Shock Therapy Review

Running Time: approx. 74 min.

Production Date: 6 / 7 / 2000

Director: Michael Raven

Cast: Asia Carrera, Sydnee Steele, Gina Lynn, Ava Vincent, Isabella Camille, Shayla Summers, Alec Metro, Pat Myne, Dillion Day, Evan Stone, Devan Sapphire, and Mike Horner

Initial Expectations: With Michael Raven’s creativity, I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m almost certain it’ll be good.

Initial Reaction: It’s very different from most adult films you might watch, but has some great sex.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody who doesn’t want extreme or nasty sex, but does want something very unique and with a dark edge

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody who thinks couples sex has to be boring and tame

Audio /Video Quality: The audio is very clear and well balanced through most of the movie, but the final scene is a little off balance in a couple places. The video appears a little off, but it’s consistent enough to appear to be on purpose. The proportions are off on everything, so that everything looks a little stretched out. As with many of Michael Raven’s other features, the lighting is a little different, with some over lighting, but in many cases the lighting enhances the scenes. There’s also a little grain, but Mr. Raven normally shoots on film, which normally means there’s going to be a little grain. It’s done well and doesn’t really interfere with the picture. The only real problem video have are a couple bad pixelation flashes during the feature and a couple soft focus blurs.

Music: The music has a very hard edge to it, which fits the feature extremely well. The balance between the audio and the music changes depending on the scene, which really makes the music stand out nicely in some places and does a great job of enhancing the scenes.

Disc Problems: As usual with Sin City’s earlier DVDs, you’re subjected to several phone sex trailers and a commercial for their web site that you can’t skip. This is one of my biggest pet peeves and always starts the movie off a step down. There’s also no time stamp, which is something I think Sin City has added since this DVD was originally released. Both of my complaints here are only for their earlier DVDs, such as this one, as they’ve stopped the mandatory commercials and have added a time code by the time of this review. To me this shows that Sin City cares about the consumer and does want to do what they can to improve their products. Since they’re willing to learn, I’m not holding these things against them in grading this DVD.

Menus: The main menu is pretty simple, with a little animation and some great creepy music to fit the style of the feature. The chapter menu lists the chapters by a scene number and a small clip of the scene. It’s a pretty average way to offer a chapter menu, but since this is an older DVD, I won’t complain that it doesn’t list the star’s name in each scene.

The Feature: Asia Carrera has a problem. No, her computer didn’t crash. She suffers from ASCD, or Acute Sexual Compulsive Disorder. She hallucinates about sex, so she agrees to go to counseling. Unfortunately, the counseling doesn’t help much since she even fantasizes about sex there. Since she can’t tell reality from her sexual fantasies any more, she’s sent to the funny farm, where things aren’t nearly as fun.

Ava Vincent takes on Asia Carrera’s counseling group, including Pat Myne, Alec Metro, and Devan Sapphire. She starts out sucking Devan’s cock while Pat watches and strokes his. She moves down the line, finally sucking off Alec before letting him eat her pussy. He moves on to fuck her as she lays on her desk, making her tits jiggle as only real ones can, while the other guys watch and jerk off. Apparently Alec’s parents taught him to share, as he moves off so the other guys can get back in the action. Pat fucks Ava from behind as she sucks Devan’s cock, and then steps off so Ava can energetically ride Devan. The guys finish off the scene by standing on Ava’s desk and giving her a shower of spunk as she sits on a chair in front of them. Although Ava does a very good job, the chemistry is kind of off here. The guys each get some time with Ava, but their disappearing didn’t sit quite right with me. It’s a very different scene to start the feature off with, but then again, this is a different feature.

Shayla Summers, a blonde who looks a little older and has a bald pussy and oversized implants, and Isabella Camille, a very attractive auburn haired lady with nicely natural tits, show each other more than just support in their padded cell. They warm each other up a little before Shayla lays back and lets Isabella’s tongue and fingers work her over. Shayla reciprocates as Isabella stands against the wall and then breaks out a clear dildo to work on Isabella’s pussy. Shayla works Isabella’s pussy over with the dildo until Isabella doesn’t look like she can take any more, and then wind things up with a little kissing. It’s a pretty average lesbian scene. I was a little turned off by Shayla from the start, so some people might enjoy it a lot more than I did.

Asia Carrera gets some special attention from orderlies Evan Stone and Dillion Day. Asia plays her role great right from the start, at first appearing scared when she sees them approaching, but then the lust slowly appears and takes over as they pull her from her bunk. She lets them fondle her a little while they kiss before leaning over to take care of Evan’s cock as Dillion fucks her from behind. Evan gets his turn in Asia’s sweet spot as she rides him cowgirl while she sucks Dillion’s cock. Dillion takes a couple more turns in Asia, first fucking her from behind again and then fucking her missionary style before they spray her chest and face with their population pudding. The scene has a little bit of a dark feel at times, but is extremely hot. Both Asia and Evan go all out here, with Evan looking particularly menacing and Asia looking like she can’t get enough cock.

After getting a bare ass spanking from nurse Sydnee Steele, who looks amazing in her fetish nurse outfit and plays the part to a T, Dr. Mike Horner gets a little candy to help with the pain. Candy, in this case is nurse Gina Lynn who’s in more of a candy striper outfit than a nurses uniform. Sydnee has Gina drop down and suck Mike’s cock before watching the action unfold and sucking on her own fingers. As usual, Mike shows himself off as the master of facial expressions as Gina works on his rod. Unfortunately, this is only a tease scene, as there’s no pop shot.

Finally, Asia Carrera goes in for shock therapy. As Dr. Mike Horner pays her some attention, Nurse Gina Lynn gets attention from both Sydnee Steele and Evan Stone. Dr. Mike gets Asia warmed up with his tongue, which appears to be anything other than a depressor, before sliding his fingers into her snatch. Gina’s pussy, meanwhile, gets warmed up with Sydnee’s fingers as Evan stands behind her to fondle her nipples and give directions. Gina thanks Sydnee properly, licking her clit as Evan fingers both of their pussies. Asia moves on to suck and stroke Mike’s cock as Gina turns her oral talents to Evan’s member while Sydnee sits on his face so he can eat her ass. Evan moves on to let each of the girls ride his cock, starting with Sydnee, while the other girl watches and helps a little. Evan finally unloads his giant sized syringe on Gina’s face with Sydnee’s help. Asia, meanwhile, gets Dr. Mike’s meaty injection in a few of the common positions until he gives her chest his creamy man lotion. It’s another very hot scene that has a very different feel to it.

Not surprisingly, Michael Raven’s Shock Therapy is quite different from your average porno. It has great art direction and a darkness that’s found in very few adult films. In addition to Raven’s great direction, much of the success of Shock Therapy is due to the cast’s great jobs in all their roles. Evan Stone, Sydnee Steele, and Mike Horner do an excellent job playing the menacing and possibly completely evil staff in the hospital Asia’s sent. Asia is just as good, nicely controlling when she’s the lustful sexaholic and when she’s the scared patient. The sex is very hot, with only the scene between Shayla Summers and Isabella Camille failing to impress me much. If you’re in the mood for something a little different, try a little bit of Shock Therapy.

Extras: The photo gallery contains about thirty four snapshots and full screen photos. The snapshots are very clear and look great, but the full screen photos are a little fuzzy and appear like they might have been taken directly from the feature. Trailers are included for Eighteen & Awesome, Eighteen & Anxious, and the first four installments of the Just 18 series. Finally, there’s the web site and phone sex commercials you couldn’t skip by before the main menu. If you choose to watch them again and then change your mind, you won’t be able to skip to the end of them there either.

Themes: Straight, group, lesbian, toys, spanking, oral, rimming (male > female), and toe-ing

Raincoat Factor: High

Overall: Currently, Shock Therapy can be found online for between $18 and $24 with most stores offering it for under $20. Although this might be pushing it, since the visual style might turn some people off and the extras are lacking, the feature is definitely worth watching. Both the sex and the acting are excellent, and are enhanced by Raven’s unique visual style.

Note to Sin City: It’s great to see that your more current DVDs have improved from this.

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me .

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