Devil In Miss Jones 5: The Inferno (DMJ 5)

At long last, VCA has released perhaps the most popular edition of the six part (and counting) classic series, namely DEVIL IN MISS JONES V: THE INFERNO. The box cover is simply stunning in design and composition: Center stage is an elegant picture of Juli Ashton, looking amazing in a white dress which accentuates her endlessly long legs and supermodel-like figure. Surrounding her are nude shots of hot-bodied porn girls including Felicia, Rebecca Lord, Kelly O' Dell and others gathered around the opening to Hell. It's enough to compel you to pick up this DVD without a moment's hesitation.

The movie itself, however, doesn't quite meet up to the packaging. With the exception of the Gerard Damiano-directed original, I've never quite warmed up to the series, and I missed volume two altogether. In the mid-eighties, the Dark Bros assumed control of the title beginning with the highly regarded volumes three and four (specially available on one DVD from VCA, incidentally) and although I definitely favor number five over the previous two editions (despite performances by Amber Lynn, Vanessa Del Rio, and Kari Foxx among other classic actresses), DMJ V still doesn't excite me all that much. In fact, unless you are a big fan - as I am - of Miss Ashton and gorgeous, raven-haired Rebecca Lords (whose appearance, unfortunately, is only limited to a single, visually disjointed scene) I can't think of too many reasons why today's generation of porn fans would find the hardcore all that enjoyable.

Interestingly enough, DMJ V was produced around the same time as NEW WAVE HOOKERS IV, and unless you looked beyond the sex scenes, it would be easy to confuse the two. Brightly lit and garishly colored videography make these two movies almost indistinguishable in production. The fact that Juli Ashton appears prominently in both makes comparisons all the more obvious. Still, I feel that NWH IV is by far the better film, due in no small part to talents such as Chasey Lain and Misty Rain, and I would easily choose the third sequel to NEW WAVE HOOKERS over this DVD.

THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES V focuses on Juli's trip to hell, and the thematic trials she must face as part of her entry (innocence, passion, privilege knowledge, power and so forth). The proceedings are "hosted" by the portly Rip Hymen, who has appeared in NEW WAVE HOOKERS 2 and is amusing in his own way. Needless to say, this premise of this flick allows us the opportunity to witness different sexual set-ups, many of them certainly original and creative (especially for porn), but none of them particularly remarkable. To me, the opening Roman-based gangbang scene with Juli and Jeanna Fine is one of the finer moments, not just because the blonde beauty looks great in a toga, but because of the nasty way she takes a DP and willingly laps up the splooge collected in the hands of Miss Fine during the finale.

Another scene directly involving Miss Ashton is unfortunately visually compromised by the appearance of two elderly (though apparently virile) dirty men, one of whom is played by Dave Cummings. They get very grabby with poor Juli while watching Amanda Addams have a close encounter with TT Boy. . Of course, such unusual set-ups are typical of the Dark Bros work, as they explore different ways to titillate the viewer. My overall reaction, however, was mere disinterest.

Rebecca Lord's scene takes place in a circus animal cage, where she is worked over by Jon Dough as Sindee Coxx also gets slammed in the cage next to her. It's not too bad, but the settings take precedence over the actual sex, and it's certainly not one of Miss Lord's most memorable affairs (though her facial expressions are intensely arousing). I was also disappointed by the Vanessa Chase/Tom Byron/Jon Dough threesome which followed, specifically because Juli only does a masturbation scene and shares screen time with an obese woman who is constantly rubbing against our favorite blonde. Of course, this is the Dark Bros way of showing off their eccentric approach to sex, but I suspect most viewers will not be amused.

More interesting is the all-girl orgy scene with Felicia in the spotlight, as she shares the moment with Kelly O' Dell, Serenity and Miss Ashton. The hot bodies wrapped in tight black vinyl lingerie and almost non-stop pussy eating definitely beat out the blowout orgy which ends the film. Featuring dark-haired Ariana, former significant other Luc Wylder, Barbara Doll, Juli Ashton, Rowan Fairmont and Colt Steel, the grand finale is strangely unexciting and generally bloodless, despite generally good work by the girls.

Once you get past the tacky menu design and the distinct lack of extras, you'll find that DMJ V looks terrific on DVD. The colors look brighter and crisper than what we are used to seeing on VHS, and I could detect no overt problems with either picture or sound. There is no doubt that viewers will be quite annoyed (justifiably so) with the barebones presentation of this movie after waiting so long for its appearance on digital. But at the very least, fans can toss away their videocassettes (which of course, contained no bonus materials either) and give this disc as many spins as they like until a special (perhaps high definition) edition is released by VCA.

This video was okay - DMJ 3 was unbeatable, but this one was good too. I liked this video and will be getting the rest of the series, as I love its storyline.