Taboo (1980)

f7f3a0e241ed200ae674138fe1bf9f1c

The Plot.
A female friend of a sexually frustrated mother tries broadening her horizons with a sex orgy. Though avoiding it, the new feelings inside her cause her to force herself on her sleeping son. To her amazement, the seduction is mutual.

The Cast.
Kay Parker – Barbara Scott
Dorothy LeMay – Sherry
Mike Ranger – Paul Scott
Juliet Anderson – Gina
Tawny Pearl – Diane
Turk Lyon – Chris Scott

Production Value.
Above average for a movie of this type. The video holds up well with contemporary cinema of the period which always adds weight to the quality.

The Porn.
Primarily male-female with emphasis on a rather lengthy orgy scene where there are both male-female and female-female action. The movie culminates with simulated incest so if offended by even the notion of such a thing stop right here.

Kay Parker Taboo 1

Review.
Well….It was Mother’s Day recently.

Liberalism seemed to know no bounds throughout the 1970s as far as the porn industry was concerned. Having shocked the world with movies like Deep Throat the porn-hungry public wanted to go even further and there were pornographers out there willing to deliver. Thus began the porn industry’s brief love affair with the idea of incest. It seems so shocking to us now that this was quite a popular genre on the tail-end of the golden years of pornography. We like to think that we are even more liberal about pornography today but if anything we as a culture seem to have gone backwards with what is deemed good taste.

Contrary to popular belief this movie isn’t about the incestuous relationship of a mother and son but instead tries to build up a reason for why such a situation would arise. In that respect the actual incest scene (and there is only one) is in fact the climax of the movie. There are little hints along the way that they are perhaps closer than an ordinary mother and son such as a scene where Paul tells her that he has the hottest mom in town…Cringe.

So leading up to the end we have a rather long and frankly uninteresting orgy scene. These were pretty run of the mill things for these types of movies and especially from Kay Parker who seems to enjoy playing characters who like to watch these things. For me there is just too much going on to actually engage with it and I find myself looking at a mess of bodies sprawled along the floor. A much better scene is when Paul gets off with his girlfriend played by Dorothy LeMay, one of my favourite retro porn stars and one who will reappear later in the movie series.

So, Kay Parker leaves the orgy that for some reason she doesn’t want to get in on but is still fired up by it to the point where she is willing to just jump on any dick she can find even if it is her son’s…OK. I know I shouldn’t try to find sense in a porno but really I just didn’t buy this. What I will say to the film’s credit is there is passion in the famous scene and at times they do look like they are worried about the consequences of what they are doing while still wanting to press on.

Is it a turn on? Well with regards to the sex then yes but as to the content; each their own. I am not going to say that I am appalled by this because I am morally against incest (which I am by the way) but is it any different than watching something like Dexter where the star is a serial killer? One thing is for sure however that the porn industry’s interest in incest is quite alive and well today if somewhat subdued compared to 1980 when this hit stores with blacked out windows.

Conclusion.
More reputation than actual high quality. I will say that it is an average porno and that reflects in my rating. The sequels are better at first before the whole series takes a tragic nosedive and becomes extremely dull and half-hearted.

Rating: 3/5

Kay Parker Taboo 2

The True Way (1973)

True 1

The Plot.
Three women are invited to join a religious sect that purifies the soul and allows them to find the true way to happiness through sex.

The Cast.
Franklin Anthony – Teddy
Nina Fause – Margaret
Brigitte Maier – Suzy Martin
Paul Scharf – Mr. James
Bob Silvani – Spiritual Leader
Maggie Williams – Amy Young (uncredited)

Production Value.
Very poor at times. This is very low budget in every respect.

The Porn.
Male-female with a single group session at the end that includes female-female scenes. Pretty run of the mill stuff.

True 2

Review.
I know that it’s common for pornos to rip off things from mainstream movies like a plotline and claim it as their own but this one actually starts off with the James Bond theme tune. I am not kidding here it’s actually the James Bond theme! Thing is it cuts to a halt very abruptly and the camera shows us a tram in San Francisco with a voice over of two people talking. It was only at the end of the scene did I realize they were supposed to have been two people on the tram – yeah that’s how bad the dubbing is. But wait! When she gets off the tram the James Bond theme starts again and straight away I am ready to watch Jamie Bond fight off a series of extravagant bad guys.

But of course that doesn’t happen and instead we get some plot line about a girl whose husband has died and how his brother came over to comfort her. Naturally it led to sex. Well it seems the brother-in-law wants to redeem himself and gives her an invitation to go to a group of people who can help her with her sadness by helping her find the true way. Again this of course means sex with strangers in weird masks. Three ladies are invited to find the true way in all but each time the ceremony is a little different – obviously there is more than one way to get spiritual enlightenment.

The scenes of the religious ceremonies are clunky, awkward and the first one is unnecessarily long although the others are a little quicker. I swear at one point the guy playing the Monk forgot his lines and you can see him trying to recall them through a cocaine-clouded mind. Delivery of the lines is also very poor as he just spews out a lot heard-it-all-before garbage about how removing clothes is the first step to freeing yourself and finding the true way. One particularly cringe-worthy line is when the Monk, now calling himself the Master, tells the second woman, “Your coming has been expected” and then later they will all “become as one” as they engage in group sex. Puns in a porno…Tutt Tutt.

I know it’s customary to laugh at porno sets sometimes but this had me in stitches when Margaret is told to enter The Portal of Eternal Happiness and it looks like she is just walking out of someone’s living room in to the kitchen. Naturally of course the portal leads to a room where she has to screw a guy in a mask that makes him look like a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Another girl has to get it on with a guy who looks like a Mexican wrestler complete with small cape and mask. And while she’s getting busy with purifying her soul he is sprouting all this baloney about happiness and righteousness and how she is close to achieving purity and a higher level of being. Honestly it feels like I am watching scientology porn!

The dubbing at times is so bad that it feels like I am watching a Bruce Lee movie.The lighting is also appalling and it makes our first student of enlightenment with her blond hair look like a human lightbulb (see image below). That being said the actual porn isn’t all that bad. It’s just the right mix of close ups and full body shots to keep things interesting. I have to give the stars points for remembering their lines during the actual scenes although hearing the first girl keep calling him “Guiding Light” over and over again does start to get a little annoying. There’s enough here to keep it going but don’t expect anything extravagant.

—SPOILER ALERT—

The final fact about the true way is that all the masked men they have sex with are actually the ones who duped them in to going in the first place. It’s all a big con to score with ladies they wouldn’t have a chance with for one reason or another.

Conclusion.
Poor quality but it’s not unwatchable. Fairly average to the point where you won’t remember it unless someone asks you specifically about it.

Rating. 2/5

True 3