Compulsion

After suffering mightily through many a hyped stinker by Axel Braun, as overrated in the porn world as Quentin Tarantino is in the so-called mainstream, including his latest clunker "The Possession of Mrs. Hyde", I was surprised to see him delivering an actually competent feature in this rare departure for Elegant Angel from the label's all-sex format.

It's an entertaining porn equivalent of the B-action movie, especially those direct-to-video action features made in such profusion during both the VHS and DVD eras (but likely to suffer mightily now that streaming has taken over).

But it is strictly B and hardly praiseworthy, yet in the BTS both Braun and his employer, Elegant Angel owner Patrick Collins, are loaded with self-praise, each having visions of sugar plums in the manner of industry awards dancing in their minds. Yes, awards were forthcoming, more of the booby prize nature than the ridiculous accolades Braun has subsequently received annually.

He cast Collins in a leading role as a gangster, and another big surprise resulted: Collins, no actor he, gives a fine performance. Story concerns his marriage to beautiful British import Ashley Long (perhaps her best career role here or back in Blighty) and their relationship to his son Kurt Lockwood.

Kurt is framed for the murder of his girlfriend Ava Vincent by a dishonest partner, and has to flee from his base in Milan, where he's just launched a nightclub, back to daddy for protection. Collins obliges, having one of his henchmen murder the partner in the usual underworld tit for tat, and the plot seriously thickens when Kurt falls in love with Ashley and vice versa.

Shooting on film, Braun wisely has very brief sex scenes with plenty of softcore angles, so presumably this project would have qualified once upon a time for exposure to far more eyeballs than hardcore porn commands, via Skinemax or Showtime use of a soft X version. Unfortunately at least a couple of scenes are very poorly lit, one an orgy featuring porn's punk stars of a decade-plus ago (Rachel and Rob Rotten) that looks like it was shot in Blurrovision.

Use of a Lamborghini as Kurt's car and some decent if brief action scenes keep the movie interesting, and I am very glad to have watched it merely to see Ashley Long receive her long-overdue due.