User reviews

This is a fine example of roughie/hardcore but is too ambitious and ultimately not really able to deliver. Supposedly about voodoo and sexual submission this ends up one big orgy. There are whippings and bondage but neither the cast nor the director seem particularly interested in the theme. So there is too much scrawny scrotum, too much soft d*** and far too much wooden acting. There are, however, some excellent moments and that orgy is something else. Even here, though, it must be said that everybody is far more interested in having a good time than in making a film. So, often the camera angles are obscured or we just miss a slice of the action, but the authenticity and enthusiasm of the participants does compensate. C J Laing and Annie Sprinkle are sadly underused but the rest get plenty of opportunity to show what they are made of particularly a few astonishing moments as Vanessa del Rio shows off her sword swallowing technique.

Among Joe Davian's many theatrical porn features this one had great potential, in that his forte for BDSM fits well with its religious sex-cult thematic material, and that he has assembled a stellar cast. The sloppiness of the production, with very crude editing and zero continuity, reduces it to merely a curio from its era.

For me the element that was most interesting was tangential: he features an excellent jazz piano and female vocalist, latter figuring prominently in a later sex orgy, placed in a night club setting that makes it seem like a real movie for a time. Similarly, very effective percussion on the soundtrack (and drummer/bongo players on screen) add immeasurably to the atmosphere of a movie about Voodoo.

This sex cult is presided over by the night club owner Red Baron, a very prominent Black actor in film loops of the time, who rarely got feature film assignments. His big dick is figured prominently in the sex scenes.

Carter Stevens is quire effective in the leading role as a scandal sheet magazine editor hot on a big story involving Red Baron's sex cult, but the film also has him seeming to be a key figure in the cult that proves to be just a sloppy red herring, as his character ends up being the editor at the end and not a co-conspirator. Annie Sprinkle is his girlfriend and C.J. Laing is intrepid reporter. Best gimmick is the Voodoo cult not being able to be proven guilty due to a fantasy element involving disappearing ink/photography.

Top players of the NYC Adult talent pool are on hand, including Helen Madigan and David Christopher, with the fake names in the opening credits giving the film a fun element of a spot quiz, as these familiar faces appear and are quite recognizable without benefit of an accurate score card. Worth watching via a decent print used for telecine by Alpha Blue Archives on a 3-fer Annie Sprinkle DVD.