Title: Santeria Studio: VideoTeam Director: David Aaron Clark Cast: Daisy, Nautica Thorn, Kayla Marie, Eva Angelina, Kimmy Kahn, Shawnie, Brian Surewood, Brian Heston, Tyler Knight, Carlton Banks Genres:: Plot, BDSM, Interracial Condoms: No Reviewer: SexHerald Staff

Rating:

David Aaron Clark is one of those directors who likes using three names. He probably doesn't like being called director; "auteur" is probably more his style. You can tell this simply by watching the opening credits for Santeria – he doesn't call it a film, but instead a "beau travail." Even if you don't know the meaning of the phrase, you can be pretty sure it's something pretentious. Fortunately the film itself is not as pretentious as it could be, instead choosing to showcase some very attractive women indulging in a little fantasy roleplay.

The film's central character is Mistress Santeria, owner and proprietor of a "house of dark fantasy." It's one part bondage dungeon, one part whorehouse, and one part Fantasy Island, just without the midget. As Mistress Santeria explains to an investigative reporter, she caters to men who have "…memories that are burdens. We let them relive their past in more uplifting ways." These men include a former prizefighter who's double-teamed by two showgirls (we can tell he's a prizefighter because they keep calling him "Champ"), and a "Gulf War Colonel" wearing nothing but his dogtags, and then fucked, by an Asian woman in a fall-away kimono. The film's low point comes when, in an inspired fit of dirty talking, the Colonel urges his partner to "squeeze those Commie titties." While I endured the entire scene for the sake of completion, you may never be more grateful that your DVD player can instantly skip to the next scene.

There's a bit of light bondage as well, with Mistress Santeria teasing and playing with a madcap Dennis Hopper look-alike. He raves wild-eyed to the camera and barks like a dog, so Santeria makes him promise to be a “good boy,” ties him up good on her bondage table (he gets to keep his bandana on, a nice character touch) and plays little flogging and teasing games with him. It's nothing too painful for mainstream audiences, and once she unties him, their roles switch and he takes control, barking wildly as he takes her from behind.

The only real crime this film is guilty of, besides the awkward "commie" dirty talking, is excessive use of some cheesy slow-motion effects, often right in the middle of the good parts. Nothing interrupts a nice blowjob scene than a sudden shift to slow-motion, especially since the audio slows down as well, giving us unusual "glooooooorb" sound effects. Artsy? Not in the least. Hilarious? Oh, you bet. It's not as funny, though, when an otherwise hot scene between Santeria (wearing beautiful gothic raven wings) and the investigative reporter (wearing nothing) is unfairly ruined by the slow-motion, trippy blur filters, and the audio equivalent of the sound guy fiddling with the music's volume control. I can appreciate adult filmmakers trying to add a few artistic touches to their craft, but this went way too far.

Sprinkled throughout the film are lessons in the actual Santeria religion, though they go by so fast you'll need to pause the DVD to read them all. They supposedly add some context to the scenes, but it's all just window-dressing. The only thing that counts, really, are questions of the plot. Do the bitchy investigative reporter and her cameraman fall into Mistress Santeria's dark spell? (Of course they do.) Do they learn who they are and what they're supposed to be in this world? (The cameraman does, at least, after being kept in a cage and fed carrots like a rabbit. He also gets to fuck like one as well.) Does the film's moral, if you can call it that, teach us that kinky sex will help improve our personal identities and further our personal growth? Apparently so. Whether or not you need Santeria for that, though, is up to you.