We don't make a habit of reviewing porn on ScreenAnarchy, but we have done it before, so here's a brief look at Vinegar Syndrome's new Blu-ray release of
Kirdy Stevens' Taboo. As the title suggests, Taboo takes on forbidden sexuality in a frank and forthright way. In this
case, the taboo is incest, which is thankfully one that can be reenacted with actors without too much trouble. The film spawned a ton of sequels, proving
(as if it needed proof) that forbidden fruit sells. However, is the film any good?
In what is no surprise to fans of this kind of classic adult film, Taboo is actually a solid movie. It's nothing earth-shattering, and it
wouldn't exactly spark a discussion among cinephiles over whether or not adult films deserve academy awards, but it is a real movie, which is a rarity
among the XXX set these days.
Taboo
is the story of Barbara Scott (Kay Parker), a woman whose husband has left her for a younger woman and who can't seem to get her groove back. Meanwhile,
her handsome son Paul is pulling chicks left and right, and his raw sexuality has awakened forbidden urges in his mother's loins. After Barbara attempts to
sate herself with other men, it becomes obvious to her that Paul is the only man who can quench her sexual thirst, and, well, I think you can imagine where
this is going...
First of all, allow me to express my innermost feelings about the concept of incest:
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
That being said, Taboo is a decent movie once you get past the repulsive conceit. This is what adult films are for, acting on ones basest
urges, or at least allowing actors to act them out for you. In fact, adult video streaming site PornHub regularly ranks incest related searches among their
most popular. Better in a video than in real life, I suppose. If that sounds like condescending moralizing, well, I guess I can live with that.
Kay Parker is an engaging and beautiful performer and she is surrounded by similarly attractive co-stars that add to the watchability of the film. The XXX
scenes are solid, if a bit overly long, however, I recognize that this is an adult film, and my point of view as a fan of non-XXX sleaze may not exactly be
the target demographic. However, I wasn't turned off at any point, so it's definitely worth checking out.
Taboo
is a decent film from the days when adult film directors still endeavored to deliver real cinematic experiences beyond the gonzo non-stop fluids that most
seems to make up most porn today. It's not boundary pushing in terms of the quality of filmmaking like the work of a filmmaker like Henry Paris/Radley
Metzger, but for it's genre, it is pretty solid. Your mileage may vary.
The Disc:
Taboo
looks great, in fact, in some of the more, ahem, intimate sequences, you may see more than you expected due to Vinegar Syndrome's new 2K scan. The audio is
similarly solid, bringing the dialogue and other ambient sounds to the forefront in a clear an satisfying way.
Vinegar Syndrome really went all out on the extras for Taboo. This disc includes 4 (four!) audio commentaries on the disc, which, I
suppose, makes this the Lord of the Rings of porno Blu-rays. Star Kay Parker features on two of these commentaries, with the remaining two featuring
producer Helene Terrie and director Kirdy Stevens. All hour are solid, I sampled them, but I will admit I didn't watch the feature 5 times to get the full
experience. There is also a great archival interview with Kay Parker who discusses her work in the film as well as her life after porn.
This is a great disc of an interesting film that will certainly be of interest to the more open minded of our readers.