Review by Colton Robertson
By: Colton Robertson
The Brides of Sodom" does not pretend to be a masterpiece, nor a great Horror film,which is not, but, delivers all the goods and the fun.
From the slick cinematography, to the unusual, ambient music score, by great Shawn K.Clement, to also an in...
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The Brides of Sodom" does not pretend to be a masterpiece, nor a great Horror film,which is not, but, delivers all the goods and the fun.
From the slick cinematography, to the unusual, ambient music score, by great Shawn K.Clement, to also an inventive art direction, making the never predictable sets and costumes stand out, to a cast, let's admit it, a hot ensemble of beauty and eccentric characters, that would be enough to excite and work up, both some average bored, suburban couples, as well as, on the opposite side, also,that usually more jaded, but trend setting, gay or alternative crowd, a definitely much pickier slice of the larger, and harder main audience, a movie like this, today, would appeal to!
And, so "The Brides of Sodom" should hardly disappoint on these premises!
Those interested in fact would find in this movie, a true feast of unforgettable camp, creatively put together by a savvy casting, which so cleverly mixes eye candy of any sort within an ensemble of very different, but, always sexy and beguiling, diverse presences, all teasing to no end, any personal sexual taste you may wanna go for!
Shall I just start then from the 2 hotter than Hell, leading men? Arcangeli, a well known International cult star, is somewhat the protagonist, and, for the occasion, wears blond long golden hair, adorned and made up to appear, as radiant as a true archangel! Although, i must say, i honestly found him, almost seriously bored with the picture here, or presumably, just embarrassed, either with the project, or maybe with his role, he still looks extremely sexy, and, watchable by both women, and men, while, at the very end, manages to deliver some sort of a 'natural' unique presence, without even ever caring, or bothering to raise one eyebrow! I indeed often spotted him, as if he was going through the motions, almost like he was thinking, about a bunch of all other, different things, and, that's too bad, considering that the actor can give extremely intense performances, when in more challenging themes.
His co-star felt, instead, way more carefully engaged, trying hard to act, while,at the same time, showing off his insanely attractive body and macho charismatic's presence (excuse me, but, cannot help myself!): his hunky build, the attractive super model type of face, truly do make for the likes of a Greek God! I'm talking about new comer, in mainstream films (since, he actually notoriously used to be one of the most handsome porn stars to ever grace that Industry, just until about a couple of years ago, when he decided to quit, obviously trying now to break into mainstream!), David Taylor, who may as well be, the quintessential personification of the most narcissistic part of the American male, today: think, in case you were not to be familiar, already, of a cross between, one of the most handsome football players of the last decade, almost made more handsome by a more refined fashion model type of look! Enough said? Hope so!
Well, these 2 may not be bothering too much with the acting in this piece, but, let me tell you, they do make for one of the sexiest bi sexual vampire's couples, I have ever seen, or even ever imagined, for that matter, and, certainly, their smart director, exploitation Guru, Creep Creepersin, who also wrote this extremely convoluted script does not miss indeed a chance to find all the right occasions to showcase Taylor grabbing Arcangeli, from the bottom up, while quickly ending up, after even some "romantic making out" gets its screen time, to the point, where the 2 leads need (literally) to desperately get a rid of the already skimpy clothing they are "wearing" throughout the movie, to get free showing with exuberance all the skin they could bare or maybe, I should say, just all the skin some of those "lucky" cameramen could possibly fit in and capture in one single wild shot!
They actually do resuscitate together, all of those most unspeakable fantasies, that every gay man might have had at some point, in his life, and, just might have for the rest of his existence, after watching this!
There's, for instance, a very convincing scene to start with, where Arcangeli is languidly panting, chained up to perfection, in one of the dungeon's of the Imperial Palace: after having been almost by Skinemax's star, Beverly Lynne (playing with gusto a dominatrix, and, all dressed up to the gore,too!), he gets even questioned by two of the biggest bust-ed starlets/temptresses, any other B Horror movie could only dream to fancy, while, the poor thing has now even got to face the of Eros (Taylor) former lover and Lord's, Emperor Dionysus (a very funny, but, way over the top, Dylan Vox, who's this time playing the villain), while also getting acquainted, at the same time, with all of the Emperor's personal soldiers and "guards", known as, the "Satroi"- think some of the hottest males, a combo of under wear models and adult performers, all "dressed" in, either leather's under garments, reminding me of thongs, or just fierce, in plain full frontal nudity, truly referencing to the style of the 1980's Tinto Brass classic opus "Caligula"! After Eros unchains poor Samuel, we have got a scene between the 2, i felt like almost one of the most heavily arousing and sexually graphic gay scenes ever featured, in a non pornographic movie (True : watch and learn!), so realistically performed, and explicit, i even found myself - i shall admit it!- blushing more than once, yet, completely unavailable to take my eyes off of the screen for a split second: had to keep staring at those 2 incredible hot guys, and love it, at times even, with some real surprising feelings of envy, something (i gotta give kudos to this movie!)i had never even experienced before, when watching any type of film, and, including gay films,of course!
Now, i won't tell about the complex, often, very contrived plot, 'cause i think it would be useless, and, possibly confusing, while, something i would not wanna give away, either!
I think that you mainly just need to know that, in between moments, filled with unashamed and pure gore galore, and, others featuring such a sexy, disarming, rich ensemble of Goth, S/M, and, extremely bloody sex, leaded by a crowd filled with gorgeous thirsty and hungry Vampires, this movie is, over all, most notable for its atmospheres, thanks again to a moody, mostly dark, heavily saturated type of cinematography, and, for its "Caligula" look-a-like sets (without that 'budget' of course!), later intersecting, with even a whole second sub plot that will take you actually in almost opposite looking places, some grittier, post apocalyptic, nocturnal exteriors lit by a stalking moon, and populated by thirsty creatures of any kind and species mostly ravaging humans! This new scenario, while giving to our 2 main lovers, a place to escape, and, to celebrate some sort of "feral honeymoon", will be also introducing Eros's sister, a character built over the icon of Salome, envisioned as a semi lesbian quirky, angry princess, who's foolishly in love with her brother Eros, but, eventually would take to bed even Samuel, with the hope to save the Empire from the cruelty of Emperor Dionysus, who's just also embittered by loosing Eros, himself, over the now, ex human Samuel, but, whom eventually he will get attracted to, himself! In fact, the Princess, who's always pathetically searching for some kind of happiness she can never find, spends her days making love to gorgeous young ingenues in the nude, some sexy girls who are brought to her by the horny Satroi to perform lesbian or orgiastic scenes, before, getting slashed by the rage of the same princess herself! However, the young tormented lady, maybe in an attempt to make something out of her useless life, will decide one day to trust Samuel, and, with the help of some bizarre, mysterious witches, to orchestrate a plan against the raging and hopelessly cruel dictatorship enforced by the madding Dionysus, with results.. that will change forever what's left of the World.
Again, must stress that the true forte of this flick is the incredible looking cast, including the whole supporting cast, too, and, its composition: there's obviously a way more homoerotic side, sort of the most titillating "Who's Who", among the Hollywood's scene of hottest male models,and, B movie's hunks material in the buff, ever yet to be admired, with many faces you may recognize!
But, there's also a whole other section, consisting in an impressive assemblage of the loveliest starlets, and, playmates types, either portraying the witches (notorious scream queen Elina Madison is one of them, along with the exotic Ester Canata), plus a myriad of other bit roles such as the sultry courtesan played by an hyped and sexy new discovery, named cleverly, Dahlia Dark,surrounded by even more beauties such as, most notably, Robin Bain, Jacqui Holland, Natalie Loren, and, platinum blonde, Krista Jacobson.
So at the end, a great movie? No. A fantastic and chilling, suspenseful horror? Not really.
This is more of a lavish,"trippy" odyssey into the realm of Erotica, and, alternative lifestyles, with unforgettable male sex scenes, and some decent gore fest galore!
I personally enjoy all this, i'd call it a "guilty pleasure", and, i am completely ok to admit i highly enjoyed it, watching the decadence of an imaginary Empire, and, its Fall (it seems, it's all fault,at the end, of actor Peter Stickles, from "Short Bus", and, "The Lair", who plays an almost mute, but, extremely seductive "Book Keeper"), while, at the same time, getting aroused by real sexy players! A lot better for me than another one of those boring, all teased up episodes of something more ordinary, like "True ", for instance! At least, here, you really get the goodies, and, it feels all more B, but, it is a lot more liberated, provocative, and, if far-fetched, at least, always damn original!
Four Stars!