Indie Porn Review: Four Chambers’ ‘Supplicant’

supplicant // tease from Four Chambers on Vimeo.

Whenever people describe the porn industry as a shallow, thoughtless place where real intimacy goes to die, I get a little confused - and then I realize that I watch a lot of porn like this. In my quest to bring you the best and most blistering indie porn, I stumbled upon Four Chambers - and was exceedingly impressed by what I found. 

One of the very first I watched was 'Supplicant' starring Amarna Miller, Vex Ashley, and Owen Gray, and I admit that yes, I was drawn in by the communion wafer in the video still. I love porn that's a little subversive, something that's sexy and impactful because it makes a real commentary. But hell, I don't even need to wax poetic about what's so titillating about this video, because Four Chambers co-creator Vex does it herself in the video's description:  

"Religion and power / sex and power. The act of giving up control; devotion and subjugation. Dual states of purity and sin. The ritual of transcendence. The undertones of tension that are imbued in repression and reverence.

This is basically a personal fantasy of mine that I've always wanted to make into a film. I've had a religious cult fantasy for as long as I can remember, which probably started by me dry humping some poor teenage boy on a church pew. We wanted to make something that felt different to the usual priest/nun porn stereotypes and that rejected the predictable ideas of coercion for joyously surrendering to transcendence."

Religious cults may not be the appropriate punch line of any joke, but porn is one of the most perfect mediums for crafting a really compelling story about why, exactly, its followers so enthusiastically partake. Sex, in the end, is always about transcendence, isn't it? It only makes sense that it would be used to heighten other religious or spiritual practices. 

And a religious experience is exactly what is conveyed here. So well, I might add, that this might as well be professional cinema. The first thing I notice is the lighting - the room is dusky and golden, creating a slightly mystical and soft atmosphere that suggests this is happening off in a corner somewhere, much like it might in real life. It's much easier to suspend belief when the setting feels organic.

The second, though, and perhaps the most impressive, is the use of music. It might be the best use of soundtrack I've ever heard in porn, playing the entire time to give a devotional and engrossing energy, but not so overpoweringly loud that you can't hear the natural slurps and moans of sex. It sustains the mood throughout, and I felt myself becoming as transfixed as the devotees. 

The footage itself is slightly nonchronological in places, and often shot looking up at Owen, giving you the POV of someone looking up at a looming authority figure. It doesn't distract you from the sex at all - if anything, it makes you feel as though you're really there, not just experiencing the same sensations as the characters, but feeling their emotions too. An authentic sense of something beyond ecstasy is conveyed here.  

It's rare to find that level of depth in an erotic experience, but it goes to show you how powerful it can be to have such intelligent, talented, and thoughtful people working in the industry. The project's name, after all, is inspired by Anais Nin's A Four Chambered Heart. 

Ah, yes - and there's a hilarious outtake at the end of Vex trying to get her mouth around two communion wafers balanced on Owen's cock. This scene is a true delight.