Review

Filmed on location in New York City's infamous dungeon sex club El Mirage, Whiplash is one hell of a dirty sex flick from director and star Ray Dragon. With an incredible sense of mood (the lighting and soundscape design are quite effective), a cast of truly filthy pigmen and armed with an arsenal of kinky antics, Mr. Dragon breathes fire (the sex scorches in spots) and smoke (literally) into this jaunt.

There's no plot to speak of, and no central "character" to follow. The video is a journey into the dark nether regions of the mid and loins, as we experience flogging and whipping (Dragon's quite the Indiana Jones expert), cigar smoke sex (courtesy of Asoka), a heart-jumping gang bang, anal probing and licking, threeways, groupways, and in the Director's Cut version a gut-wrenching fisting and dildo-ing (very verbal and graphic stuff here) and a very intense watersports sequence.

The look of the video is surprisingly professional: moody lighting, dark music and good but not intrusive videography all lend to making this feel satisfyingly depraved. Pacing is a bit off here and there (some odd choices in cutting) but the editing is seamless, and it's quite obvious that Dragon is just as comfortable behind the camera as he is in front of it. Speaking of which Dragon looks sensational here, and fans are going to love his unshaven body-hair capped off with a leather cap. The word "woof" was invented for him.

The Director's Cut version runs over 2½ hours long (very generous) and is split up over two discs. The main bonus feature is a 12-minute photo gallery (which has some very nice images). I would have liked to have seen a featurette or two on the making of the video. Since being a model-cum-director on location in New York is decidedly different from filming on a set in West Hollywood, hearing from Dragon himself would have been nice.

Still, this is a very well done effort, and fans of kink and hard-edged all-male sex action will be quite content. It's one of those videos that holds up with repeat viewings, and certainly does its job. Whiplash is no accident - get into it as soon as you can.

 -- Keeneye Reeves