Fall, Over 2000 Feet

A long way down. Over 2000 feet. I have heard there is no fear of heights...it is, in reality, a fear of jumping. You get way up there and all of a sudden the dangers are magnified.  Fear. Panic. Buzzards. Each other. No room for error.  Today we have one that plies some Alfred Hitchcock techniques that build suspense. We also have a couple of gals, neither of which we like, who must battle their own stupid choices to survive. I know, when a woman wants to be independent and empowered, find the men to come save them. Our feature today is 2022's "Fall," directed by Scott Mann.  Let's just hope some men will care enough to save these babes.

Okay, three idiots climb an angry mountain, the mountain wins. Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), her influencer buddy Hunter (Virginia Gardner), and Becky's husband Dan (Mason Gooding). Becky and Dan are so cute...too cute. Dan messes up and falls to his death, traumatizing Becky. Becky should move on, as her dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) reminds her. Instead she drowns out her sorrow with alcohol and pills. A year later, her bestie, Hunter, has a proposition for her. Climb the B-67 TV tower...2047 feet! Hunter will post on YouTube, and Becky can face her fears and demons and move on in life. Dan? Still dead...good. It takes some convincing, but Becky realizes Hunter is right, and she does need to move on so she can live. Off they go. Oh, the 2000 foot tower? Not operable anymore and in the middle of nowhere.

The tower looks daunting and is surrounded by buzzards...fit omen. At first the climb is easy...deceptively easy.  On their way up, using the tower's ladder, nuts and bolts are jarred loose from their climbing. Up, up, and away...more bolts fall loose. The geniuses don't care, there is a tragedy to move on from, and likes to be had. They get there. Hunter makes sure her cleavage is front and center...views, you know. Becky has done it. She has conquered her fear and her sorrow. Then, remember all those bolts that fell? The ladder falls off the tower, leaving the babes stuck up there. Now the two must be resourceful and figure out how to get down...other than the obvious way. This won't be easy as gravity is just waiting to give them a hand. Sure, they come up with a few bad ideas, that fail miserably. Then the buzzards come.  Only fair. Just what will the babes do? Post cleavage pics on Instagram, film YouTube segments, and bicker. Dames! Days go by.  People do not come.

Will some men, who won't do anything stupid, arrive to save these two broads?  Is Hunter's cleavage worth more than a few hits on Instagram? Will two babes, stuck in the same place for more than 10 minutes, end up murdering one another? I gotta give the moviemakers credit, it really does look realistic, like they actually filmed 2000 feet up. If you are afraid of heights, this is not the film for you. The suspense is very Hitchcockian. See "Fall," ignore the clickbait cleavage, and enjoy a suspenseful woman vs. tower movie.

 

The Power, Not the Higher One

What a weird movie. Almost hallucinogenic. Psychedelic, maybe. A techno-thriller! Right, it is from 1968. Mad scientists working on a government contract go spastic. Think of Dr. Fauci and Josef Mengele with no supervision. You know we're in trouble when the government and the military industrial complex want to study the human threshold for pain. Lab rats? Ha! People! Sure, why not? What could go wrong!? Just ask Lord Acton. Our feature today is "The Power," directed by Byron Haskin.

Mr. Nordlund (Michael Rennie) arrives from the government to provide supervision at a university's laboratory which is working on the aforementioned experiment. He is very interested in Jim Tanner's (George Hamilton) experiment in isolating the area of the brain that processes pain. The team converges for a staff meeting and the weird mad scientist Henry Hallson (Arthur O'Connell) is unnerved. Why? Ethics or pain? No! He has figured it out. He has passed out a survey and determines someone in the group has the power. What power? The power to control everyone, control nature, control physiology, control hormones, control the past and future. No, Fauci is not in this group. There is a problem, he doesn't know who the person is. He tries an experiment and this confirms he's right. Also in the group is Van Zandt (Richard Carlson), Scott (Earl Holliman), Margery Lansing (Suzanne Pleshette), and Dr. Melnicker (Nehemiah Persoff).

That night...Hallson is murdered in the most unusual way. Enter Detective Corlane (Gary Merrill). Oh, Tanner and Lansing are lovers. Guess what Corlane finds out. Tanner has no verifiable past.  His university and past employments, listed on his resume, have never heard of him. Now fired, Lansing tries to figure out who is framing him and who is the one with the power. He visits Hallson's widow (Yvonne De Carlo)...she is now happier that her husband is dead. Uh oh...she can't even remember her husband. Tanner heads into the California desert to track down a name written on Hallson's notepad.  The team members die in weird circumstances, one by one, and Tanner finds that everyone who knows of this mystery man, either has been brainwashed, or dies. Only Margery seeks to help Tanner clear his name and figure out who this superior being is.

Confused? Well, the ending will pull all this together and provide a proper moral for possessing this almost absolute power.  Is Tanner really a fraud, and is he the one with the power?  Is the nubile Margery, who doesn't seem to be vital for the project, too helpful, thus the one with the power? If Tanner is not the one with the power, why doesn't the being with the power just kill him? It'll take you several minutes to figure out what you just saw beyond the end credits.  Still, it is worth it.  See "The Power" and revisit one of the greatest warnings delivered to humanity. 

Dungeons of Ecstasy, Bondage Made Boring

Bondage! A babe strung up in a dungeon to be stripped and violated. Light and kinky torture. Hunks, with sixpack abs fighting over a helpless maiden. Grunting. Whimpering. More bondage. Even better! This is a Charles Band film from Full Moon Features. The problem? This movie does everything it can to be a Rated PG family film. Can bondage and kinky torture be boring? Can a dungeon filled with kinky lingerie be boring? Can a babe begin to take her clothes off and people like you and me yell, "Stop!  No!"? Let us look at 2026's "Dungeons of Ecstasy." Great title, right?

Emily (Nicole Mattox), an annoying babe, and her husband Luke (Eric Guilmette), a hunk, are lovey-dovey...almost too cute. The couple is in a bad car crash and Emily is now in a coma. Luke? Good question. Eventually Emily wakes up and is told Luke divorced her. Emily can't believe it, rehabs, gets well, and goes to Italy to find her ex. Yep...finds him after being in Italy for 10 seconds. She follows him to a weird castle known as either "The Fortress" or "The Dungeon." She knows her husband is there. Turns out the guy says his name is Lucian and denies knowing Emily. Jonah (Felix Merback) is Lucan's #1 man. They look gay, but I guess they aren't.

Turns out, according to Jonah, Lucian invites babes to the castle, puts them through trials, and turns them into...well, you'll see. Don't worry, it is not as exciting as it should be. Now Lucian is putting Emily through the trials which include bondage, stripping, kinky and playful torture, and endless boring conversation. Jonah, meanwhile, is willing to betray Lucian and run off with Emily. Emily kind of likes being in a dungeon, strung up, in bondage, enduring ticklish torture.  Typical dame. Now Emily has to remind herself why she came to Italy.  Lucian has to either get her ready to be sold to an Arab sheikh, or to admit he was married to her.  Jonah? He's up to something.

Sounds interesting? Sure, in an "Escape from Witch Mountain" type way. You'll be shouting at the screen, "Where's the whip!?"  We'll get tickling when we want pain and passion. It is almost like Charles Band found out his mother was going to be at the screening and changed the plot. Still, "Dungeons of Ecstasy" is a fun watch, and anytime a babe is strung up in a dungeon in a Full Moon Features film, it is a worthwhile take. 

   

Fair Game, Aussie High-School Babes in Peril

In peril!  Babes in Australia, high school and grown up, all in peril. From who? Satanist rapists! Well, these rapists may indeed emanate from the occult, as they drive hearses.  The violation and torture may not be easy to watch in this film, as the victims, most of them, aren't quite of age. An obvious lesbian subtext also exists in which an adult babe seduces one of the schoolgirls. Brutal, and not the feel good film from Down Under.  Our feature today is "Fair Game" (aka "Desolation Angels"), directed by Christopher Fitchett.  

Three pretty high school girls have a deviant plan. Sneak off to Liz's (Marie O'Loughlin) parents seaside cottage, listen to music, paint their nails, talk about orgasms, and imbibe in adult beverages. To their credit, no boys allowed. Jilly (Kim Trengove) is also along, as is Joanne (Kerry Mack). Getting there was not easy. On the way, the trio was terrorized on the road by two hearses. The menacing black vehicles bore the license plate numbers END-666 and HEX-777. The hearses are occupied by rapist perverts Trevor (Nield Schneider), Jerry (Paul Alexander), and Vinny (Jay Mannering). The perverts also spot the babe Pamela (Karen West) driving to the seaside resort. Pamela? In short, she just stole $22,000 and is on the run with the cash (think Janet Leigh from "Psycho"). By chance, Pamela will meet Jilly at the resort, and lesbian sparks will fly. Now Liz cares deeply for Pamela. Relevant?  This is a moot point as the creeps arrive.

One of the thugs breaks into Pamela's cabin and what he does to her will make you wince.  Humiliation, torture, and rape won't be all of it. The other creeps begin terrorizing our three high school girls. The creeps want to rape them and slit their throats.  The frightened girls have no choice but to fight back. Shotguns, spearguns, knives, and fists all come into play.  The gals will take a humiliating beating.  The creeps will also find themselves in a fight fore their lives.  What happens next will be ominous and heartbreaking.  

Will Jilly be able to save Pamela, and continue exploring her sexuality with the adult babe?  Will the three underage lovelies be violated by the fiends in hearses?  Just who will get shot with the speargun and where will they get shot? No part of this film will bring a smile to your face or provide some comic relief.  Brutal.  Prurient.  Disgusting.  A true horror film in the style of "I Spit on Yor Grave." See "Fair Game" and understand the perverted undertone of Australian culture back in the 1980s.

Baba Yaga, Euro-Babe Lured by Lesbian Witch

Ah, Giallo! Euro-Babes, often nude, and in peril. Many die horribly in these films, in states of undress.  In this one, nudity will rule.  So will S&M and bondage imagery.  So will Nationalist Socialist fetish imagery.  So will erotic lesbianism, and nude fashion models in peril. No, not the remake of "The Green Mile," but a prurient Italian horror film.  Let us look at 1973's "Baba Yaga," directed by Corrado Farina.

Valentina (Isabella De Funes) is a fashion photographer who captures sultry fashion models in provocative states of undress or in fetish poses. Hey, it beats an exciting career in electronics. Rebuffing Arno (George Eastman), a hunk filmmaker, she is given a ride home by the mysterious old witch, Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker). Baba Yaga will go on to entrance Valentina and curses Valentina's camera. Now whenever Valentina shoots a model with her camera...yep, the camera might as well be a gun. With models dying or becoming seriously wounded, Valentina realizes Baba Yaga might be otherworldly. Baba Yaga gives Valentina a fetish doll, Annette (Ely Galleani). Initially Annette is a doll in a S&M costume. Annette attacks the sultry model Romina (Daniela Balzaretti). I think Baba Yaga was jealous of Romina.

Okay, Valentina is continually drawn to baba Yaga's old mansion, which has its own portal to Hell in it. In the US, we have feature walls, and subway tile backsplash, in Rome, they have portals to hell. In Baba Yaga's place, Annette becomes a real person. Baba Yaga wants Valentina for carnal pleasure and to bring her to hell with her. Valentina kind of wants that, but the aforementioned Arno is quite the hunk and handsome enough for her to choose men over women. Whipping and torture will result. 

Will Baba Yaga complete her entrancement over Valentina and bring her to Hell as a lesbian lover? Will Annette string up Valentina, rip her clothes off, and whip her into submission? Will Arno be as useless as most Italian men, or will he muster enough guts and go fight for the woman he lusts for? This is an erotic one and I'm sure there is a Rated X version out there. For a steamy good time, see "Baba Yaga" and wince every time a nubile Euro-Babe is whipped while strung up.   

Hotline, Wonder Woman has a Speargun

Lynda Carter! We all know her as Wonder Woman in that 1970s campy TV show. The actress did indeed make it to the 1980s and gave a go at so-called serious roles. She will be remembered for none of those. Today we look at a CBS Saturday Night movie which appeared on October 16,1982. This Made-For-TV thriller casts Wonder Woman as a damsel in much peril and sadly, she will not emerge unscathed. It won't be easy to see the dame we know as Wonder Woman be humiliated and reduced to a crying victim.  Let us look at 1982's "Hotline," directed by Jerry Jameson.

The sultry Brianne (Carter) is a young widow tending bar at Kyle's. Kyle (Monte Markham) has eyes for his endeared bartender.  His buddy, the A-List actor Tom Hunter (Steve Forrest) also has eyes for her.  Then, so does a new customer, Justin (Granville Van Dusen). Justin wins and will even have a lot of pre-marital sex with Wonder Woman, even in the hot tub. Justin, a psychologist, runs a night crisis hotline and figures since Brianne is a bartender, she'd be a great operator. Brianne agrees and quickly talks to troubled youths and abused dames. She also tends bar and has a speargun behind it in case any customer gets too fresh.  After all, she is Wonder Woman. Then he calls. Who is he? Therein lies the mystery.  He only talks to Brianne and confesses to several murders where beautiful women were tortured, humiliated, and beheaded.  Brianne tries to get more information.

Justin is convinced this caller is a fraud.  Brianne does detective work and begins to draw clues to his identity.  Now the killer tells Brianne he will do to her what he did to the other babes in his life. Brianne is scared and Justin insists on sleeping with her every night to guard her. Tom, the A-List actor gets more and more unhinged, as he is divorcing his wife in hopes of landing Wonder Woman.  Justin is smooth and all too calm...of course he is engaging in pre-marital sex with Wonder Woman, which has to be a calming action.  Uh oh...the killer is serious.  What happens to Wonder Woman may be difficult to watch, but will she survive?

Is Justin just a little too sweet and helpful to be a legitimate boyfriend? Will Brianne pull out the Golden Lariat, twirl it around Justice while in the hot tub, and...actually, I withdraw this question...I was getting too prurient.  Is the killer anyone Brianne knows?  Linda Carter looks great in this and even out of her Wonder Woman costume, or even naked in the hot tub, we are happy to see her.  For a pretty good and deviant babe-in-peril TV-Made move, see "Hotline."   

Prompt, A Dirty One From Charles Band

What if you get into AI and create images that arouse you...really arouse?  Your sexual fantasies are now strictly AI...and that's fine with you. Dirty!  Smutty!  Forbidden!  Then, what if you find out that AI is prompting you. If AI tells you to go right...do you go right?  If it tells you to go left...do you go left?  Only fair, right? Then AI tells you to engage in steamy and erotic lesbian sex...do you do it? Us guys out here hope you do.  AI hopes you do. Steamy lesbian sex...in the shower...in outer space...in bed...in the office... you name it. Wait!  Sorry, AI names it. Let us look at the most dirty and erotic film of 2025.  Our feature today is Charles Band's "Prompt."

Taylor (Lilly Bell) is an AI creator.  She creates AI ad campaigns for technology companies. All very sexy. In her spare time she creates AI scenes of hot babes, naked and sweaty, having passionate sex. Taylor masturbates to these images. Not a lesbian, yet, Taylor even invites an old BF (Ian S. Peterson) over for sex in front of these images. Not just these lesbian erotica creations. See a hunk (Jax Cody) enters these images. As the created babes are sharing passion, the mystery man peers at Taylor who is masturbating. The hunk seems aroused by Taylor's self-satisfaction. Taylor is uber aroused that the hunk is watching her. She wants him.  The hunk looks like he wants her. He'll only show up when Taylor creates AI scenes of hot lesbians making out and having sex.

Taylor really wants to have sex with a woman, thus invites her big-boobed bestie Sara (Elliott Woods) over. Taylor wants to show Sara the hunk that has obsessed her. Taylor also wants to get in Sara's yoga pants. Sara is skeptical. Desperate her efforts to conjure up the hunk, Taylor prompts images and scenes of lesbians having passionate sex.  Taylor will do anything to get the hunk of her AI program to appear...and Sara may just have to submit.

What will Taylor do to Sara?  Exactly what will Taylor be prepared to do for this AI hunk who seems to lust after her? Who is in charge, the creator or the creation? Erotic and steamy.  Dirty and taboo. This would have been a perfect movie for the old Cinemax After Dark slot. See "Prompt" and relax, as you do not have to tell anyone you watched it.    

BTW, for the most definitive book ever written about Cinemax After Dark, read the B. Harrison Smith book Skinemax Uncut by clicking this link Skinemax on Amazon