Every once in a while, each film genre produces a truly artistic, hard-hitting tour de force, and until a really perfect adult film comes along, Night Hunger will do very nicely.  Gerard Damiano has surpassed all of his earlier work, and considering some of his more recent failures, this particular work is all the more remarkable.  The care taken by this artist in the photography of his film recalls the Hollywood star portraits of the 30s and 40s.  Damiano’s direction is strong and elicits excellent performances from all of the major actors; Sharon Mitchell, in particular, has rarely given such a sensuous portrayal.  The writing, while episodic, is reminiscent of the better scenes from an earlier Damiano triumph, The Devil In Miss Jones.

The low-key opening introduces the viewer to the Come On Inn, a bar/restaurant run by the rotund Charlie, whose favorite pastime is telling stories about the history of the Blaire House. And, as one young back-packer finds out, the history of the Blaire House is a very sexual one.  There seems to be an erotic spirit, a “satyr,” that affects everyone who lives in the house with insatiable lust, as graphically illustrated in a series of flashbacks.

The first interlude, photographed in black and white through a fine gauze mesh, stars veteran actor Eric Edwards as a turn-of-the-century bon vivant who has surrounded himself with several young lovelies (Laurien Dominique among them) whose task is to satisfy his rapacious sexual appetite.  The erotic impact of Edwards’ coupling with fiancée Honey Wilder, where the viewer sees him making love to six women simultaneously, is indescribable.

The second flashback features Sharon Mitchell as Lilith, a prohibition era prostitute and owner of the Blaire House, now turned speak-easy and bordello. While again employing the monochrome-and-gauze technique, Damiano’s masterful direction shows in each of Mitchell’s spoken lines of dialogue.  Save for an internal flashback that attempts to explain Lilith’s motivation, this scene could be one of the finest, raunchiest and most sensual in adult cinema history.

Charlie’s final tale takes us into the new wave music world of the 1970s.  Sharon Kane stars as Slut (whose professional name derives from her sexual antics in high school), lead singer and paramour of the One-Eyed Jacks.  We find this out as Slut converses with her younger self, Mary Lou – also played by Kane – whose image shows up on video monitor, and whose teenage escapades are seen in flashbacks, which in this case are very effective.  Slut’s internal conflict reaches a climax when, through the magic of film, she forces Mary Lou to admit that she really likes her sexual activities, while dowsing her with urine.

Mention must be mad of the excellent musical accompaniment, especially in the flashback sequences.  The naked bodies seem to move to the beat of, first, classical piano motifs, and later, raucous, sensual jazz, and finally, neo-rock ‘n’ roll composed by the One-Eyed Jacks themselves.  It is this attention to detail that helps make Night Hunger a remarkable adult feature.