. . .

Despite the exhortations to "rise up" contained in the title being feted, those present at "The Doll Underground" release party seemed to openly mock the very suggestion of class warfare and sexual redistribution of capital as they nibbled on truffled foie gras and quaffed liberally from Waterford crystal flacons of 1995 Chateau Margaux. After showing up to the party in his custom Hummer stretch limousine, McKai exerted a Svengali-like hold on starlets Lexi Belle and Reagan Maddux throughout the evening, never allowing reporters to approach them directly and openly dictating their responses to them instead.

Also spotted at the gala were such prominent members of Old Los Angeles society as Ed Fox, Dave Naz, Ashley Blue, Zack Sabbath, Mandy Morbid, Kimberly Kane, Carlos Batts, and April Flores, all of whom listened in rapt attention as McKai described the splendor of his new palatial estate in Cap d'Antibes while feeding mouthfuls of gold leaf-encrusted cake to three or four waifish models inked from head to toe in "rebellious" tattoos and splayed at his feet. Later, after a shower of $1000 bills descended from the ceiling of the Little Cave upon the heads of the delighted guests, a Vivid Alt-branded personal helicopter spirited him away from the festivities. What will he think of next?

· Vivid Alt (vivid-alt.com)
· Order: "The Doll Underground" (Adult DVD Empire)

* * * * *

Previously: Rise Up: Eon McKai's "The Doll Underground"

Early reports about the movie, which has been over a year in the making, described it as a story about tutu-clad suburban Gothic hotties being recruited for some sort of anti-capitalist terrorist cell. That's true enough, we guess, though the finished project is a lot more disjointed and impressionistic than that: if "The Doll Underground" is "about" anything, it's that sex is as much about power as it is about pleasure, maybe even more so. From our eminent colleague Violet Blue's five-star review:

Pulsing with energy, eerie visuals, clever pacing and deliberate editing, the film is a haiku telling the story of five young women tired of being controlled by society ("buy nothing" is repeated as a mantra) who emulate a mashup of the Weather Underground and Patty Hearst's SLA ideals. They band together in the Belmont Tunnel in Los Angeles under the direction of uber-sexy goth Lorna Adorn (Pixie Pearl), create and distribute anti-capitalist and anti-conformity propaganda (podcasts and screenprint pasteup art), build bombs and make things go boom ... Visually and throughout the delivery of the minimalistic story arc, it plays like a long, gorgeous, lush yet also somehow dark, saturated but bleak music video.

(... ) I wonder, did The Doll Underground *actually* come from porn valley? There are no blondes, no long fingernails, no fake breasts, no skinny girls, no big boobs, no fake female orgasms. The soundtrack never interrupts the sex; the sounds of sex are the focus. The women's bodies look like regular *hot* girls; the have ass, thigh, meat on those bones that make you want to cuddle and fuck and snuggle. Half the cast, at most, is tattooed; many are pierced, and two of the men are uncut. There are no unsafe or scary sex acts; no anal, no "gapes" and thankfuckinggawd no ATMs. The negative? People still wear white belts.

But let's talk about the sex; the mood is disaffected, the visuals dream-like, but the sex is riveting. Besides Pixie's solo masturbation scene (a Goth dream come true), the performers do not acknowledge the camera during sex scenes — with one deliberate exception. Outside of sex, the performers have direct viewer "eye contact" as part of the narrative. The storytelling is for the viewer; for the sex we are but voyeurs. The editing is tight yet deliberate.

(... ) The Doll Underground is one of the best porn films I've ever seen, and it feels like anti-porn — it's almost against the system it came from by being all that it is — a deep investigation of culture from an industry we regard as being utterly bereft of culture beyond the superficial. Rise up, indeed. Highly recommended.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves, except maybe to add that "The Doll Underground" is one of those rare porn movies that we find ourselves watching as much for the interstitial parts and high style as for the fucking itself ... although once we remember how hot the fucking is, we find ourselves wanting to fast forward to that again too. It might not be everyone's cup of dirt pipe milkshake, but if you're looking for an utterly original porn experience that'll leave you with something more than just a sticky feeling in your pants, "The Doll Underground" is the place to be. Anti-capitalist gothic Lolitas never looked so good.

· "[review] the doll underground" (tinynibbles.com)
· "The Doll Underground" Trailer (eonmckai.com)
· Vivid Alt (vivid-alt.com)
· Order: "The Doll Underground" (Adult DVD Empire)