Taboo 3 (Standard Digital) Review

Distributor: Standard Digital Edition Details: Special Collector's Edition DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Drama Also known as: Taboo 3: The Final Chapter Run Time: 93 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1984 Director: Kirdy Stevens Written by: Helene Terrie Cast: Kay Parker, Honey Wilder, Jerry Butler, Lisa Lake, Pamela Mann, Blake Palmer, Marc Wallice, Kristara Barrington (as Kim Morgan), Colleen Brennan (as Colleen Brennen), Ron Jeremy, Angel West (as Donna Marie), Craig Roberts (as Greg Rufner), Misty Dawn, Jay Serling, Rick Knutson, David Sanders (as Jeff Swisstack) Voices: Mike Ranger 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

Taboo was one of the all-time great adult feature films and Taboo 2 was a worthy successor. Taboo 3 indicates all the signs that Kirdy Stevens' Taboo series should have stopped after Taboo 2 and Taboo 3 should never have been made. Not only does Taboo 3 dip into the common clichés of the 80s adult movie productions but it lacks any true continuity with the earlier entries in the series.

The characters backstories have been rewritten for this entry in the Taboo series. At first, it would appear to the viewer that Taboo 3 takes place prior to Taboo 2 because Barbara Scott (Kay Parker), in the beginning of the film is worried about where Paul went, who we all know from Taboo 2 is living with his father now. However, very quickly the viewer is informed this does take place after Taboo 2 because when we are introduced to Joyce McBride (Honey Wilder) we find that she is now divorced from Greg from Taboo 2.

In this entry in the series, Jimmy Scott (Jerry Butler), Paul's not so younger brother, is managing a band called Affair and keeps trying to make sexual advances on his mother Barbara, who keeps refusing the advances. At the same time, Barbara's friend Joyce is carrying on a relationship with her son Brian (Blake Palmer).

Right off, those familiar with the series will be noticing that Taboo 3 is very problematic as far as the story goes. Jimmy Scott and Brian McBride have never been heard of until now in the series. When added to the previously mentioned backstory issues, the story for Taboo 3 comes across as just a quickly churned out script to just capitalize off the series name. Then, to add insult to injury, there is the way too common for the time period band cliché, which takes up a good portion of the film. For a period of the 80s, bands and their groupies became the go-to for being able to introduce sex scene after sex scene, and, sadly, Taboo 3 is no exception.

The acting is okay in this film, some of the cast does a much better job with their nonsexual material than others. Jerry Butler has at least a familial resemblance to Mike Ranger, who played Paul, his brother, in Taboo. So at least the casting was good in regards to this character, even if he was just a write-in for this entry. Blake Palmer, however, bears no familial resemblance to Kevin James, who played Junior ´ his supposed brother.

As far as the sex scenes go, they are nowhere near as erotic as the sex scenes that we received in Taboo and Taboo 2. This isn't the fault of the cast, who gives their scenes good sexual energy. Part of what made the scenes in the first two films so hot was the character development in the films. In Taboo 3 you don't ever get the sense of character development and that hurts the sex scenes immensely. In addition, the film continues the formula from the first two films of sticking in an orgy. At this point, this seems like it is more of a forced requirement for the series than anything organic to the film itself.

Like the first two films, Kirdy Stevens has done a good job with the photography and editing so that the film looks good. Some of the sets and locations come across as cheaper looking than the first two films, but Stevens did a good job with the available budget. As a result, Taboo 3 looks a lot nicer than a lot of its counterparts from the same period.

Overall, Taboo 3 is a quick descent for the series from extremely good to poor due to poorly developed characters, adult film clichés, and a lack of continuity with the past entries in the series. Even if one was to ignore Taboo 2, Taboo 3 is nowhere in the same league as the first one, or the second one, are. I expect fans of the series to want to see this, just because it is part of the series, but there isn't much for replay value here.

Standard Digital has done a decent job with their Special Collector's Edition release of Taboo 3. Taboo 3 was shot on film and appears to have been mastered from a film print. Taboo 3 is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1:33:1 in 480i. The image has grain, artifacts, and print damage present. The colors are okay. In some scenes they are vibrant, but in others, the colors appear to be muted. Overall, the image quality isn't bad.

Taboo 3 is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio track. There are pops present in the audio along with some hiss; none of which is distracting. The dialog spoken in the film is clear and can be easily heard at all times.

The only extra included on the release is a photo gallery.

Taboo 3 marks a sharp and massive decline in Kirdy Stevens' Taboo series. Unlike its predecessors, Taboo 3 doesn't have great character development but does sport a clichéd story, and no continuity with the previous entries. Fans of the Taboo series will likely be very disappointed with Taboo 3, even if fans of the cast. Standard Digital has done a decent job with the video and audio for their Special Collector's Edition release of Taboo 3, but heavily skimped on the extras.

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