There’s been some really interesting efforts from filmmakers merging horror, comedy, and sex. There was Mitchell Lichtenstein’s Teeth, a movie that punished hormonal cravings with a violent medical disorder, and David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows, a more sobering film about when careless passivity meets vulnerability during intimacy. Keola Racela’s Porno should be another ambitious example but, instead, it’s rather a raunchy B-movie that has more in common with Piranha 3D and Piranha 3DD – films that use the sex factor to tease movie goers with cheap thrills.
There’s nothing wrong with immature camp when it’s entertaining. Porno is occasionally fun and showcases one of the most outrageous body gags I’ve ever seen, but Racela discounts his movie. Maybe his intentions were to match the sleazy, guilty pleasure nature of trashy smut seen in the film, but it cheapens his confidence in the story. When really, he should’ve tightened Porno’s focus on its portrayal of temptation. The potential is there: set in the early-90s, a young crew of devout cinema employees unearth a cursed reel of film and wake up a seductive succubus who haunts the teens throughout the evening.
A big problem with Porno is that screenwriters Matt Black and Laurence Vannicelli are unsure how to utilize religion in a flick this wacky. Instead of using the characters’ Christian beliefs as motivation, the duo use it as a blanket characterization to summarize everyone. This could’ve worked if Porno was a short film, but to apply this to a feature-length narrative is a thin veil for one character let alone an ensemble.
When these characters are challenged by the demonic exhibitionist (played by Gone By Dawn’s Katelyn Pearce, which is inspired casting), this at least proposes a decent conflict and elevates these one-note personalities. The performances by the theatre staff fulfill the usual archetypes we expect, but the actors do an admirable job demonstrating their individual struggles; even if their temptations are ripped straight from a teen sex comedy handbook.
No need to be coy about this movie: Porno will be a pleasure for some and a walk of shame for others.
**********
Do You Tweet? Follow These Tweeple:
Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie
Be the first to comment