Overcome

Fans of Kayden Kross's Deeper series should flock to this DVD collection, which includes a couple of classic segments.

"She Ruined Me" delivers gonzo content in such a stylish way as to merit interest beyond the usual all-sex attraction.

For starters, it features considerable Spanish language narration by star Chris Diamond, which provides a context for the action, neatly subtitled in English.

But the emphasis on Violet Myers' beauty and her outrageous physical attributes is foregrounded, reminding me of those great Italian sex comedies back in the '70s and '80s that propelled local stars like Laura Antonelli and Serena Grandi to iconic status.

The difference, of course, is that this is hardcore rather than softcore content, but by having fast pacing and artistic editing, the scene avoids the monotony and static nature of gonzo porn.

Authorship is in question: references on-line attribute it to director WC Walker, but the print displays on screen: "A Kayden Kross film".

"Under Your Skin" is about domination/submission, and is quite unusual -as it takes a very cool approach to what is a tense, suspenseful scene. Manuel Ferrara calmly issuing orders to his pupil Freya Parker on how to physically and mentally take control of a situation is terrific acting by both players, as she is utterly controlled in her learning how to control.

Of course, Kayden Kross ensures that the sex between the two be powerful and unrelenting, but this is such a different style of scene compared to the boring nature of BDSM videos that it seems like an artistic breakthrough. Alas, I doubt if the skill in staging and direction here could ever be reflected in the general porn hackwork displayed in this niche genre.

"Before the Guests Arrive" stars Anna Claire Clouds, looking fetching as usual, but thanks to the casting of "no acting required" co-star Jay Hefner it turns out to be just gonzo content. Vignette starts promisingly with speeded-up motion as Anna Claire cleans up a very messy house in preparation for a party she's hosting that night. But Jay shows up way early at 5:00 pm and insists on adulterous sex with her -the rest is her handling his BBC for half an hour.

Final vignette is titled "Over Thinking", an exercise in hotwifing that is staged in the format of Cuckold porn.

Ken Feels is the kinky husband eager to please wifey Lilly Bell, by inviting over a rather stuck-up stud Isiah Maxwell to satisfy Lilly sexually while he gets to watch intently. This is another of those Deeper IR content segments, but unless one enjoys the humiliation aspect inherent in these set-ups, it raises a recurring question dogging so much recent IR porn (ever since the Blacked label became so popular over the past decade): is it racist on the part of pornographers to simultaneously exploit the stereotype of black dudes with huge cocks and little else, or is it somehow a step forward to idealize them as sex objects necessary to satisfy the lust of Caucasian women? There's clearly something wrong with this flipping the script.