I'd like to propose the analogy that Loretta Sterling is to the adult video industry as John Waters (in the 70's, at least) was no mainstream Hollywood... and I don't simply mean that each man's features revolve around stars who have made more than a couple of trips to the all-you-can-eat buffet table. Like Waters, Sterling attempts to strip away the pretentiousness of his counterparts and return to the earthiest, most taboo nature of the business. His work certainly isn't for all tastes, but it can make for an interesting change from the cookie-cutter sexvids that are churned out like Big Macs.

Sterling's latest opus, the aptly named Freak Show, is set in a carnal carnival where the main attraction is the sex lives of the sideshow denizens. From "fat lady" Teighlor to "bearded lady" Lotta Love to "tattooed lady/snake charmer" Viper, these gals use their offbeat charms to ensnare (or in Teighlor's case, envelop) their men. Just on this side of normalcy is a scene between Misty Dawn and lion tamer Hans Mueller, but even that eventually turns into a bisexual threesome that features some rarely-seen couplings. And in what may be a nod to Tod Browning's classid Freaks, there's a voyeuristic midget who speaks with an almost unintelligible accent.

This is a well-made feature, but its subject matter definitely limits its appeal to a select few. (Teighlor's scene, however, could almost be put in an ordinary feature without fear of an NC-17 rating, since there's never any "obvious" penetration.) It probably will take a strong stomach to watch all of Freak Show, but anyone who's bored with average sexvids might want to check this out for a real jolt of the unusual.