Taboo 23 (Blu-ray)

Metro Interactive/Cal Vista

Genre: Feature

Director: Anton Slayer

Cast: Richelle Ryan, Evan Stone, Sammie Rhodes, Audrey Bitoni, Mya Luvana, Penny Flame, Gina Lynn, Shyla Stylez, Ben English, Gianna Lynn, Regan Reese, Sandra Romain, Marco Banderas, Alex Sanders, Nikki Benz, Stephen St. Croix
Non-sex roles by: The Incredible Husk, D-Mac, Dylan, Katarina, Mac Price, Ben Inya, Christine Davis, Richard Baechler

Length: 148:38 minutes

Date of Production: 6/27/2007 to 6/29/2007

Extras: The best extra, as always, was the 26:46 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by Jade Marcela. It was in standard definition MPEG-2 but gave the ladies some extra screen time to appreciate them for fans, various clips of nudity always appreciated. There was a photogallery, some trailers lasting 10:33 minutes total, and spam.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Taboo 23 (Blu-ray) was presented in a nicely enhanced 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color as shot by director Anton Slayer for Metro Interactive/Cal Vista for release in 1080i resolution using the VC-1 codec. The majority of action took place inside the house with a little tease outside by the pool so the lighting was typically decent, eliminating the usual shadows, grain, and video noise indicative of porn. The camera angles and editing were capably handled as well with the ladies being showcased nicely in most scenes, their best sides focused on from what I could tell (and minimal amounts of time spent on implant scars, stretch marks, and other physical flaws). The fleshtones were accurate and the bitrate hovered around the mid 18.7 Mbps area most of the time but I did not see a lot of compression artifacts on the big screen and the bitrate was all over the map. Most scenes began with some slow motion tease before the regular motion sex kicked in, the music kept light in the background of the tease for the most part. The audio was presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo English in a 192 Kbps and 48 kHz sampling rate offering, never really adding much by way of aural stimulation but the ladies were easy to hear on those occasions when they were using dirty talk. The music was generic and not offensive, thankfully limited in scope for the most part. There was an upgrade on the visual aspects but the audio seemed to be much the same as it had been before.

Body of Review: Anton Slayer is a director plying his trade at Metro Interactive/Cal Vista these days, shooting a variety of titles to varying degrees of success. His latest movie to make it my way was the high definition release of Taboo 23 (Blu-ray), the thematic sequel to Devon Cypher's Taboo 22. The movie is a mystery of sorts where a hotty is looking for her missing sister, her darkest fears coming to light when she sees a lot of sexually explicit material in said sister's dresser. With award winning Penny Flame as the lead performer, the potential for success is actually pretty high this time, enough nods to BDSM material but done so in a relatively mild manner so as to serve as a primer for newcomers to the genre. The back cover said it like this: "Join Penny Flame (perfect natural breasts, big brown eyes...) on a journey to retrieve her missing sister that takes her to a dark and sinister place... Before long, our heroine finds herself caught up in the taboo world of depraved sex clubs filled with men and women whose kinky appetites know no bounds... Will she ever return or will she too be lost forever, a slave to lust, just like her sister? Cal Vista's big budget production features nine sex-charged encounters filmed in explicit Hi-Def. Whether you're here for the story or the sleaze, Taboo 23 delivers." Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Scene One: Richelle Ryan, a curvy gal with a nice body, was up first as the movie opened up. She was tied to a cross in a dungeon with a blindfold in place, a riding crop smacking her firm but sweaty stomach as wielded by the mighty Evan Stone (who pawed her tits through her mesh top and black bra, her panties, and even choked her while roughing her up). The camera angles looked pretty appealing here even as they provided a somewhat claustrophobic approach, suitable for a BDSM movie but not as solid on making the ladies look their very best. She was freed to blow him and provide access to her pussy, the guy plowing her hard (as though possessed) while her ass cheeks rippled and she screamed as if getting off. It was a modestly active ride for her only because Evan took her so harshly, the dungeon looking the role all too well as the pair copulated with passion. It ended when he launched his genetic juice onto her stomach and she rubbed the seed into her moist pussy, the glistening juices intermingled as the camera faded out.

Scene Two: Sammie Rhodes, Audrey Bitoni, Mya Luvana, and Gianna Lynn(?) were up next in the sex club having sex on stage. The action was fast paced and the editing made to instill a frantic dynamic, some body painting and wild lighting serving to elevate the almost random way they diddled and ate each other. They spanked ass and fingered one another, the black lighting showing how the neon paints looked to make it a dizzying show to keep up with in high definition. Penny had been looking for leads as to the whereabouts of her sister and a number of mopers were in the audience nodding with approval at the chemistry filled manner in which the quartet approached their craft. It was energy filled and I liked it, the black light portion even more interesting to me thanks to the upgraded visuals where the toys made it even more twisted. Yum!

Scene Three: Penny Flame, wearing a neon colored dress, was up next on the couch as she masturbated to a sex tape made by her kinky sister, rubbing her breasts and clitoris as she could not help herself. The smile on her face was enough to make it connect with my mindset but it was done in such a way that she was getting off; interrupted by the climax of the tape that gave the appearance of a snuff flick.

Scene Four: Gina Lynn, Shyla Stylez, Ben English, Gianna Lynn, Regan Reese, and the mighty Evan Stone, were up next in another club orgy, some bit players like Regan Reese and Gianna Lynn sticking to the background as the others had some heated fun. Gina and Shyla working over Ben were the main attraction this time, the rest of the crowd providing some minor fun with choking, pawing, and other tricks on hand. Gina and Shyla had on black lingerie slutware that appealed to me, tossing it off their stage towards the secondary cast members (for the scene at least). Evan was digging for clams much of the time and that was fun but seeing stars like Gina and Shyla getting dirty was even hotter, their enthusiasm making it special as they slobbed knob, did each other, and then let Ben drill them very hard. The vaginal led to anal and the gals did not slow down in the slightest, their taste testing adding something to the scene as much as how rough they were with each other. Shyla was the most versatile here in terms of all she did but both ladies made it a point to push their limits. The scene closed out when a titty fuck drained Ben dry for a facial to Shyla who then swapped it with Gina, the population pudding driving the ladies crazy from the looks of it.

Scene Five: Sandra Romain, the former anal queen from Europe that has gone on hiatus (some say "retired"), was up next on stage as she took on both Marco Banderas and Alex Sanders. Her power sucking of their cocks was passionate and her skimpy attire enhanced her look substantially, Sandra deep throating them and licking their nuts as she went back and forth. She lubed them up by spitting on them, managed to stick both of them in her mouth at the same time, and rode them with a ferocity that earns her some praise from me every time I see her doing it. Her well rounded ass came into play as well, the gal getting rimmed and eaten by the guys before they started hammering away at her as if they were possessed. The variations of the penetration positions and taste testing were not all that important to call out in the review but it should be noted that Sandra was alive here as she went at them, the chemistry between the trio a sight to see. The audio clipped what she said when she took their wads of semen to her mouth but I imagine it was something like, "Don, I want your two drops too!" Whew!

Scene Six: Nikki Benz, playing an aggressive doorman, then refused Penny Flame entry to the club, a shoving match leading to their ending up on a mattress in the alley. It was determined what each wanted and that was some lesbian loving, their clothes slowly coming off as they kissed and ate each other out. There was some choking (a common practice in the movie) and fingering, Nikki beginning the scene as the sexual aggressor but Penny taking over midway through. Some glass toys come from nowhere to be inserted vaginally and taste tested, the scene providing some reasonable heat though not the best of the day as far as I could see.

Scene Seven: Penny Flame, still barely dressed from the last scene, was given a tour of her darker side by the mighty Evan Stone, as he explained that he did nothing to her sister that was not asked for. He slapped her titties and roughly rubbed her snatch, whispering in her ear the kind of decadent things he wanted to do in the alleyway. Penny bent over to get spanked and her sweet ass looked good stuck out like it was, Evan teasing her with his rod before he pounded it inside of her biscuit while Penny purred. She sucked the juices off of it before they switched positions a few times, her active riding skills in evidence as she slowly impaled herself on the cock. There was choking to the point where Penny's face turned red and Evan launched a big load onto her back to finish it up, a mixed scene in some ways but strokable with replay value all the same.

Scene Eight: Richelle Ryan, up last in a flashback scene taking place in a warehouse made to look like a dungeon, found foot fetish fanatic Stephen St. Croix to like using a riding crop on her feet as she masturbated. This apparently turned her on and led to him deploying some hot wax from a candle (red wax dripped down on her chest), the gal coming across like a sensation slut as she went to suck his boner. Richelle inhaled the pecker rapidly, bouncing on him as though it might be her last chance to fulfill her need for seed, going balls deep on the very modest rod as he held her hair. Then came the vaginal doggy sex where he pulled her hair back, cleaning off in her mouth before several other active positions were pursued. The sex closed out with a facial and chest pop, the gal laughing at him to the point where he whined like a broad and the rest of the movie provided some answers in the plotted portion.

Summary: Taboo 23 (Blu-ray) by director Anton Slayer for Metro Interactive/Cal Vista had enough strokability and replay value to merit a rating of Recommended for me, the high definition Blu-ray version a nice change of pace for the series. The technical values were not optimized by any sense of the word but they were well done as an early attempt at the budding format, the story a bit light here but the sex worthy of some added attention. In short, Taboo 23 (Blu-ray) was a nice change of pace from Taboo 22, providing a solid cast of attractive ladies like lead performer Penny Flame having some heated liaisons that looked better due to the upgrade.