Sexcula Review

Distributor: Impulse Pictures Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Foreign Run Time: 86 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1974 Director: John Holbrook (as Bob Hollowich) Written by: David F. Hurry Cast: Debbie Collins, Jamie Orlando, John Alexander, Tim Lowery, Bud Coal, Marie McLeod, David F. Hurry, Julia Simons, Franklin Parker, Clarence Frog, Toni Parllee, Ron Solo, Mary Lang, Paul Lamont, Bill Oleander 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

Sexcula is Canada's first, and only, entry in the 70s adult film craze. Filmed in British Columbia, screened once, and then promptly lost. Until recently Sexcula was considered to be a lost film until a surviving theatrical print was found in the Canadian Film Archives. Given the obscurity of the title and the lack of future projects by those involved, it is not hard to believe that it lay hidden there for so long. The only person involved with the project that really went on to any sort of career in film, from what I can see, is director John Holbrook, who went on to be camera operator and cinematographer for several films and television shows including First Blood, Scary Movie 3, and 21 Jump Street.

Sexcula is one of those films, that while you watch it you are completely unsure of what the people involved in the production originally had intended it to be. The story for the film is, a couple (David F. Hurry and Debbie Collins) read from a diary that entails how the girl's relative Dr. Fellatingstien (Jamie Orlando) created a male monster Frank (John Alexander) for sexual pleasure. Frank is uninterested in sex so Dr. Fellatingstien calls her cousin Countess Sexcula (Debbie Collins), who is basically a hooker, to help.

In concept this sounds good, but somewhere in execution this all falls apart. To be honest, it certainly seems like at one point, someone actually cared about the film. The basement and dining room of the 1869 mansion are rather well put together. The make up job on Orgie (Tim Lowery) is relatively well done as well. But one starts to wonder exactly how much someone cared when a modern telephone, spotlight, and robot in 1869.

When the scene shifts to a fake wedding set marked “porno film studio,” complete with sound, lighting, and filming equipment — along with crew — you realize that whoever at one point truly cared about the production had given up. Especially since the scene really has no connection with anything else, unless you buy the brief narration and closing that try to make it make sense within the film.

It is also rather obvious that the original concept of the film was to be softcore. The scenes involving the principle cast, with the exception of Debbie Collins, are softcore. Yes in one scene Debbie Collins briefly touches Bud Coal's cock with her mouth, but it isn't even the beginning of a blowjob. There are two actual hardcore scenes within the film itself and they both seem tacked into the film. The porn set hardcore scene features none of the principle cast members at all and is only tied into what goes for the story at this point by a narration. It comes across as something that was never in the original concept for the film. The other hardcore scene with Debbie Collins and Franklin Parker at the beginning of the film seems to be tacked in as well. It is also very possible that the bridging portions, the couple Debbie Collins and David F. Hurry, reading from the diary was a later add-on at one point to try and save what was filmed.

Then again, the entire story is really thrown away at the end. I assume that there were production problems — unusable footage, cast members who quit or got fired, or something else — that caused the film to go to hell. The story mostly dissolves away and not to give away the ending but John Alexander — seemingly as John Alexander — just talks to the camera at the end of the film and walks off the set. The ultimate scene, or what should be the ultimate scene, with Jamie Orlando and Bob Alexander starts but is never fully shown, which would lead credence to the footage being unusable. Other scenes, just aren't explained. For instance, Debbie Collins does briefly touch Bud Coal's cock with her mouth in their scene, but the rest is completely softcore. Debbie Collins starts to give David F. Hurry a hand job that is quickly abandoned.

No matter how you look at it, Sexcula is not a good film. It makes no sense and abandons itself along the process just becoming an odd mixture of footage that really doesn't relate to anything. It is great that Impulse Pictures has made this film available to be seen after all these years — but after seeing it, I am not entirely sure who would really want to. Sadly, this film was probably better off staying lost.

Given the age and obscurity of Sexcula, Impulse Pictures has given the film a very good presentation on this release. The film is presented in the full screen aspect ratio. The film has been mastered using the only known theatrical print. There is grain, artifacts, and print defects throughout the presentation. The image also seems to be soft in some places. The colors are nicely represented. The film is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural soundtrack which contains some crackles but is overall in good shape. Impulse Pictures has only included a few extras with this release. There is the original theatrical trailer. Also included is a card with liner notes about the film by Dimitrios Otis on one side and a reproduction of Rick Trembles' “Motion Picture Purgatory” comic on Sexcula on the other side. Normally for a film of this age and obscurity, I would consider these extras more than adequate. However, such is not the case with this film. Several members of the cast and production are still around — and apparently readily interested in talking about the film — so I find it inexcusable that Impulse Pictures didn't include featurettes featuring the cast and production members willing to talk. That being said, I suspect this is probably the best edition that will ever come out for this title, so if it is one that you want for your collection, I would pick it up.

Sexcula is a bizarre adult film to have come out of the 70s. The concept behind the initial story holds promise but the execution, and I am assuming severe production issues, render the film to a jumbled mess that is hard to watch. Impulse Pictures has done a great job with the video and audio presentation on the disc.

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