Graphic Sexual Horror (2009, Review) Synapse Films

Published on August 18, 2010 by Greg B.   ·   No Comments

Director(s): Barbara Bell, Anna Lorentzon

Synapse Films / NTSC Region 1 / Unrated / Anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) / Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo / 86 minutes

DVD Special Features: Deleted Scenes / “More From the Models” –
Unused Interview Segments / Interview with co-director Barbara Bell
/ Theatrical Trailer

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Bondage. Discipline. Sadism. Masochism. BDSM. They would call me
–one of the most perverted motherfuckers you will ever meet– “vanilla”.
That word is used to describe anyone outside of the BDSM community and
it is meant to sound, well… boring. And to tell you the truth, when you
take a peek at what these sickos (I use that term in the most endearing
way) are up to, “normal” everyday humping does sound a bit plain. Pain
is their pleasure. Degradation is what they crave. If you are on the
other end –a sadist– you get a little tingle in your nether regions
when you give it to them. In the late ’90s, during the boom of the
internet, a college professor (himself a dominant sadist) started what
would be one of the most notoriously sick sites on the ‘net. Graphic Sexual Horror now tells the story of its rise and fall.

Documentary filmmakers Barbara Bell and Anna Lorentzon take you on
an almost surreal and unbelievable visual experience as they tell the
story of Brent Scott (aka “PD”) and the website he made infamous,
insex.com. The story is told through behind-the-scenes footage of the
torturous sexual practices and interviews with PD, other BDSM
web-masters, the crew and his “models”. When the site opened, it was
like no other site before it. It was raw, graphic and over the top in
its depiction of sexual violence. So much so that it aroused the
attention of the authorities who could not tell if it was a show or an
artsy snuff film. Throughout its run, insex was under constant scrutiny
for “obscenity” that no other type of “porn” experienced. But if you go
by what most of the models interviewed said, everything they did was
voluntary and with their consent. But that doesn’t stop the government
once you are on their radar.

The acts committed in the name of “sexual pleasure” depicted on insex.com via Graphic Sexual Horror
shocked even me; a jaded horror and exploitation fan. The difference
being that I don’t like films that show “real” death, gore or
atrocities (re: Faces of Death, etc.). Contrary to popular
belief, horror fans –for the most part– are in it for the scare, the
jumps and the adrenaline rush. Watching someone who is bound naked in a
small metal cage be drowned and begging for her life does nothing for
me, especially sexually. But for some it apparently does, and those are
the people drawn to watch and participate in PD’s torture chamber. His
warped and evil mind came up with Medieval-looking contraptions made to
inflict the most heinous pains and pleasures. The feeling you get from
the set-up is the same feeling you got when you first heard the band
Ministry; dirty and industrial.

Bell and Lorentzon really captured the essence of PD and his site.
They played it so that you don’t really know which side of the fence
they are on, as with any good documentary. They told the story, period.
And they told it in a stylish, artist manner that kept us “vanilla”
viewers from cowering in the corner. The models and even PD himself
were not always complimentary about how the business was run, even
alluding to unsafe and unethical practices by Scott. The point is made
several times that the onus is always on the models to set the
boundaries of what they are comfortable with and sometimes those lines
are blurred and even crossed. There is a very powerful scene that shows
PD slapping a model in the face after she told him that was a no-no.
The stand-off between the two ended after a few minutes of utterly
terrifying tension. They also did not edit out a very real argument
between PD and his metal construction artist. I was riveted.

It is also alluded to that a lot of the models went above and beyond
their limits because of pride and money. They allowed their submissive
roles and greed to override their own sense of self. It seems that
there were lots of seedy and monstrous things that brought down the
insex kingdom and its king. But whatever your feeling on the subject of
BDSM, insex or Brent Scott, Barbara Bell and Anna Lorentzon have
created something special here through their wonderful direction and
masterful editing. Graphic Sexual Horror is a disturbing, insightful and beautiful piece of work. Horror fans will get every thrill they are looking for.

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