Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale (Impulse) Review

Distributor: Impulse Pictures Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Fairy Tale, Fantasy Run Time: 68 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1979 Director: Fred J. Lincoln (as Fred Lincoln) Written by: Daniel Webster Cast: Serena (as The Princess Serena), China Leigh, Jamie Gillis, Valerie Darlyn (as Lotta Leggs), Dorothy LeMay (as Norma Gene), Natasha Raphael, Marlene Munroe, Paul Thomas, Blair Harris, Gary Baron, Lee LeMay Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Back in the 70s there was a slew of erotic fairy tales and similar style stories, from Bill Osco's hardcore musical Alice in Wonderland to Michael Pataki's softcore musical Cinderella to less fairy tale specific ventures such as the softcore Fairy Tales from Harry Hurwitz. For a period, such works were ripe for the erotic treatment often offering new fun adult takes on the fairy tale. Fred J. Lincoln's Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale is a take on the classic Cinderella tale that isn't as ambitious as these other film. In fact, Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale shows no ambition at all.

In this tale, Cindy (Serena) is sold into slavery to Diane (Natasha Raphael), the local madame. Cindy is degraded in the local house of prostitution. Mr. Thomas (Jamie Gillis) comes by scouting for Prince Charles' (Paul Thomas) party. Cindy's fairy godmother (China Leigh) sends Cindy to Prince Charles' party.

Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale has some great actors and actresses in it, some of the best from they heyday of adult films, however Daniel Webster's screenplay doesn't give them anything to work with. The primary intention of the film seems to be to just deliver the sex scenes and the plot is stuck in when convenient. Lincoln has made other films work under this premise, but in those films there has been more than just the sex that the film had going for it. China Leigh was a horrible choice to play Cindy's fairy godmother and the narrator of the film. Her delivery is wooden and stiff, which brings the film down even more.

Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale is clearly a one day wonder with the most minimal of budgets. The film is set in the modern world, without any attempt at making it look like it took place in fairy tale times. While this could work, some of the costuming, like Mr. Thomas, makes the film look like it should have taken place in fairy tale times. In addition, the entire film seems to have been shot inside only one house giving the film a claustrophobic and rushed feel.

In addition to this the sex scenes all look uninspired as well, which was surprising since this film appears to have been a showcase for Serena. Even actors and actresses like Jamie Gillis, Paul Thomas, Dorothy LeMay, and Serena that have made many a hot scene seem to just be phoning this film in.

In short, Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale is a failure on all levels. The sex scenes are flat, the plot is heavily neglected, and the production values are low. Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale is an easy film to pass on.

Impulse Pictures has done a decent job with their release of Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale. Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480p. The print used for the master was rather beat and scuffed up and contains print damage, artifacts, and grain. The colors in the film look nice. Despite being beat up, the print isn't horrible and is definitely watchable.

Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The audio track sounds fine with all dialog clear and easy to understand throughout the film.

Impulse Pictures hasn't included any extras on this release.

The 70s brought us some great new takes on classic fairy tales turning them into erotic romps but Serena: An Erotic Fairy Tale was not one of these. Instead, this film went the route of being a quickly churned out film to capitalize on the name of the main star Serena. The plot is essentially non-existent, the sex scenes are tepid, and the entire film comes across as lazy. Impulse Pictures has done a decent job with their release.

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