An intentionally amateurish porn flick decked out in found-footage horror’s clothing (not much of it), director Robert Nathan’s indie has too many virtues to dismiss outright. Truthfully, Paul Thomas Anderson got further in a single scene of his Boogie Nights (1997), in which Heather Graham’s dead-eyed Rollergirl cruises around Hollywood in the backseat of a limo, picking up an excited fan who turns the tables. In Nathan’s film, Rollergirl is Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue), the star attraction of Internet flesh stable Lucky Bastard, while contest winner Dave (Jay Paulson), promised a romp with her, is a war vet and self-described decent guy.
Nathan and cowriter Lukas Kendall bobble the intro with some tension-ruining footage shot by police, but once the movie skips back in time to a sunny Van Nuys mansion decked out with hidden cameras, the concept takes on absorbing life. The performances, especially from the bed partners, are complex; even if you weren’t wanting for an exposé of adult-entertainment violence, here it is.
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