Released | Feb 26th, 2019 |
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Running Time | 146 Min. |
Director | Axel Braun |
Company | Wicked Pictures |
DVD Extras | Bonus Scenes, Widescreen |
Cast | Charlotte Stokely, Ramon Nomar, Seth Gamble, Kenna James, Alex Legend, Reagan Foxx, Avi Love, Victoria Voxxx |
Non-Sex Roles | Tom Byron, Jessica Drake, Dustin Daring |
Critical Rating | AAAAA |
Genres | Action/Thriller, Editor's Choice |
Adult movies reliably aspire to be arousing. Others could be described as exciting, amusing, shocking—perhaps even touching. But it’s a rare porn flick that qualifies as haunting. And that emotional effect helps set this moody thriller apart—along with its black-and-white cinematography and stylish soundtrack.
The movie begins and ends with an interrogation: Sarah Walden (Jessica Drake) is interviewing Valerie Hyde (Avi Love), asking how she met her husband. Immediately we see Mrs. Hyde as her former self, an innocent girl home from college to visit her mother (Reagan Foxx) and hang out with childhood friend Melanie Tramell (Kenna James). But the night turns dark when Valerie and Melanie try to help a frightened girl (Victoria Voxxx) fleeing a mystery man in a hoodie, which leads into a downright sinister three-way sex scene (James, Voxxx and Seth Gamble) that apparently takes place only in Valerie’s imagination.
To help curb that imagination, Valerie’s mother turns to her employer, Dr. Jekyll (Tom Byron), for help. He supplies some medicine—which, like the original Dr. Jekyll’s formula, unleashes the id. Love digs into the role, allowing herself to become almost feral with lust in sex scenes with Dr. Jekyll’s chauffeur (Ramon Nomar), Edward Hyde’s assistant (Charlotte Stokely) and Hyde himself (played by Seth Gamble, going full sleazeball with a pencil-thin mustache).
The convoluted mystery snagged Movie of the Year at the 2019 AVN Awards, but of the five trophies it garnered, the win for Best Screenplay—co-written by director Axel Braun with son Rikki and father Lasse—stands out for its celebration of porn’s most productive dynasty.