http://www.popjournalism.ca/magazine/2009/05/10/graphic-sexual-horror/

HOT DOCS 2009
Graphic Sexual Horror
Directed by Anna Lorentzon and Barbara Bell.
4 stars out of 5

Extreme bondage is definitely a niche market within the porn industry. But what motivates people to inflict or endure such pain?

Graphic Sexual Horror chronicles the creation, success, corruption and eventual demise of Insex.com. Brent a.k.a. pd developed a fascination for bondage at an early age, which he later expressed through art and photography. Eventually realizing there was a market that shared his interests, Brent started the website which peaked at 35,000 members. Models were hired to be tortured in a controlled environment in front of a camera, for which they were well-compensated. After a while Brent became drunk on money and power, resulting in him crossing the line with the girls on some occasions; similarly, girls became addicted to the cash rather than the thrill leading them to do things to which they wouldn’t ordinarily consent. In the end, the website was shut down by the government and credit card companies.

Anna Lorentzon and Barbara Bell’s documentary is an eye-opening (and sometimes eye-bulging) look at an overlooked and misunderstood area of sexual gratification. Paralleling the hours-long live feeds, the film gradually builds up the intensity of the bondage and affliction. Even though Brent often makes it sound absurdly perverse, the submissives/models give a voice to the so-called victims of these images. The decision to include graphic images of real-life victims of serial killers is controversial but also makes a distinction between the real and the fantasy. In addition, although it seems appalling some of these women consent to do certain things for the money rather than because they want to, it only seems worse because sex is involved. As one of the directors points out, people make those kinds of compromises in their traditional jobs every day.

This documentary is not for the squeamish or the judgemental. It is, however, a great resource for the curious and open-minded. Most of the images are sexually explicit and everyone interviewed is quite candid when speaking about their involvement and experiences, which really advances an uninformed audience’s understanding of what they are witnessing (possibly for the first time).