Malice In La La Land

I’ve been waiting to get my hands on a copy of Malice In La La Land, the latest title from Miss Lucifer, for over a year. My expectations were high because the previous title from Miss Lucifer also directed by Lew Xypher is a big favourite of mine – Hell Is Where The Party Is.

Malice sets itself apart from most other contemporary productions in several ways and for that immediately earns points. Shot on 35mm film, on location it is something quite different from the hand-held HD Video productions you will normally find on the shelves of your local stockist. The cast features Sasha Gray as the titular Malice and Ron Jeremy makes a cameo appearance, two names that have recognition outside the adult arena.

Rather than anonymous background music or no music at all the soundtrack is carefully put together incorporating music, effects, dialogue and of course moaning. The dialogue is on the whole OK, though it will not be getting a best screenplay nomination at the academy awards. The acting and delivery by the performers is pretty reasonable too. Yes there are a few dodgy moments but in a porn movie, no matter how good, your primary reason for viewing is not to see a naked version of Hamlet. Now there’s an idea …

The story acts as a vehicle for Sasha Gray to get naked quite regularly and get involved in a couple of dirty scenes, one with Keni Styles and another with a couple of very dirty girls who just happen to own strap-ons. There is a third scene with Sasha that tantalises and then fails to happen but more of that later. When she is clothed she wears outfits that ensure you know she could get naked at any moment.

The story in brief is this; Malice is trapped in some sort of institution. The straps and kinky nurse gear around her indicate a cross between a mental asylum and a BDSM dungeon. She may or may not have got there by eating a mushroom of some kind … Obviously not a willing inmate she escapes with the help of a randy, bare-chested bunny and flees across the desert first to the bunny’s hole/house and then onward to a gas station, a strip club and a strange house of carnal delights. Pursued by the staff of the institution the plot encompasses some of the Alice In Wonderland themes you would expect, like the Cheshire Cat (Kenny Styles) and the Caterpillar complete with bong (Ron Jeremy).

A recurring theme is that of Malice’s pursuer (Dirty Fred) being sexually obsessed and enslaved by the head of the institute played by Andy San Dimas. At one point he attempts to masturbate while talking to her on the phone and staring at a picture of her. The psychedelic, weird and generally crazy atmosphere is quite well done and amplified by the use of some outrageously trippy giant heads worn by the performers in some of the scenes. The Cheshire cat being by far the best.

Everything about the production screams effort from the photography, lighting and location shoots to the box which is designed as a book containing a short graphic novel as well as the DVD. But what is the movie actually like?

Well … not half bad. BUT. Yes there are a few buts.

The sound is great, the dialogue OK and the visuals very impressive. The use of 35mm film gives the whole movie a less intimate (or perhaps should I say less in your face) feel than other productions you are used to. With 35mm film cameras shots take time to set up and light. You are limited to about 10 minutes of film per can and then you have to stop, swap cans and reload which amplifies the problems of shooting porn shoot where a guy’s stamina can be an issue. Cameras are not as mobile or as easy to place in unusual angles in confined spaces. That said the sex scene in the car outside the gas station gains a voyeuristic edge because of the camera’s dislocation from the action.

This isn’t the most intensely arousing porn movie I’ve seen but this title isn’t all about fucking and sucking. It’s about atmosphere and creating a twisted perverted world, which it does quite well. I suspect that the film makers could have made it more twisted. However whereas in a mainstream movie like any of the Saw series where violence and terror define the narrative any more BDSM themes in Malice would have thrown up too many red flags with the censors. Sex and heavy restraint are something that can easily result in a DVD being refused certification. A little more kink would have made this a deliciously twisted movie but as it is it’s just a little twisted.

Now to my biggest disappointment of all – the scene that never was. There is a sequence at the end of the film where one of the intercut animations shows Sasha and Andy San Dimas coming together in a D/s clinch in kinky outfits … and then the movie ends. What a wasted opportunity. Did they run out of money or was the hottest scene too hot for the censors? Either way when Suze and I watched it we were both hugely disappointed.

This isn’t a bad movie, it’s actually a very good movie. Not the fuck fest you might be used to despite the constant sexual theme and scene after scene of hardcore sex. Watch this one to be entertained in a way that you have never been entertained before and you will not be disappointed. Enjoy the differences and just don’t be too upset when the girls don’t get it on in the closing moments.

Well done Miss Lucifer and Lew Xypher for daring to be different.

Features: Sasha Grey, Ron Jeremy, Andy San Dimas, Kagney Linn, Keni Styles, Phoenix Marie, Alyssa Reece, Kristina Rose, Mackenzee Pierce, Sadie West, Chayse Evans, Juelz Ventura

You can buy this movie here.