CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Recently, a budding starlet voiced delighted shock and awe to us during a chat about the great adult movies of the current era over the fact that there exists a segment of Pornville making full-length, elaborately produced, bona fide motion pictures much like the ones that come out of Tinseltown (only with real, explicit sex scenes, of course).
It's not that surprising a generational outlook, given how fundamentally the adult video sector has shifted to a piecemeal, a la carte model of scene-by-scene servings since the mid-to-late 2000s, when DVDs still reigned supreme. However, the age-old yearning for classic, engrossing storytelling lives on—even if these days, the stories more often than not get delivered in serial form.
Hence the creation last year of AVN's reimagined supreme accolade, the Grand Reel—which for its inaugural presentation was bestowed to the first season of Kayden Kross' audacious, ongoing vehicle for Deeper contract star Maitland Ward, Muse—with an eye toward recognizing the still very much viable and vibrant echelon of adult entertainment that brings together all traditional elements of moviemaking in the most consummate ... and, yes, grand fashion.
Below, we present a primer on the 10 nominees for AVN's 2022 Grand Reel trophy, along with respective breakdowns for those in need of how and where each may be viewed:
Blue Moon Rising (MissaX)
About: The first of two productions on the list from MissaX and director Ricky Greenwood, this slow burn chiller picked up 10 nominations in all, including Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actress for the gritty respective performances by Aiden Ashley and Brooklyn Gray, as well as Best Makeup for the wild creature prosthetics crafted by Alexxx Moon. Highly reminiscent of Mike Nicols' 1994 Jack Nicholson horror-drama Wolf, it's a quietly unnerving but sinisterly sexy pulse-pounder rife from beginning to end with understated, almost existential dread.
Where to see it: On DVD; with membership on MissaX.com (in three parts); rent, buy or stream on HotMovies.com
Casey: A True Story (Adult Time)
About: Quite possibly AVN Hall of Fame director/performer Joanna Angel's magnum opus, the wrenching but ultimately uplifting real-life tale of trans star Casey Kisses' journey from Florida biker to porn luminary unfolds here with poignant, unexpectedly moving pathos, bolstered by towering performances on the parts of Dante Colle as pre-transition Casey, Tommy Pistol as her convict dad, and Kisses herself as her own current-day incarnation. With a whopping 15 nods, it is this year's most-nominated title.
Where to see it: On DVD; with membership on AdultTime.com (in four parts); rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Kill Code 87 (Digital Playground)
About: An action-packed noir pic full of shootouts, double play and classically razor-barbed dialogue (garnering a Best Screenplay nod for J. Bonare), as captured in gorgeously dark, brooding style by Hall of Fame helmer Francois Clousot, who picked up both Best Cinematoraphy and Best Directing - Narrative Production noms for the twisty, John Wick-esque cat-and-mouse thriller.
Where to see it: On DVD; with membership on DigitalPlayground.com (in four parts); rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Love, Sex & Lawyers (Adam & Eve Pictures)
About: Writer/director Will Ryder's long-in-the-coming sophomore addition to his comedic Love, Sex &... series, this time set in the legal world, with Kenna James finding herself going up against her own attorney boyfriend, played by Charles Dera, in a battle over preserving a historic building scheduled for demolition. A star-studded cast that also includes Tommy Pistol, Misty Stone, Kenzie Taylor and legendary non-sex player Frank Bukkwyd elevates this old-school rom-com into the stratosphere of the past year's most timelessly entertaining offerings.
Where to see it: On DVD; on the new Adam & Eve Plus streaming platform; rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Muse Season 2 (Deeper)
About: Three-time AVN Director of the Year Kayden Kross' even more epic continuation of last year's Grand Reel-anointed meta-drama, this multi-layered, deeply complex allegory tackling cancel culture, the stifling of sexual expression, the ominous power of social media and more plays out like an almost operatic phantasm within which Maitland Ward is afforded sprawling rein to flex her actorly biceps like a Broadway queen on opening night. Boasting 10 nominations, it's compulsory viewing for any serious adult cineaste.
Where to see it: On DVD; with membership on Deeper.com (in five parts); rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Primary Season 2 (Lust Cinema)
About: Expanding writer/director/star Casey Calvert's saga of interweaving sexual exploits among a number of polyamorous L.A. couples, Primary Season 2 sees many of the first season's characters return, but also introduces two significant new ones: Victoria Voxxx's strictly lesbian Olivia and her very recent ex Joe, played by Cam Damage. Joe's transitioning identity mirrors that of Damage's own in real life (since this production's release, the gender nonconforming performer underwent top surgery), and both performances earned 2022 AVN Award nods—Voxxx for Best Supporting Actress and Damage for the first-ever Best Thespian – Trans/X accolade. With nine more nominations on top of that, Calvert's vibrant, quirkily romantic tableau of moden day sex and relationships stands as one of the year's most of-the-moment and sublimely deft works.
Where to see it: With membership on LustCinema.com (in six parts); episodes 1-3 available to rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Psychosexual (Vixen Media Group)
About: Arguably Kayden Kross' most ambitious project of her three tentpole offerings during the present awards season (the third being star showcase Influence Emily Willis), this Gianna Dior vehicle took a novel approach to its release strategy, rolling out across five of the sites within the Vixen Media network—Blacked, Blacked Raw, Tushy, Vixen and Deeper. It also happens to be a highly compelling, richly cinematic and spectacularly erotic character study of a sexually compulsive psychiatrist herself deeply damaged by a traumatic event suffered on the cusp of her entrance into adulthood. With Dior's strongest acting performance to date (which garnered her a nom for Best Leading Actress) as well as some of her most exhilarating sexual showdowns (three out of her four here now up for AVN gold—respectively in Best Anal Sex Scene, Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene and Best Tag-Team Sex Scene), this dark drama is a crown jewel in both her career and Kross'. Oh yes, and we'd be remiss not mention the breakout turn by male performer Oliver Flynn, which landed him his own nom for Best Supporting Actor.
Where to see it: On DVD; with six-site membership to the Vixen network (Part 1 - Blacked Raw, Part 2 - Tushy, Part 3 - Vixen, Part 4 - Blacked, Part 5 - Deeper); rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Survive the Night (Digital Playground)
About: A clever, fun riff on the mainstream murder mystery Knives Out—but with its own original twist (earning writer Mikey Douglas a Best Screenplay nod)—this comic thriller serves as a rollicking spotlight for the sharp acting talents of Xander Corvus and Stirling Cooper, who picked up respective nominations for Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actor. It also marks a major career milestone for director Billy Visual, who not only received a Best Directing - Narrative Production hat-tip for his efforts here, but partially thanks to those efforts landed his first-ever spot on the list of contenders for the coveted Director of the Year title.
Where to see it: On DVD; with membership on DigitalPlayground.com (in four parts); rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Toxic (Sweet Sinner/Mile High)
About: Director Jacky St. James has an uncanny knack for drawing sensational performances out of her actors, and Toxic is one the most resounding exhibits of that in the celebrated helmswoman's portfolio at least of the past several years. All three of the central players here—Aila Donovan, Quinton James and Ryan Mclane—are positively explosive in their roles as the members of a highly caustic sex triangle, and in turn each is now in the running for AVN acting prize glory: Donovan for Leading Actress, James for Leading Actor, and Mclane for Supporting Actor. St. James herself, natch, has her hat in the ring for both Best Directing – Narrative Production (for the stage play-esque melodrama at hand) and, once again, Director of the Year.
Where to see it: On DVD; with membership on MileHighMedia.com (in four parts); rent, buy or stream on all major VOD platforms
Under the Veil (MissaX)
About: Completing the pair of Ricky Greenwood-helmed spectacles bookending the 2022 Grand Reel lineup, this truly titanic religio-horror pulp fest (it clocks in at nearly five hours) marks the wildly versatile director's return to his beloved "nunsploitation" genre (previously invoked with his two Confessions of a Sinful Nun pictures for Sweetheart Video). And it arrived just in time to cash in on some of the attention generated by mainstream director Paul Verhoeven's new unrated period piece Benedetta ... based on the same novel Greenwood says inspired all three of his nun-sex excursions. With additional homages to the likes of Ken Russell and Lucio Fulci, dazzling art direction by Kylie Ireland, and astonishing performances by every principal cast member (collecting noms were: Kenna James for Best Leading Actress, Tommy Pistol for Best Leading Actor, Charlotte Stokely and Helena Locke for Best Supporting Actress, and Steve Holmes for Best Supporting Actor), Under the Veil is a powerhouse of a production in myriad ways.
Where to see it: With membership on MissaX.com (in five parts); rent, buy or stream on AdultEmpire.com or HotMovies.com
The 2022 AVN Awards Show will be broadcast live on AVNAwards.com at 8:00 p.m. PT Saturday, January 22, presented by MyFreeCams.
