Moondance

Talented filmmakers Tom Elliot (aka Ren Savant of "The 8th Day" fame) and former actress -the late Teri Diver, teamed for this Old School approach to Adult Cinema, an intriguing supernatural story about an ancient cult with a solid twist on the usually corny "Human Sacrifice" theme.

I was pleasantly surprised, nearly shocked, at the extreme high quality of the Video Team production from 21 years back, one I'd never heard of but found after a VT search following viewing of another fine title from the distributor, Andre Madness's similarly forgotten "Disturbed".

The 2002 DVD reissue is packaged with Nici Sterling promoted as the star of the piece, but she plays a non-speaking role, sexy as the principal humper at an impressive Bacchanalian orgy that climaxes the film. She gets to have sex with her real-life husband Wilde Oscar at this point, and he's the star of the picture.

Wilde is married to nymphomaniac Sid Deuce, and they move to a remote rural country house to start over, after he catches her in a threesome for her umpteenth infidelity. This is apparently their last chance to make the marriage work, but the lovely and eccentric actress (she lets her emotions display all too broadly on her face, what I ordinarily would term overacting in a mainstream context) clearly signals to the viewer that chances for a happy-ever-after couple are slim.

What unfolds is a fascinating mixture of erotic dreams and supernatural influences, as Sid is a prime target for an ancient local cult that mixes eroticism with pagan rituals. Not a Satanic cult as is the norm in both porn and horror films, but more of a orgiastic group, with Lesbian icon Felecia (unfortunately misspelled as Felicia in the movie's credits) as their ambassador to the straight world.

Wilde does a fine job as the dismayed but well-meaning husband, developing great audience sympathy leading to the inevitable conclusion of the film. In her over-the-top way, Deuce is riveting, a great perform whose only better-known actress of much resemblance would be Alexa Rae, also largely forgotten by today's fickle fans.

The other major character is played by the oddly named Nico Treasures, a busty blonde actress who owns the town's antiquarian shop, and helps Sid figure out the history and meaning of a Native American amulet that plays a key role in the movie's supernatural aspects. Some minor morphing SPFX, attributed to actor and assistant editor Marc Allan supplement the mainly character-driven, rather than gimmicky, approach to the genre.

It plays like a real movie, with superb use of on-location desert filming. Lengthy femme cast list that populates the orgy scenes is not made up of superstars, but rather an interesting cross-section of talent including future biggies like Liza Harper, Jacklyn Lick and Mrs. Buttman Tricia Devereaux.

Compared to current ho-hum porn, including narrative features, this movie has the good sense to feature plenty of soft-core sex scenes (especially for dream sequences) in addition to the requisite XXX content. That makes it suitable for a Pay-Cable version that would please those timid Cinemax/Showtime souls who won't watch explicit porn but still need a turn-on.