Taboo 2001: Sex Odyssey Review

Studio: Metro
Date of Production: 07-2000

Before Viewing Expectations:
This is a two dvd set and the cover says it has over 5 hours of footage across both discs. It has also received 10 AVN nominations, so it should be a good movie. The list of extras seems quite impressive, and is said to include things like PC wallpaper and screensavers. There are only a few really tiny thumbnails of the action, but from them, we can see that this movies uses some very elaborate costumes. Just based on the cover, I'm expecting a lot out of this title.

The Action:
The movie opens with a couple sitting on a couch in a futuristic apartment. He is trying to convince her to put on a virtual reality (VR) headset so they can have some cyber sex. She hesitates saying even the though of sex can get them arrested. He persists, and soon they are cybersexing. The camera cuts back and forth from the cybersex action to reality. As they engage in some oral activities, the alarms at the Thought Policy headquarters goes off and the female cops spring into action. Outside the apartment door, they use a special VR headset which allows them to tap into and record the couple's thoughts. We see some vaginal sex, with a condom. Something to ponder, if sex is outlawed, why is there a condom? Perhaps the VR headsets believe in safe sex? There isn't much sexual energy in this scene and it ends with him coming manually on her face. At this point, the cops burst in, the guy is killed and the girl is arrested.

Back at police headquarters, the captain comes in, looking alot like the guy who was just iced. A voice over tells us that clones of people are done all the time, so it isn't unusual to see people who look alike. We also learn that sex was outlawed in 2121, so live it up while there is still time. :-)

A monitor at police HQ shows a sex club featuring a female dom and two subs, one male, the other female. The female sub gives some oral attention to the dom. The dom then punishes the male sub with a whip for not listening. Soon though he is being blown by the other sub. The dom joins in on the oral action, followed pretty soon by the female sub doing a cowgirl on the male sub. This turned into some doggie action and finished with him masturbating to orgasm on both of their faces. Cut back to the police, where one of the female cops is being told to go in undercover. We learn that the club is actually a VR club and she needs to VR into it.

Back at the club, the mistress (dom) senses an interloper and examines everyone. She finds a guy who she feels is the interloper and puts a noose around his neck. He is pulled up and out of the scene, never to be seen again. Now it is time for the next show. Three female "astronauts" enter, undress, and rub a large mock penis. They finger themselves and suck on dildos. As they start to play with their toys, we see that the undercover cop is enjoying the show and caressing herself. Suddenly, there is a guy on stage and the three take turns giving him a blowjob. One of the girls climbs aboard for some cowgirl action, yet we don't see a condom this time. Seems the VR headsets are as forgetful as us guys are about them things. This scene has better energy than the first. The guy starts to doggie the second girl, and soon the third girl gets some as well. His orgasm is vaginally induced and he blows his load on her ass.

The cop VRs out and is overwheled by what she has experienced. She goes home and undresses, and sees visions in her mirror. Why she isn't arrested for the thoughts she has during her time at home is what I like to call a plot hole, as it is never explained.

Next day, the undercover cop VRs back into the club just in time for the mermail and merman show. Two mermaids "swim" into the scene and each selects a merman and gives them a blowjob. The mistress approaches the cop and they start to talk, and eventually kiss. We see one merman pop on the face of his mermaid, then the cop VRs out. She expresses doubt of the mission to her captain, who reassures her and sends her home. At home, she starts to masturbate and has flashbacks to her having sex with her captain. We jump back and forth to her and the visions of sex with the captain where we witness both taking turns orally, some vaginal sex followed by anal sex. There isn't as much energy in this scene as one of the earlier scenes. The captain comes manually on her face. Back to her masturbating, the second cop suddenly appears, seems the first cop is still in cyberville and the mistress is manipulating her thoughts. The second cop tries to save her by giving her a pill which will bring her out of cyberland. The first cop is not trusting and refuses the pill. The second cop VRs out and says she couldn't her her partner. We see the partner still sitting in the VR chair writhing around.

Back at the club, the cop is part of the next show. The cop is blowing a guy soon to be joined by the mistress. The mistress enjoys some cowgirl action shortly followed by the cop getting it from behind while she orals the mistress. He comes manually on both their faces. Back at the police HQ, the captain says they lost another one and calls for the hospital to take away body who's soul is lost to cyberville.

Audio, Video and Extras:
The audio was nicely balanced, a good blend of dialogue, music, and sound effects. I don't have a Dolby Digigal setup, so I can't comment on that particular audio track. The video was shot with the intention of having a dark, edgy, futuristic feel and accomplishes this quite well. This feature was shot on film and transfered as there are some occasional dust marks and scratches evident in the transfer but nothing glaring or overly obvious. I did note that the video wasn't as sharp as I've seen on other titles, but I'm not sure if this was a result of the equipment used or part of the dark, edgy feel the director was going for. The only extra on the first disc was a trailer for this movie. On the second disc, there are quite a bit of extras. First up is the "History of Taboo" which has a listing of several past Taboo titles. Selecting one provides a short synposis of the movie's plot and on some, allows the viewer to see one scene from the movie or a trailer for the movie. Up next is the rather dry "Press Interview" which is a sitdown Q&A session with the cast and director. Next is the "Behind the Scenes" feature, which is done in black and white and has a campy, 1950's horror movie feel to it, making it more interesting than the typical behind the scenes look. The user controlled "Photo Gallery" follows, and is pretty much what you'd expect. "Bloopers" are next, but most of them are simple line flubs, a few (too few) are sex related. A behind the scene's look at the "Box Shoot" takes us to the photo session where the cover art was shot. The bio's of the six women in the movie are presented in "Star Bios", which is followed by four movie trailers in "Trailers". The "Move on James Avalon" feature is also black and white and a bit campy. Some of the scenes are the same as the behind the scene's feature. Next up is "Desktop Wallpaper" which instructs the viewer to put it into a computer with a DVD drive. When I did that, there is one image on the disc in three different resolutions to match your desktop. It is the same image from the front of the box. No where on either disc did I find any PC screensavers that are mentioned in the list of extras on the case. The "Tour of Metro Studios" is next, which is a very short run though the facility with no dialogue. I was impressed with the size of their warehouse though! "Company Info" is pretty self explanatory and the last extra was the "Lingerie Ad". This is a video ad for California Dreams Lingerie. They show models wearing the various outfits. On the screen they show the style number, the sizes it comes in, and the 1-800 order number. Very tastfully done, the models cover their nipples when wearing the styles which don't provide full coverage. Several styles were shown in S, M, and L sizes and several styles were shown in 1X, 2X and 3X sizes, so there was something for women of all types and builds.

Conclusion:
The amount of extras on this title was simply amazing, despite the lack of the advertised screensavers. This is obviously a big budget movie based on the sets and the costumes and the plot, afore mentioned holes excluded, was well done. The level of acting was typical of an adult movie and may even be better than "Attack of the Clones" if reviews of that movie are accurate. The sex, while not bad, didn't have the energy seen in other features, which may disappoint some. If you are a fan of James Avalon, or perfer more plot than action, this movie is a perfect additon to your colletion. Those who prefer all action all the time may want to give this one a try as a rental just for a change of pace.