Sin-A-Matic Review

Reviewed by Saki  on  3/2/2000

Sin-a-Matic #1 (1997)
Studio: Vivid Raw
Directed by: Jon Dough
Starring: Papillion, Monique DeMoan, Spice, Midori, Ruby, Tricia Devereaux, Alexandra Nice, Jon Dough, Dave Hardman, John West, Jake Steed, TT Boy, Vince Vouyer, Nick East, Mr. Marcus, and Peter North
Running Time: 1:42
Format: Single Sided, Dual Layer
DVD Features: Main menu with full motion video; full motion video chapter selection; photo gallery with more than 60 photos; 8 random video clips; and trailers for Action Sports Sex Vols. 1-3 and Sin-a-Matic Vols. 2-3.

The First Word: Vivid and "gonzo" seem to be mutually exclusive, but this first volume of Jon Dough's Sin-a-Matic series is better than I had expected, and certainly is far more graphic than your average Vivid offering. Although there are better gonzo series out there, it's not bad for an inexpensive DVD.

Plot Synopsis: Anyone who's watched a few gonzos knows that they rarely have plots, and if they do, they almost never make sense. Sin-a-Matic doesn't buck that trend: all of the scenes have scenarios that you'll be scratching your head about after they are over. But I guess it's not worth trying to make sense of them, since they're only excuses to see people fucking, right?

The first scene features Jon Dough, Papillion, and Monique DeMoan driving along a desert highway. From the perspective of a passing big rig, you see that Monique is giving Jon a blowjob as he's driving. For some reason, the trucker is in a hurry and passes the group's SUV, and Jon takes the hint an pulls off into desert for a pretty darn hot threeway on the tailgate. The second scene has Spice giving Dave Hardman "the look" from across the room at a restaurant, followed by the two retiring into a marginal looking bathroom to get it on. They are later joined by John West, who plays a restaurant employee who happens to walk in and complete the threesome. Scene number three has Jake Steed accusing Midori of cheating on him behind his back. She claims she's been faithful to her, but as Jake plows her, the scene cuts away to expose her infidelity with T.T. Boy. The fourth scene is a little weird, with no real plot, as we can barely make out Jon Dough and Ruby in Dave Hardman's living room, while Tricia Devereaux and Vince Vouyer fuck on the patio, silently visible through the glass patio doors. Finally, the gonzo wraps up with a far-fetched dental office fantasy with Nick East and Mr. Marcus as thieves who are going through the abandoned office. While they are busy burgling the tooth fairy, Alexandra Nice walk in, and they have to pretend to be dentists. Naturally, this leads into a threesome in the dentist's chair, which become a foursome when Peter North mysteriously arrives and joins in.

Notable Performances: Although there was something in every scene that kept me interested, I really liked the opening desert scene the most. I don't understand the whole premise of the scene, but the sex is just great. Jon, looking bored as ever, gets great head while driving and when parked. With the vehicle's tailgate down, Jon, Papillion, and Monique (both girls are all-natural too) run the gamut of sexual activities, including girl-girl, anal, rimming, lots of positions, and a shared oral cumshot. Oh, and for those who care about such things, there are no condoms in sight... Aside from the girls' tatoos and a dirty camera lens, I really enjoyed this outdoor shoot; it's the strongest of the scenes (although the others are no slackers either). It's a very good way to open up a series! Other reviews I've read of this title single out other scenes that those reviewers liked better, but the first scene is my favorite--I suggest you look the other reviews up for blow-by-blow of the rest of the good scenes.

Dislikes: The tattoo and piercing factor is fairly high in this one--it's really distracting to see large tattoos on people, especially in places like a woman's pubic mound. Another dislike was the nastiness factor of the second scene--I really don't understand the appeal of seeing people having sex in filthy bathrooms. Heck, I have a hard time conducting my normal business in most bathrooms like the one depicted in Sin-a-Matic, let alone wanting to do the nasty there. But by far, my biggest beef with the video is the poor lighting in the indoor scenes. Vivid has no problem photographing outdoor scenes--they are bright and vibrant, but once inside, you almost need night vision goggles to see what's going on. I've seen amateur video productions with better execution of set lighting to illuminate the action! I was afraid that the lighting in the dental office fantasy was going to be bad too, but at least they put the powerful examination lamp to use as an impromptu c-light.

DVD Notes: Hey! Vivid actually spent some money and mastered this one on an RSDL disc, putting everything on one side and allowing for some colorful disc art on the non-play side. The video quality is not too bad considering that we're talking about Vivid production and a gonzo and a video feature. Again, the biggest problem with the video is the low lighting, not the mastering. From an audio perspective, it's the standard hit-or-miss porno audio on a stereo track. I guess the best way to summarize the A/V is to say that it looks about the same as a new VHS copy would. From an extras standpoint, the extras are the typical ones you find on Vivid Raw DVDs, the normal selection of 8 video clips, a few dozen photos and trailers for other Raw discs, except that they are on the same side as the feature (because they used a dual layered disc). The only noticeable snafu is that they accidentally swapped the location of the two photo galleries--the one that has photos of Sin-a-Matic are located in the bonus menu, while the bonus photos are linked to from the main menu.

The Last Word: Well, I bought this DVD based on some really positive reviews on the net. After seeing Sin-a-Matic, I'd say that it's a decent gonzo, but does not measure up to some of the really outstanding series out there. It doesn't really deserve the gushing praise that others have given it, IMHO. But I'll give it some credit since it was one of Vivid's first genuine gonzo titles and is certainly quite hardcore compared to most Vivid videos. It's above average for Vivid, but not above average compared to similar series. From a value position, since most stores are selling this DVD around the $10-15 range, you certainly get some good action for the price. Therefore, if you are a gonzo fan and looking over a list of Raw titles, wondering which one to get, go with Sin-a-Matic #1.