Sunday, October 3, 2010

Halloween Movie Night #3 - Pornography: A Thriller


Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking: is this movie really about what the title suggests?

Yep. It is.

It was one of those odd movies that was suggested to me on Netflix; one of those "based on your interest in these movies, we think you'll like..." kind of suggestions. It arrived in my mailbox on Saturday and since the word "thriller" was in the title, I figured it would work in my Halloween tradition.

Pornography: A Thriller (2009) is told in three acts.

The first part deals with the last days of a gay porn star who disappears around the time that he's trying to get out of the business. He is offered a private "job" for $40,000 and he realizes that this may be his last chance to get out of pornography for good, so he takes it.

Fourteen years later, the second part of the movie continues. Michael is a writer who is working on a book about the history of gay porn. In his research he comes across the name of Mark Anton (the gay porn star from the first act) and little by little, he starts to learn more about the horrible truth surrounding Mark's disappearance.

The third act deals with a porn star named Matt, who looks an awful lot like Sylar from the TV show Heroes. He apparently dreams the first two acts and hammers out a script for a "thriller porn" that he wants to direct. He takes the idea to his porn company and they agree to let him direct if he stars in it. As he begins the process of filming, he finds out that there really was a porn star named Mark and he gets finds himself getting deeper into the mystery.

Reviews I read compared this movie to something by David Lynch and it basically is. The story is confusing, the ending is bizarre and the reality in the movie is ridiculous. Also, there is a lot of male nudity.

I'm not sure I fully understood what the movie is about or, for that matter, what really happened. The events at the end really don't clear anything up - much like a David Lynch movie. The production value of the movie is far superior to other low-budget movies I've seen, but it carries with it the stink of pretentiousness.

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