Dominatrix Without Mercy is certainly the least interested in plot or character of the roughies I've seen so far. Now this isn't inherently a bad thing, these films are pornography and as such rough sex is always the defining factor, a film stripped down to essentials can be perfectly satisfactory if it gets them right. The trouble here is that there isn't that much of interest in the sex, suitably mean spirited though it is. Story wise we have a girl answering an ad for a work in Screw magazine, she heads to a brothel and the rest of the film is concerned with various patrons and their in out adventures. The first ten minutes or so is rather striking stylistically, with editing that positively abhors notions of sense or reason, cutting wildly between a number of different sex scenes with zero concern for coherence. Things settle down a bit after that but the main concern is still switching between screws and after a time it gets pretty monotonous. There are also a few blatant technical flubs like out of time sound effects and paddlings that clearly don't connect, which also tend to get old pretty fast. Weird thing is though, I was never genuinely bored at any point, the whole thing washes gently through the brain like a soggy dream, not too much of real merit but all kinda watchable at the same time. There are a few stand out bits and pieces as well making the whole thing easier to swallow. Men and women scantily clad, leashed and forced to act like dogs is always fun and there's a bit of that, as well as ample flogging/paddling action which I can't get enough of, so that's another plus. A bit of painful looking nipple clamping goes down well too, as does a rip-snorter of a banana masturbation (and subsequent eating) scene that is just an absolute hoot. Dildo play, golden action and a bit of tit wanking round out the strangeness on offer and thats all fun as well. Performers are all sound, Vanessa del Rio is in there (I think the banana scene is her), Terri Hall too (of Terri's Revenge fame) as well as good ol' Fred Lincoln and even Jamie Gillis for a spell, I just wish they all had more to do or made more of an impression. Fun soundtrack too, flitting with abandon between discordant weirdness and psychedelic riffs and even throwing in a (presumably unlicensed) instrumental version of some or other popular disco tune, I'm not sure of the name though. Overall this is reasonable enough stuff but a bit forgettable, it also makes the grave error of having not much in the way of merciless domination. With a name like Dominatrix Without Mercy I kinda expect extended scenes of ladies sexually abusing powerless men (which is sheer awesomeness) and there isn't remotely enough of that here so that loses it points. Worth a look for enthusiasts but probably not essential.
