Devil's Tail, A (Adam & Eve) Review

Reviewed by YogaGrrl  on  1/7/2002

Cast: Asia Carrera, Ava Vincent, Kristi Myst, Nicole Sheridan, Kylie Ireland, Nikita Denise, Catalina, Joel Lawrence, Michael Stefano ("Luciano" on box), Dale DaBone, Chris Cannon, Randy Spears, Voodoo in sex roles; Steven St. Croix, George Kaplan, Simon Wolf in non-sex roles

Director: Bud Lee

Production date: 3/29/01

Length: 114 min.

Extras: Full motion menus with scene and position selection, 3 bonus scenes, 2 director's cut scenes, 9 trailers, 7 interview-style biographies, a 25-min. behind-the-scenes featurette, 14-min. blooper reel, 12-min. director's interview, 11-min. sex reel, and 10-min. "Tails Trilogy" interview with Asia and Bud Lee.

Some extras mentioned on the box (most notably the "Wolves" featurette by Simon Wolf) are missing. This apparently is an honest mistake; see Astroknight's review for details.

Audio/visual quality: First-rate special effects make this a truly magical feature. Every set is extremely classy, especially considering that one was completely rebuilt at the last minute. Some sets are shadowy by design, but the crew does an excellent job of providing soft lighting right where it's needed. A good mix of long, medium and close shots holds the viewer's interest. There's no dubbing on the audio, which is both clear and well balanced. Music plays early in each scene and during position changes, but much of the footage is musicless (a real treat for all fans of undiluted sex sounds).

Why I chose this DVD: It was recommended by a friend.

First impression: Good sex and a good story, all in an exceptional double DVD package.

Scene highlights: I haven't seen the first two titles in this trilogy, but the script for A Devil's Tale is well crafted and easy to follow. It starts with Jennifer (Asia Carrera) at her keyboard, writing a sex scene for a new novel. In her imagination, a bad cowboy is harassing the good cowgirl (Ava Vincent). He orders her to strip, but the cowboy hero (Dale DaBone) literally stumbles through the door just in time. The hero's pistol accidentally fires, and the bullet zings through the room, ricocheting off an iron skillet, a tin kettle and a saddle-draped whiskey barrel, finally knocking the villain's gun from his hand. This sets up a very romantic scene between the hero and cowgirl, complete with a Pendleton wool blanket as a backdrop. Our heroine looks quite appealing in the firelight, kneeling in her cowboy boots for the blow job. The scene also includes oral for her, missionary, doggie and (duh) reverse cowgirl.

Jennifer's been having some strange visions lately, and she decides to confide in her agent, Charles (Joel Lawrence). He suggests a sleazy weekend trip: "I'll pay for your half, or most of it." Unimpressed, Jennifer leaves for a meeting with her new publisher (Nicole Sheridan), who turns out to be just as sleazy. The publisher invites her to stay for a snack, and then begins to devour her nude servants' meat. Jennifer quietly excuses herself. Hot action ensues, including some noisy pantyhose ripping. The publisher's double penetration is quite a feat to behold; both men (Voodoo and Michael Stefano) pump away in perfectly coordinated rhythm, with her cries of delight ringing through the huge mansion.

Thanks to a little trickery, a devil named Sebastian (Steven St. Croix) persuades Jennifer to enter his play world, where he presents her with a gift (Randy Spears). Jennifer's skeptical at first, but her attitude changes when her new toy gently unfastens her blue velvet halter dress and kisses her breasts (yup, that would do it for me, too). There's a lot of caressing here, and a beautiful sequence where he licks her arch and heel and then slowly slides his tongue down her inner leg. He also receives an outstanding blow job, while maintaining his highly flexed pose for an amazing length of time (nice washboard abs, Randy!). This scene manages to be both hot and sensuous, not an easy combination to achieve.

Meanwhile, Charles is still in his office, trying his moves on an aspiring writer named Ginger (Kylie Ireland). She's a little ditzy at first, but she soon figures out what he means by "research." She teases him with a slow, sexy strip, slapping his hands away when he gets a little too eager. Their relentless dirty talk is hilarious (and highly arousing), and there's plenty of good-natured spanking for her.

Sebastian provides Jennifer a demo of his powers by breathing life into a painting. Inside the artwork, three nymphs (Kristi Myst, Nikita Denise and Catalina) and one lucky guy (Chris Cannon) enjoy an orgy of the senses. All the ladies are young and slim, and Nikita's totally blissed when Chris gives her a bit of anal attention. After lots and lots of mutual oral stimulation, the three women lie down with their heads in a row, and he gives them each a little squirt when he pops. As Jennifer watches this, it begins to dawn on her that she's in real trouble. Her magical mentor James (George Kaplan) convinces Charles to come to her rescue, but ultimately it's Jennifer's faith in herself that carries her home.

Back at the ranch (same set as the first scene), Jennifer turns her original fantasy into reality. She's decided that Charles is not so bad after all, and she gives him some mighty fine treatment. Our heroine looks quite appealing in the firelight, kneeling in her black stilettos for the blow job (hmmm...nice foreshadowing). The positions in the last scene echo those in the first scene, with spooning replacing the doggie.

Thumbs up: A Devil's Tail includes more kissing than I've come to expect from lesser productions. The kissing adds a little spice to the scenes; it also shows that the performers are true professionals who actually like and respect one another. In fact, all the actors are quite enthusiastic in their scenes, with many smiles and happy faces from start to finish.

The acting in the dialog portions exceeds expectations, as well. Both Asia (playing Jennifer) and Steven (playing Sebastian) clearly put time and effort into their roles. Incidentally, the wizard James nearly always speaks in rhymes, which is great fun.

There are so many extras here that they require a separate disc. Many of these do greatly enhance the value of this feature, especially the numerous interviews, the behind-the-scenes featurette and the bloopers. The bonus scene from Beauty and the Bitch portrays a very naughty three-way (including voyeurism and a little male bondage) that's a real turn-on for me.

Thumbs down: In the group sex scene, nymph #2 (Nikita Denise) wears a wristwatch, which looks incredibly goofy in a gothic setting. At least she never looks at her watch; I did, however, look at mine. This scene clocks in at over 19 minutes, and arguably it lacks the momentum to fully sustain it. I prefer the more tightly edited 12-min. director's cut, which is included as an extra.

I also have a female complaint (no, not that kind!) concerning the biographies. I like the interviews with the actresses, and I especially enjoy the interview with Bud Lee. So why are no male performers included? (Please, oh please...I think I'm developing a crush on Randy Spears...) I know some beg to differ, but I believe that male porn stars are people, too.

Themes: Straight, group, lesbian, oral, anal, double penetration, facials.

Juice-o-meter: Only medium overall, due to the fact that the sexual positions and scenarios are pretty standard. But you always can use the nifty menus to access the parts that really make you melt.

Final analysis: Considering that you get two discs for the price of one, you'd be hard- pressed to find a better value in couples porn. I like A Devil's Tail, and I'll be keeping it for my DVD library.


YogaGrrl's e-mail is here.