More than a little nasty too with, for me the unfortunate elements of parents foisting off their young daughter, tears and all. For about twenty minutes we suffer the girl's entry and first weeks in an insane asylum complete with rather ugly if realistic gang rape. There is then a rather good 'Story of O' period complete with shackles and whippings and talk producing a quasi religious feel to the pain/pleasure scenarios. The final section, after our young heroine has learned to love this discipline, instead of being some SM tour de force turns out to be group sex. It has to be said though that this is a tremendous and enthusiastic series of sessions full of seemingly tangible lustfulness and even if it is not where one might have expected this film to go, certainly most enjoyable.

One of the finest adult movies dealing with the murky subculture of sadomasochism, there has been some debate over its authorship. While credited director Armand Weston was certainly involved, the likes of producer Jason Russell (the most eloquent of the early free sex advocates with wife Tina who appears on the closing scroll as make-up assistant), male lead Fred Lincoln (a highly prolific filmmaker still working today) and even Vinnie Rossi (a modestly talented hack whose finest effort remains 1984's DESIRE) have all claimed responsibility at some point. Armand Weston was that porn rarity, not unlike the legendary Radley Metzger, a man who took his time to develop each project, exhibiting talent and concern at every stage. His most famous work remains the 1978 classic TAKE OFF, a glossy rendition of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and a film that actually flopped on its initial theatrical run ! Mainstream (well, horror) audiences should owe him a debt of gratitude for an eerie little cult item entitled THE NESTING (1981) starring former femme fatale Gloria Grahame as the spectral madam of a haunted brothel.

Sweet little teenager Cathy Taylor (Jean Jennings, allegedly only 17 at the time and girlfriend of Hollywood character actor Joe Spinell, who was to become the stuff of legend himself as the star of Bill Lustig's MANIAC) has been caught taking her first hit of cocaine with her bad influence best friend Susan (Day Jason, the running gag secretary taking all the facial cum shots in Metzger's PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN) by her strict religious mom, played by Holly Landis who bears a strong resemblance to Mink Stole. Ever the alarmist, with dad ("Roderick Usher") conveniently spineless, she has the girl committed to Eastwood General Hospital's psycho ward for observation. Look for a quick cameo by bisexual superstar Marc Stevens (nicknamed "10 ½" for reasons you won't find illustrated here) as one of the inmates in the very disturbing day room scene. Forbidden any contact with her parents, Cathy's submitted to strip search and group rape, events to which her unsympathetic physician Dr Hirsh (Kevin André, one of porndom's finest character players) remains blissfully ignorant. A visiting medic, the soft spoken Dr Gabriel (Fred Lincoln), offers her the chance to escape this hellhole if both she and her folks will agree to the girl being committed to his private clinic. This is the point where the film changes tone from gritty to Gothic and the S&M element really kicks in as Cathy's immediately told to obey every one of Gabriel's rules, no matter how seemingly arbitrary. Her initial resistance earns her a sound whipping from aptly named Nurse Kane (Brit-accented Heather Ellis, also in TEENAGE STEPMOTHER) who will later force herself on the shackled Cathy, a pivotal sequence where the girl transforms from victim to willing participant in her own submission. Some exquisitely erotic moments ensue with the accent on educating the ignorant about the seductive and highly ritualized nature of S&M rather than literally beating them round the head with a succession of floggings which is just the surface that often precludes people's understanding that this sort of relationship is really about trust and surrender between equal yet role-defined partners.

Arguably the best S&M themed adult films (THE STORY OF JOANNA, THE NAUGHTY VICTORIANS) are those that to a degree plead for an open mind rather than preach to the choir. The displays of "deviance" here play on an entirely different level than those found more commonly in Shaun Costello's Avon quickies which either repulse or rapidly degrade into silliness. Her education nearly complete (right after a show stopping three-way with a hardly recognizable Jamie Gillis and Sonny Landham, a memorable supporting player in Sly Stallone's LOCK UP), Cathy is given the choice of freedom with no possibility of ever returning or to stay on and help indoctrinate a new arrival. While detractors will be quick to blame the girl's decision on a major case of Stockholm Syndrome, it fits right in with the message Weston's trying to convey, with a nasty twist in the tail for good measure.

A mature masterpiece both in form and content, this movie deserves far better than the off-color reputation it has generally acquired over time, frequently and unfairly lumped together with the rest of the '70s roughies. Fans expecting a lot of physical harm inflicted upon its teen heroine will come away rather disappointed as the violence is far more psychological in nature. In this respect, Jennings' performance is nothing short of amazing, her every reaction totally credible. The actress, who would go on to gain notoriety in the Mitchell Brothers classic THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FLEA (1975) and Zebedy Colt's VIRGIN DREAMS (1976), has never received proper credit for running through the whole gamut of emotions the part required with such complete conviction. Surely, few adult film actresses would've been capable enough to pull this off. And this was her debut, no less ! As her mentor (and tormentor), the far more seasoned Lincoln (a fixture since the early days of cinematic carnality, both as director and performer) matches her every step of the way, delivering his most disquieting achievement since playing Weasel in Wes Craven's official (non-adult) directorial debut LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972).

They really don't make them like they used to. This adult feature is the story of Cathy, a young good girl student who gets caught experimenting with drugs so her panicked parents have her committed to an institution. This one plays like a horror thriller at first. The sex is graphic and upsetting to watch frankly, but as Cathy gets swept up and cared for by doctor/Guru Fred Lincoln, her experience becomes more erotic. It's a pretty neat trick to challenge an audience's expectations like that in an adult feature. Weston does a great job keeping this one moving along, and the sex starts to slowly shift as Cathy gets more experience. It makes for a rewarding, challenging feature from the porno chic era.

I am not a fan of hardcore porn (sure, they supposedly show "real" sex, but if real sex involved being two inches from Ron Jeremy's fat, hairy bunghole and sweaty, pistoning perineum, I would swear off it for life!). I do really like the pre-hardcore "roughie" films though, not because I'm a potential rapist or sexual sadist, but because they were genuine films with genuine drama made by filmmakers and actors who, while certainly low-budget and low-rent, had a modicum of actual talent. Hardcore films, on the other hand, are usually simply tedious documents of people having sex recorded by whatever visual medium happened to be on hand by people who have no talent whatsoever. There is rarely even the basic suspension of disbelief necessary to feel you are watching a real movie.

The best thing I can say about this film then is that if you took away the hardcore sex, it would be a fairly decent "roughie". And if you took away ALL the sex, you might even be able to pass it off as a 50's nd 60's-sytle "J.D." (juvenile delinquent) film (albeit a very short one). I won't re-hash the plot, but suffice it to say, it does actually HAVE one. It is a somewhat disturbing as other reviewers have said, but I think it would actually be more disturbing if it weren't hardcore porn. The long sex scenes actually interrupt the effectively unsettling atmosphere the film manages to create at times.

According to the generally unreliable IMDb dates, this film was practically released on lead actress Jean Jenning's 18th birthday, so there is some question of whether she was "barely legal" or "barely illegal" when she made it. There is no question that she was involved in "adult" films though years ealier when she was definitely underage and sometimes with her male lead here, Fred Lincoln of "Last House on the Left" fame. (And I find it extremely hypocritical that Lincoln has bad-mouthed "Last House" so much over the years, considering that in that film he only PLAYED a FICTIONAL child molester). Anyway, Jennings looks about 25 here and she was definitely a lot older than I was in 1975, so I'm personally not going to worry about that. She is surprisingly good here as a teenage mental patient, as is Lincoln in a non-sex role as her bent doctor. This is not bad for a hardcore porn film.

Armand Weston was no stranger to the domination/degradation styled hardcore genre, directing both "The Taking of Christina" and "A Dirty Western" a short time later, but it was with "The Defiance of Good" that he really put kinky sleaze on the map. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give this film is that much of the terror is provided through psychological torture which is far harder to do competently than yet another cliched "whipping of the ass" scene. (Although the nasty stuff is certainly on display as well!) The performances really sell this aspect as well. Highly recomended. The AVN named this several years ago as "One of the greatest currently unavailable adult titles". I'm inclined to agree!