One minute into the movie a dazed Sunny Lane makes a bloody mess of the man who's tormenting her - but she has no idea she is. She doesn't even know who she is. We move backwards in time, as in the mainstream cult hit Memento, and gradually discover how she arrived at such a sorry state.

A festering head bruise has fogged out her memory. In her pink purse, a stash of Polaroids, showing her in many compromising positions, are the only clue to her predicament.

Sunny's world is not a pretty place: violence and depravity are played out in sleazy bars, motels and the S&M-themed Club Sin. The movie exudes an aura of dread and displacement, superbly conveyed by videography and editing.

This may be James Avalon's consistently finest feature. It moves like hell on wheels, with lots of sex (just four acting roles - most of the large cast are there to fuck), and its unusual structure is clearly delineated.

Lane, as in Dark Angels 2, excels as a victimized woman. Her helpless stupor seems pathetically real. And in her sex scene with Kurt Lockwood, she draws on a reservoir of passion that hasn't yet been fully tapped.

But it's Evan Stone's feral presence as Lane's possessive boyfriend that galvanizes the picture. His crazed, lurching cowboy, oozing gore from a clumsily bandaged wound, is scary-funny big-time - an unforgettable characterization.

Lockwood plays his polar opposite, a tender, protective lover. Veronica Hart shines as a no-nonsense dominatrix, who takes Sunny under her wing.

All but one scene involves group sex, with cum-swapping galore. Avalon doesn't need help staging sex scenes. Three are exceptional: Stone's blood-soaked bang with three girls; the Lane-Lockwood tryst; and - especially-the "shower scene," an anal threeway with Alektra Blue, Tyla Wynn and Manuel Ferrara under running water that is hypnotically erotic.

That scene, like the movie, is destined for classic status.

Pre-noms: Best Video Feature. Best Director: James Avalon. Best Screenplay: George Kaplan & James Avalon. Best Videography: Richard Banks. Best Music: Daniel Noteworthy. Best Editing: Alexander Craig. Best Special Effects. Best Actress: Sunny Lane. Best Actor: Evan Stone, Kurt Lockwood. Best Non-Sex Performance: Veronica Hart. Best Coupling Sex Scene: Sunny Lane, Kurt Lockwood. Best Threeway Scene: Alektra Blue, Tyla Wynn, Manuel Ferrara. Group Sex Scene: Sunny Lane, Isabella Stanza, Kelly Wells, Evan Stone.

Retailing: This story feature scores high on every level - should have across the board consumer appeal.