Taboo 9

The original TABOO movie, starring Kay Parker, is considered to be a true classic in blue movie history. Despite its very mediocre treatment on DVD by VCX, that film is still worth watching for some outstanding situation-based sex scenes. Volume IX of this series still tries to capitalize on taboo subject matter (previous editions focused on , interracial sex and so forth), but the cheap sets and flat look of video don't do much to make this feature rise above your standard porn cheaply. Some of the dialogue (especially between Kay Parker and Henri Pachard) and sex scenes are so obviously overdubbed that it just accentuates the groan-inducing cheesiness. The music score sounds like it was composed on a $100 Casio keyboard (with vocals that bear some resemblance to Kate Bush being played backwards and at half-speed) and will make you want to hit your TV's mute button as often as possible.

As for plot...well, aside from Kay Parker's constant soul-searching over her past sins which she confesses to counselor Jamie Gillis, what you basically get is a bunch of people having sex somewhat indiscriminately. There is little build-up to each scene, and so there is little in the way of emotional consequence to each affair. The end result is a typical, run-of-the-mill, assembly-line video which attempts to live up to the title's reputation with a few standard straight scenes and one decidedly un-erotic "shocker" for an overall waste of talent. And yet, because some of the talents in this movie are so underrepresented on DVD at this time, I have to give it some leeway because women like Raven, Kym Wilde and Alycin Sterling have always been favorites of mine. What's a horny guy to do?

So...with the lovely and statuesque Raven on the cover, there is some good cause to consider keeping this disc despite the rampant mediocrity. This tall, gorgeous brunette has been a favorite performer of mine since I first learned to push the play button but on a VCR. She looks sleek and sexy on the cover, and equally good in the movie. Her first scene with Buck Adams features her in a red, white and blue outfit which is not only patriotic, but also very sexy when draped over her rocking body. The sex is standard blowjob, cunnilingus, followed by two sexual positions (doggy and missionary) and the overall result is okay, though uninspired. If you want to see a better scene between the two, look to LETHAL PASSION where she is again teamed up with Buck Adams (who directed the flick) for much better action.

The next scene features two performers I had never encountered before (nor would I ever care to again); as soon as they appeared on-screen I took a look at the box cover to see if I could identify them on the credits for the purposes of this review (and I still can't make a positive ID). However, seconds into their scene I noticed that the guy who actually looks like a guy started eating at his partner's genitalia (and from waste up, she definitely looks like a woman...you can guess what happens next!), pulling at it with his lips and spreading the flesh it like the arms of Stretch Armstrong. "Jeezus, that girl has a floppy pussy!" I thought, until I realized (somewhat traumatically) that the girl was actually another guy, and that I was witnessing sex with a transsexual. Now, I like to think of myself as a liberal-minded human being, but I really don't care to see my porn women with extra equipment. Therefore, I have to admit to speed-searching through most of this limp (and limp-inducing) scene. Just for the record, I should point out that the two do have sex including anal, and if you want something a wee bit different then you may enjoy this segment more than I did. This is the most "taboo" scene I have ever been to witness in a video, and it makes me pine for the good ol' days of genuine, emotional, and clean onscreen ...

Things return back to normal when a blindfolded Raven makes love to the blonde and busty Alycin Sterling which has some very good sixty-nine scenes, but lacks any real magic. In fact, I was surprisingly more aroused watching the gorgeous Kym Wilde masturbate wildly on a desk before Jamie Gillis walks in for a blowjob and a fuck. P.J. Sparxx and Kym take pleasure in pleasing Tom Byron in what is definitely the movie's best scene. We so rarely get to see Kym (an early nineties porn star who now mainly does bondage flicks) in action, that it's great to have her in two successive scenes. The only problem with this threesome is that its intercut with "plot" which kind of reduces the overall heat of their scene.

Alycin Sterling and redhead cutie Flame indulge Jamie Gillis' fantasy of cross-dressing and having his way with both women. I've got to tell you that this scene would have been a lot more effective without having to see Mr. Gillis in oversized lingerie, which isn't a very pretty sight. This scene would have been far more satisfying without him in it. The credits lists a bunch of other cast members who don't who are barely seen in the film as background characters without any dialogue, including Teri Diver, Fallon, Holly Ryder and Barbie Dahl. So if you have any interest in this film to see some of your unfairly forgotten performers of the past, be warned that only Raven, Alycin, Flame. P.J. and Kym are the only ones who play significant roles.

Despite the camerawork and direction by the late and legendary Alex DeRenzy, as well as the non-sex narrative cameo by Kay Parker, TABOO IX fails to rise above the mediocrity of so many late eighties and nineties quickie videos of its time. With future editions, this title would eventually abandon any attempts at a "taboo" subject matter and become just another run-of-the-mill porn title.

There are strangely edited segments on this DVD where the picture goes haywire with all sorts of zooming distortion. And at first, I honest to goodness could not tell whether it was part of the director's intent in showing off flashback scenes, or whether it was a technical glitch on the digital transfer. These scenes were meant to link this movie with its past sequels, but it only serves to disorient and annoy the viewer.

Picture quality is so much better than the VCX DVD version of the original TABOO that it makes me wish Metro owned the rights to re-release that movie. Sound is okay, but a bit low and flat in volume. The only extras you get here are a boring photo gallery, some advertisements, a full motion chapter scene menu and an incredibly long phone sex infomercial "hosted" by Dee and featuring some top performers like Inari Vachs which lasts for almost fifteen minutes. This is followed by a string of trailers which runs for almost one hour on the B-side of the disc.

TABOO IX is worth seeing to see some favorite nineties' performers doing their thing, but the overall package is a bore.