Fade To Black 2

I was at somewhat of a disadvantage going into Fade To Black 2. You see, despite having watched (seemingly) every major adult movie under the sun, I've never had the chance to go back and catch the original Fade To Black, which starred Taylor Hayes and remains one of Adult DVD Empire's all-time best-selling titles.

Taylor's not back for the sequel, but some of the male performers are - including Paul Thomas (who also directed this movie) in a non-sex role as porn director Trent Morgan. As the movie opens, Paul is complaining to Tony Tedeschi about how boring his life has become and how he wishes something interesting would happen. As they say, be careful what you ask for!

Dale DaBone reprises his role from the first Fade To Black, where he was rejected as a male performer by Paul. Well, since the movie Paul directed in the first Fade To Black made millions of dollars, Dale feels he's entitled to a cut, and gives Paul's character 5 days to come up with 1.5 million dollars.

In the meantime, Paul gets a letter from Ava Vincent asking him to come to the town of Sinclair Heights to direct an erotic movie with a number of couples there. Paul takes up the challenge and heads off with Ava to the small town. Once there, he begins to work his magic - manipulating the couples until they start cheating on one another and have built up enough sexual energy to perform on camera the way Paul would like them to perform. During the shoot, he also calls in Lexie Marie (playing a porn star named "Darla Royale") to participate in the movie.

Even though all the performers here are adult talent that we recognize, the fact that Fade To Black 2 sets them up as couples makes the "cheating" and partner-swapping that occurs in the film very fun to watch. The movie has 8 full-length sex scenes, but be aware that this is also a full-blown adult feature, and often there are long gaps between the end of one sex scene and the beginning of the next.

There are a lot of hot couplings in the movie (check out our Empire Scene Index for a more detailed examination of what occurs), but one of the hottest is when Haley Paige decides to be the first to sexually perform for Paul's movie and gets into a threesome with Lexie and Van Damage. It's hot because Van Damage is playing the husband of Austin Kincaid, and Austin gets so jealous of him (and a poolside blowjob he gets after this scene from Lexie) that she gets into a foursome with Venus, Jack Lawrence and Trent Tesoro right in front of him later on in the film.

Fans of Vanessa Lane should be happy to hear that we get to see her double penetrated in this movie (in a threesome with Trent Tesoro and Van Damage); while followers of Ava Vincent (who we haven't seen a lot of in porn lately) should enjoy her threesome with Lexie Marie and Scott Nails, which includes Ava getting anally penetrated by Scott's cock.

There are some twists and turns at the ending of Fade To Black 2 (perhaps too many twists and turns), but I won't spoil any of them for those who don't want the story ruined for them. Just know that this is an very well-written (by Dean Nash) film with some solid acting in it - particularly by Paul Thomas and Tony Tedeschi (in a smaller, supporting role) that should garner both actors some accolades when adult award season rolls around at the end of this year.

There is a major downside to Fade To Black 2 - and it's the DVD itself. The movie has been shot on 35mm film, and the transfer isn't very good at all. Remember how fans complained about the dirt and grain on older shot-on-film titles like Dream Quest? Well, while Fade To Black 2 isn't quite that bad, there is a lot of problems with the print, and some scenes are so grainy and dark (Ava's threesome is a good example), that it makes them difficult to enjoy. If this is the best Vivid can do with their 35mm productions in 2006, they should seriously consider sticking to video and HD cameras from here on out. Fortunately, the audio is much better than the video, and properly balanced between the performer's dialogue, the sexual action, and the soundtrack music.

Despite being a "major" Paul Thomas title, the extras on the DVD are about the same as you'll find with any Vivid DVD - that is to say, above average, but not top-notch. Viewers will get a selection of five bonus scenes taken from other titles; a 27-minute behind the scenes featurette (where the audio is very low, by the way); a pair of slide shows; a text biography for Lexie Marie; and 4 trailers for other Vivid releases, including the upcoming Janine/Rocco Siffredi movie, Emperor.

Still, despite the less-than-spectacular picture quality, Fade To Black 2 is one of the best Vivid features I have seen in a long time. It has a well-crafted plot, some good acting, and some very arousing sex. Unless you're a stickler about top-notch film transfers, don't hesitate to add this one to your shelf.