Stalker

Vivid Entertainment

Cassidey and Regan Reese

Genre: Feature

Director/Writer: Eli Cross

Adrianna Nicole, Kylie Ireland, Regan Reese, and Evan Stone

Cast: Cassidey, Alex Gonz, Regan Reese, Kylie Ireland, Adrianna Nicole, Regan Reese, Evan Stone, Kayden Kross, James Deen, Derrick Pierce

Non-sex roles: Eli Cross, Flick Shagwell

Cassidey!

Length: 119:33 minutes

Date of Production: 11/15/2006

Extras: For most people, the inclusion of five scenes totaling 81:16 minutes of extra smut will be the best extras. I described some of the scenes in detail below, each of them having some appeal and using performers from the feature itself for those that care (scenes from Be Here Now, Burnt Fury, Hard Time, I Like To Watch, and My Wife's Best Friend). There was a photogallery, a biography for Cassidey, some spam (at the front of the DVD too), four trailers, a positions room, and my favorite; a 15:56 minute long Behind the Scenes feature for the movie. The initial editing was weird but Kylie behind the camera is always appreciated, some funny tidbits by Kayden, Cassidey, and the others involved with making the movie adding some value for me.

Condoms: Some

Audio/Video Quality: Stalker was presented in an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color as shot by director Eli Cross for Vivid Entertainment. Knowing again up front that this wasn't going to be one of his yearly extravaganza's, I still knew enough that I could count on his sensibilities in directing the movie to the best of his ability within the confines of his directives by the company; the resulting effort nicely played for sexual heat and feature quality even if it was never meant to be a blockbuster. The lighting was used to enhance the thriller/suspense aspects of the feature, never at the expense of the sexual heat but used to elevate some of the tension; adding too much grain and video noise for my tastes. It was shot on video and presented in the usual MPEG-2 codec, perhaps not the first selection for an HD upgrade (in blu-ray of course), but one that might stand out better than the fluff piece of the month. The composition of the angles favored the ladies with the editing coming across as too aggressive but the fleshtones were fairly accurate and the bitrate hovering around the upper 3 Mbps mark (so there were some compression artifacts). The audio was presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital English using the 192 Kbps bitrate standard at the company these days. The music was fair but not too obtrusive with the vocals the dominant part of the aural experience. There was some dirty talk but the general lack of separation and minimal dynamic range weakened the effort and I got the impression that this was a somewhat watered down version of what Eli would have made if given the chance to let loose.

Body of Review: Eli Cross is currently one of the most awarded directors in porn thanks primarily to his two blockbusters in recent years. His smaller efforts have often lacked the same quality, not just in casting or scale though, but adding a rushed nature to the final release. This is a dynamic that all people in porn fall prey too, the juggling of miniscule budgets, flaking performers, and all sorts of time crunches that no sane person would care to deal with. One of Eli's earlier titles was shot at Vivid Entertainment a few years ago, showing both the limits of the genre as well as glimpses of his creative process (fans of any director, mainstream or porn, know that looking at a variety of movies by a director gives a much better understanding of them), he made a showcase effort for then-contract performer Cassidy (technically, Regan Reese was the star though) in the form of Stalker. The idea was to make a darker than usual sexual thriller, using his own dungeon and a cast of generally decent performers to provide something for the mind as well as a strokable smut flick. The cover said it like this: "What happens when two women meet on an adult film set when one's a superstar and the other an unknown? Well, each wants what the other doesn't have: Her freedom. Her sexuality. Her openness. Her life. AVN's Best Director Winner Eli Cross presents a dark and twisted take of stalking and prey, of hunter and hunted, of possession and obsession. Stalker. With facials, squirting, toys and anal. It's worth possessing, don't you think?" Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that some condoms were used for those still interested:

Scene One: Intensity: Cassidey, the lean brunette on the front cover with very pretty eyes, was up first in a scene with Alex Gonz in bed. There was no build up or tease since the pair went right to work from the credits rolling, Cassidey showing her ability to suck a cock fairly well. Alex ate her out well enough in return, the setting being a porn shoot where Eli was capturing the heat as best he could in 1080i, the darkness of the bedroom used for mood more than allowing all aspects of the sex to be clearly observed. Cassidey was an active vaginal rider though and that made the scene better for me but it was still far from her best work to date; the mechanical energy replacing any chemistry for the purposes of knocking out a scene. The scene finished up when Alex rubbed out a load of population pudding to her crotch, too soon for me but at least she wasn't a passive lay.

Scene Two: Imagining: Regan Reese, the thematic lead of the movie and generally known as one of the "alt-porn" crowd, was up next in bed with Cassidy; the pairing leading to the dynamic of the entire movie. I hate spoiling it for you but suffice it to say that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". That said, they ate each other out before using fingers and toys to penetrate the pussy, some slow motion added in that really didn't help me much in my quest for strokable porn. Post production tricks rarely work in that sense, lowering the passion and natural flow of what took place, typically well after a director has left for greener pastures. It was still a pairing worth watching a few times but again, not some of Cassidy's finer moments.

Scene Three: My Fantasies: Kylie Ireland, Adrianna Nicole, Regan Reese, and the mighty Evan Stone, were up next with the initial idea of the scene being Regan living out her fantasies. Kylie and Adrianna are both world class sexual performers so the sexual tension between them on the couch was terrific as their clothing slowly came off, the gals getting into the action more than a little before Regan masturbated off to the side while watching them. There was some anal play too but the best part came when all four of them started going at it together, the generic music not helping but the sexual action the best of the movie by a very wide margin. Adrianna took most of the penetrative cock, especially in her ass, and Kylie spent her time with the ladies when Evan wasn't drilling them, the movie almost showing fisting (Kylie jamming four fingers into Adrianna with her thumb precariously close to going in too). Kylie did some ATOGM and assisted with the cumswapping of the load that went to Adrianna's kisser, the scene out of place here on several levels (but I liked it).

Scene Four: On The Set: Kayden Kross, a very attractive blond that came across as an airhead in the BTS, was then up in a throw in scene with James Deen on the couch. I haven't seen a whole lot of her work but one glance tells me why she would be selected as a contract performer, even if her degree of advanced sexuality lacks in terms of active participation and believable enjoyment. She seemed to enjoy it when James went down on her but her own oral efforts were lacking and the use of a condom, especially one that came out of nowhere, seemed to be unlikely given the porn set nature of the production (with Eli and crew in the wings watching them). James did get frisky with her but it took her forever to get pumping herself on the rod, the ending facial showing her pull back her head, close her eyes, and look disgusted (James even had to hold her head in place).

Scene Five: Inside Her: Cassidy, Regan Reese, and Derrick Pierce, were all up last in a very dark room having sex at night with minimal lighting. While I have long since abandoned a devotion to Wal-Mart lighting in porn, I don't relish needing night vision goggles either, the hints of sexuality pretty appealing but not conveyed as well in this release. Perhaps if the scene was released on Blu-Ray the contrasts would allow for a better glimpse into the action but it struck me that Cassidey was the more active gal of the pair and Derrick was as emotionally attached to the ladies as I was (zero). You don't need a connection between the performers to make for a good scene but it sure helps so anyone looking for more than a mechanical bump & grind will be disappointed. The pop shot went to Cassidey's lower abdomen and fans of oral action (taste testing especially), will like it more than I did.

Bonus Scene: Burnt Fury: Regan Reese, a gal that looked like she'd be right at home in just about any alt-porn title, was up first as she actively rode the cock of the mighty Evan Stone in a cheesy bed. His cop gear was strewn about the room and it was clear there had been a lot of partying going on as the two fucked and sucked all over the room, the scene starting in with him handcuffed to the bedpost before boning her pussy as she loudly moaned and groaned in pleasure. She proved to be quite a suck slut, doing PTM and giving him a taste of her pussy at the same time in a 69. They fucked some more before he jerked out some jizz on her abdomen and chest, the gal doing some post coital sucking in what amounted to a very heated scene between two talented performers.

Bonus Scene: I Like To Watch: Jezebelle Bond, a brunette with a toughed attitude that has just recently announced her retirement, was up last with blonde cutie Megan Joy and muscular Jay Huntington when she spied them outside by the pool having some blowjob fun after her interview. This led Jay to leave Megan (who in their right mind would do that?!?) to snack on Jezebelle's perky ass as Megan masturbated; the trio going inside the house to fulfill the basic scene that followed. There was a lot of oral and vaginal sex and unlike the last scene where much of it had the third party going off on their own to masturbate when not actively engaged in the sex, this scene limited (though not eliminated) that kind of thing. The screwing was too passive and the ending pop shot took Jezebelle by surprise (making the gals laugh about it) but some post coital sucking ended it for them and the movie too.

Bonus Scene: My Wife's Best Friend: Cassidey and Denise K. were up next in the apartment on the floor, Denise taking up her handheld videocamera as she enticed her pal to get frisky. This led to a striptease where both showed off a bit in their contemporary clothing (jeans and generic tops); leading to the best tease of the movie. The sexual relations they engaged in were mostly generic oral and fingering though, the action decent (especially compared to the other stuff) but never living up to their respective potentials. The strap on dildo portion of the scene wielded some cool dirty talk by Cassidey but it seemed truncated like most of the scenes in the movie and suffered as a result.

Summary: Stalker by director Eli Cross for Vivid Entertainment was the kind of movie that had conceptual promise and probably looked good on paper but ended up falling short of the mark due to budgetary and time limitations. The surprise ending was no surprise and whether the issue was a lack of talent on the part of the cast, a rushed shooting schedule, or simply things not panning out, I felt that it only earned a rating of Rent It for fans of the cast. In short, Stalker was ambitious in some ways but the learning curve for low budget porn is always tough to surmount for guys that haven't directed a lot of it, so your reactions will likely be mixed if you check this one out.