Taboo II, the long-awaited sequel to the fabulously successful 1980 film, Taboo, offers more hot-and-heavy sexual encounters than the original, but lacks in the original’s power and potent eroticism.

The sequel picks up the original left off in many ways, but has some inherent problems that it fails to overcome.  First, the comparison between both films is inevitable, and since Taboo is undoubtedly one of the classics of adult movies, Taboo II has an uphill battle from the beginning.  Also, the sequel is without Mike Ranger, the sexually dynamic actor who, in the original, played the son who invites an incestuous affair with his mother. Instead of replacing Ranger’s important role, the producers have decided to follow a route left open for discovery in Taboo.

Surprisingly, the course taken involves the family of Mike Ranger’s girlfriend, played so seductively by the red-haired Dorothy LeMay in Taboo.  It seems as though Ms. LeMay’s family is having their share of sexual problems: Dad (Eric Edwards) and Mom (Honey Wilder) are not making the earth move in bed, and Dorothy’s hulkish brother has the hots for little sister.  Taboo II explores these situations, and concludes “the family that sleeps together, sleeps together.”

The film begins in promising fashion as we are re-introduced to Kay Parker, the sultry mother of the original. She owns a card shop, and is visited by LeMay and her brother one day.  They are searching for a birthday card for their Dad. Key explains that her son Paul is no longer living with her, but with her ex-husband.  In a manner quite unusual to those familiar with her character from the first film, Parker makes mention of the brother’s (Junior) well-endowed body.  Soon, an invitation is sent for the mammoth-sized kid to visit Ms. Parker at home, which he ably accepts.

After a scorching ménage-a-trois sequence involving Parker, Junior, Parker’s best friend from the first film (played by matronly Juliet Anderson) and some oil, Taboo II shifts its focus to the sexual predicament of LeMay’s family.

The first of three incestuous encounters occurs when Junior pulls a trick on his sister, by using his girlfriend Mary Lou (played by feisty newcomer Bambi) to get her onto the couch with him. At first, she relents.  But soon, she’s overcome by family magic. And by film’s end, incest is proven best in this family, as Junior takes care of Mom’s pent-up sexual problems, and sis seduces her business-like father.

For the most part, the sex in Taboo II is plentiful and varied: we are greeted with non-stop lesbian liaisons, that steamy ménage-a-trois, and an orgy sequence that goes on for at least seven minutes, and features a bunch of familiar faces and bodies, including Ron Jeremy.  Ms. LeMay is a picture of everyone’s dream nymphette, wearing cut-off shorts that appear painted on her luscious body, and performing fellatio like few can in adult films. Ms. Wilder plays the mother with the proper mix of frustration and desire, and old pro Eric Edwards brings an air of corporate primness to the father role.

Unfortunately, Kay Parker is in the film for a very short time.  After the ménage-a-trois, we don’t see her until the orgy where she shows baby sister a few new tricks.  It’s a shame, because Parker was superb in the original.  Her portrait of a confused, lonely woman with bubbling sexual wants was a classic, and much of its success is owed to her.  Here she’s just window dressing.

Another thing absent in Taboo II is the power and emotional conflict that was so apparent in Taboo.  Because the original dealt mainly with two full-blooded, human characters, it was able to show us a side of sexual urgency and passionate feelings few adult films dare to face. Director Kirdy Stevens, who also handled the original, has five major protagonists to deal with here. And since none of his characters are as interesting or complex, the film, though successful on its own terms, never reaches the heights achieved by Taboo.