This film noir in color is Michael Raven's best movie in some time, adapted with great skill and assurance from a Jennifer Allison screenplay. Essentially a two-character drama, it's brought to vivid life by Stormy Daniels and Randy Spears.
Stormy plays a young woman determined to escape her trailer trash background and her squabbling parents' poverty. Coldly deciding to become a succubus, draining men of their power through sex, she marries the much older Spears, a wealthy lawyer who suffers from chronic depression. ("Easy to get him to submit," she smirks.) Since he has a weakness for three-ways, she sweetens their relationship with other women.
Her plot is to poison him, slowly but painlessly, so he'll never know what hit him. But when a girlfriend figures out what's going on and tips him off anonymously, he begins to counter-plot against his wife. Suddenly, much to her chagrin, the hunter becomes the hunted in a deadly game.
These cat and mouse intrigues are the meat of the movie. As the story darkens, the photography becomes more stylized, thanks to director of photography Francois Clousot. The deep shadows and stark color contrasts mirror the antagonists' psychological states.
Daniels and Spears turn in supremely accomplished performances, dominating the screen like stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Spears is understated yet powerful. Stormy, terminally glamorous, conveys subtly conflicting emotions in Raven's super-tight close ups.
The acting extends to their very intense sex scene, early in the couple's relationship. Though they've worked together often, they make it seem like the first time. The rest of the sex is also well handled, but this time around the play's the thing.
Pre-nom: Best Video Feature.
Retailing: Porn with a storyline doesn't get any better than this.
- Jared Rutter

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