Nightbreed

I generally prefer Brad Armstrong's "little" features to his overblown later self-proclaimed blockbusters, but this early collaboration with Greg Steelberg is mighty thin on delivering either the sex or romantic content. What might have been a bodice-buster in the old Gainsborough '40s tradition falls flat.

It's pegged to the Vivid contract period for all-time superstar Christy Canyon, but even for a charter member of CC's fan club like myself it is curiously unarousing. She has a couple of decent acting scenes, but CC's girl/girl and boy/girl vignettes are strictly yawnsville.

Armstrong shares scripting credit with Steelberg (latter using his G.G. Steel nom de porn) and much of it is in voice-over narration by either Canyon or co-star Steven St. Croix. I found the promise of either supernatural fantasy or horror unrealized and a cheat on the viewer. IMDb listed "vampire" as a keyword, but there is zero vampire action and I didn't even get a strong implication that the hero's problem was that, especially since a recurring shot of a Full Moon (implying possible lycanthropy instead) was used throughout the video. Instead we get St. Croix as a French nobleman moping around his castle (a few exterior shots of it to set up atmosphere) lamenting the demise of his love, which he feels responsible for. I couldn't figure out if he killed her or what happened, left hanging in the minimalist story line.

Canyon stars as Trina, a lovely neighbor who is accompanied by either a BFF or servant woman (again left hanging) in the form of stunning redhead Patricia Kennedy. Overall, I found Pat sexier and more exciting here than Christy, not a good move on the auteur's part.

Five sex scenes include an orgy at a gala thrown at Steven's castle, in which an impressive roster of famous porn stars appear, none afforded either dialogue or characterization. Principal supporting role goes to Jill Kelly, stunning and in her natural breasts (pre-surgery) phase, not only getting to hump handsome young stud Richie Razor but also afforded a lesbian scene with Christy -clearly intended as a show-stopper for their collective fan base. Jill also gets to speak French (with subtitles yet) in character, and I was especially pleased with the nice touch of her pornspeak while humping also being in French.

Non-ending completes the disappointment: Steven inevitably beds down Christy, but his psychological problems and the point of the entire show are not addressed. We're left with lovely hairdos and costumes (and several pairs of high-heel shoes that are wildly anachronistic 21st Century props not belonging in this period piece) but precious little else. Tan lines on the leading actresses were also way out of place, though fortunately tattooing had not yet taken over porn star bodies back in 1995 so that error is kept to a minimum here.