The Movie:

Lovely, curvy and sexy Brit-slut Kay Parker reprises for the third time her role of Barbara Scott, the over-sexed and perpetually horny mother of Paul, the son who has been everything a mother could want and so much more. Her feelings for Paul have always been strong but with him out of the picture after the events that took place in the second film, she turns her attentions towards her other, younger son Jimmy (former porn star and reportedly making his living as a bus driver... the one and only Jerry Butler), who is more interested in nailing his girlfriend and getting his band a record deal (the one and only Ron Jeremy figures into this subplot as a shifty record producer) than in fucking his aging mother.

Unfortunately for Barbara, her incestuous ways encounter a kink - Jimmy's got himself a hot-ass lady friend (Lisa Lake) who prevents the young man from paying his mother the attention she so desperately craves. That said, Barbara figures if she plays her cards right that she can beat this little trumpet at her own game and win lithe Jimmy's affections once and for all. While all of this nonsense is going on, Barbara's friend and confidant, Joyce McBride (Honey Wilder reprising her role from the last feature), has taken a page out of Barbara's lovemaking handbook and started up a complicated but steamy incestuous relationship with her own son, Bryan.

While the plot is quite soap operatic, director Kirdy Stevens, the same man who shot the first two films in the series (both of which were quite successful), has the good sense to fill his picture with some seriously impressive sex scenes some of which star a veritable whose who of late seventies/early eighties erotica. While many of the scenes are brief compared to modern day gonzo fuck couplings, they fit in with the plot quite nicely. Look for rendezvous' with the following:

Scene One:. Kristara Barrington, Blake Palmer, And Pamela Mann
Scene Two: Jerry Butler And Pamela Mann
Scene Three: Jerry Butler And Lisa Lake
Scene Four: Blake Palmer And Honey Wilder
Scene Five: Jerry Butler And Lisa Lake
Scene Six: Blake Palmer, Kay Parker And Honey Wilder
Scene Seven: Angel West, Kristara Barrington, Blake Palmer, Colleen Brennan, Craig
Roberts, Some Mystery Guy, Jerry Butler, Lisa Lake, Misty Dawn, Pamela Mann, And fuzzy Ron Jeremy
Scene Eight: Jerry Butler And Honey Wilderv
Scene Nine: Marc Wallice, Kay Parker And Honey Wilder
Scene Ten: Jerry Butler And Kay Parker

So okay, some of the storyline bits in this movie contradict what happened in Taboo II but for the most part things move along as fans of the first two movies would expect them to. We're not necessarily sure who Barbara is living with, be it son #1 or son #2 or her husband but what matters is that before you know it she's up to her old tricks again and her 'familiar' habits are obviously back in full swing. That said, this time around there's a bit too much drama and not quite enough heat - that's not to say that the sex scenes, which are quite plentiful, don't matter (because they do and they're well shot and quite effective) it's more like the film is too long. It's almost as if Kirdy said 'hey, I wanna work this soap opera stuff into a classy XXX movie so instead of editing stuff I'll just make a long film.' At 95 minutes (not long by mainstream standards however compare it to the lean XXX cinema of the day) Taboo III has a little too much to say rather than to show. Even with that complain levied, things hold up well here. Parker, the matronly figurehead, looks great and carries the picture and there's enough erotic coupling going on that most fans should be satisfied.

The DVD

Video:

The 1.33.1 fullframe transfer presents the film in its original aspect ratio. The picture isn't bad, but it could have been better (flagging it for progressive scan playback would have helped). Some dirt and debris is present throughout and the colors have faded a little bit but other than that the image is reasonably strong. Black levels are a little murky but certainly no worse than most porno movies made around the same time. There's a decent level of detail here, and while it would have been nice to see a truly re-mastered picture for this release, it certainly could have looked a lot worse.

Audio:

The Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is fine with only a few faint instances where you'll pick up on any hiss or distortion. The soundtrack is mixed in with the performers and the dialogue quite nicely and nothing winds up buried. It isn't a fancy track, but it certainly gets the job done without any major issues.

Extras:

Extras on this release include a very basic seven and a half minute interview with Kay Paker (not mentioned on the back of the packaging), a still gallery of images from the film, trailers for Taboo (2:16, featuring some great trashy narration), Taboo II (a length 4:39, featuring more trashy narration which plays up the 'hotness' and 'depravity' of incest) and Taboo: Playing With Fire (4:37, with more goofy narration from the same guy who narrated the other two trailers), menus and chapter selection. The disc is housed inside a keepcase which in turn fits inside a cardboard slipcase featuring the same cover art on the front in black and white instead of in color (though the images on the back are slightly more risqué on the sleeve than on the slipcase).

Final Thoughts:

A definite improvement over the second film in the series, Taboo III puts sultry and voluptuous Kay Parker back at the top of her kinky and incestuous game. The plot is interesting, the performances better than average, and the sex steamy enough to matter. A commentary likes the ones provided on the first two films in the series would have been most welcome but at least the movie looks and sounds good. Fans of vintage smut and of the lovely Kay Parker can consider this one recommended.