Salvation

VCA Pictures

Genre: Vignette

Director: Thomas Zupko

Cast: Holly Wellin, Van Damage, Marie Luv, Kris Slater, Tiffany Rayne, Mr. Marcus, April Blossom, Kyle Stone, Tony T., Nikki Hunter

Non-sex role by Jason Horne

Length: 133.5 minutes

Date of Production: 9/25/2005 (box); 9/7/2005 (credits)

Extras: There weren't a lot of extras this time but they benefited by having a very well handled, 25.5 minute long Behind the Scenes feature. On the down side, it focused on a limited number of cast members; Marie Luv, Tiffany Rayne, and Nicki Hunter (who blew Mr. Marcus), but on the up side, this allowed more emphasis on what most would call the upper tier players of the movie. It also showed Nicki in one of many roles she played in the production of the show, which a quick glance of the ending credits will reinforce. There was also a slide show, some trailers, and spam but none of those added anything to my pleasure.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Salvation was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as shot by director Thomas Zupko for release by Excessive and VCA Pictures. The lighting on this series of vignettes ranged from very stylish to straightforward with the general tendency leaning towards decent lighting. That helped limit the amount of grain, video noise, and other visual flaws though each was present from time to time. The composition of the camera angles was such that some of the gals were not made to look their best but this was another area where the general tendency was on the favorable side. I saw no compression artifacts though so the mastering of the DVD was decent. The audio was presented in the usual 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo but like most porn, the vocals appeared to be recorded in monaural. The music was a notch above average though with Nikki Hunter providing a couple of very impressive versions of classic standards (Amazing Grace and America the Beautiful) as well as a decent score. I hope she pursues this avenue of artistic expression in future releases given how pleasant her voice was.

Body of Review: Thomas Zupko is no stranger to controversy in his porn making career. One need not look too far back to a time when he seemed far more interested in making non-erotic cluster fuck shows until he came around and decided to make porn the way the fans wanted; hot, wet, and strokable. Such was my hope for his latest release, Salvation, a movie with a message, albeit buried beneath layers of obscurity that seemed almost a tribute to his earlier days at the helm. That said, the show was a series of five vignettes of varying quality that showed some care in how they were made. Here's a breakdown of the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used by the guys:

Scene One: Holly Wellin, a bleach blonde playing Eve in the garden, played with a python and ate the apple which ended up in a sex scene with Van Damage where she played with his pants python )though technically, he wore no pants). The special effects were a nuisance though Nikki's singing was pleasant enough as the couple kissed and stroked one another. Her minor oral efforts led to a better bout of boning on his spotted dick; with her all natural breasts bouncing nicely as se actively participated in the action. The anal came afterwards and was substantially less active a ride on her part, at least until she was on top and warmed up, with her vocal approval a nice touch. It ended when he rubbed out a load to her face and showed some moderate chemistry between the two.

Scene Two: Marie Luv, playing a black slave housekeeper to Kris Slater who played President Jefferson, was up next as she danced around to entice his libido a bit as he wrote an important document. Her curvy ass worked wonders on him so the next thing you know, he took her to the couch and had her work her oral wonders on his shaft, slobbing his knob with the level of skill expected of her. The camera work wasn't overly flattering this time but her ass stuck out nicely enough and it prepared his erection for her to ride on vaginally. She was another active rider of cock, bouncing up and down on his rod like she was trying to milk his load extra quick. While most of the scene was oral and vaginal, she did do a couple of minutes of anal, though despite what she yelled in the scene (and talked about in the BTS feature), she wasn't overly active during this portion of the scene and seemed to mostly lay back for him to screw. She was still vocal about it but it wasn't convincing given her lack of passion physically. He rubbed out a closing facial load and the movie moved on.

Scene Three: Tiffany Rayne, the beautiful young hotty featured on the front DVD cover in the skimpy white lingerie, was up next in an interracial scene with the studly Mr. Marcus in a barn. He was in chains and she was setting him free before she aggressively attacked his body with her loving tongue. Unlike many other hotties in porn these days, she never hesitated to service him with all her skill, blowing and stroking him off with a passion reserved for the top echelon of porn performers. If you like seeing jungle love in action, you won't find much better (especially of a newbie) than this with her sloppy blowjob only part of the equation. The action continued as they skipped the vaginal in favor of a wild anal ride, with her nipple erections telling the world how much she enjoyed being impaled on his meaty member. She did some ATM (ass to mouth) after switching positions (with a huge red welt on her ass from what appeared to be a zit-where was make up that day?!?) and ended the scene with a facial; Marcus spouting off a line about no such thing as freedom to close the very heated scene out.

Scene Four: April Blossom, a fetching young brunette in a white top, short black skirt with matching camisole, and stockings, was up next with Kyle Stone playing another lecherous President. Her all natural breasts were a lot larger than average and he wanted to "see the twins" so he unleashed them from confinement to give them some air. He then played with her body, even spanking her fleshy bottom, before orally servicing her. She returned the favor with a moderately powerful blowjob and a short titty fuck, leading him to pop his load on her. The scene could've ended there and kind of stunk but Tony T., playing a Secret Service agent, took over to get a little head by her. She was just as good this time although the emphasis of the remaining portion of the scene was a lengthy, multi-position vaginal screw where she let him do almost all the work until he let loose a second load onto her face. He's attractive and has a lot of potential but it wasn't much in evidence here.

Scene Five: Nikki Hunter, playing an angel as seen on the upper left hand side of the front DVD cover, was up next with Van Damage; completing the circle of the movie's metaphor. The world was destroyed by nuclear war and she was sent to give him a second chance. She looked great although the overuse of the weaker lighting and special effects detracted from what she had to offer visually, with her energetic oral style reviving him quickly enough (as it would most of us). He was made to look like a mutant of sorts (and his spotted penis contributed to the effect) and he went to banging her wet pussy at her bequest rather soon. She was vocal, enthusiastic, and energetic; the three qualities most admired in a gal after curvy good looks like she has had for a long time now. Fans will appreciate that she was just as active during the anal sex as the vaginal, ending the scene with a titty fuck and pop shot that looked visually appealing. Tiffany may look cuter but I'd be in denial to suggest Nikki wasn't a better performer this time, albeit by a small margin.

Summary: Salvation was a flawed but interesting flick worth a rating of Rent It. The performances by Tiffany Rayne and Nikki Hunter were the exception to the otherwise lackluster action, though fans of the others might appreciate them more than the general porn buying population. There was a fair amount of fuck for the buck and the BTS feature was a good extra but there simply were too many missed opportunities this time to truly get into most of the action. Granted, if you've never watched a porno before or watch very few titles per month, this one might seem almost good but it really didn't compare in most ways to the hordes of better quality titles made by Zupko or the cast members with the notable exceptions mentioned above. Check it out but don't be surprised that a lot more effort went into the front cover (which looked fantastic to me) than most of the scenes.