Documentary December - Graphic Sexual Horror - Lilith Likes to Watch

Title: Graphic Sexual Horror Year: 2009 Starring: Brent "pd" Scott, Peter Ackworth, Princess Donna, Loralei Lee Director: Barbara Bell, Anna Lorentzon Synopsis: Graphic Sexual Horror takes a peek behind the terrifying facade behind the most notorious of bondage websites, exploring the dark mind of its artistic creator and asking hard questions about personal responsibility. - Via IMDB Lilith's Notes: It's about a notoriously hard core website, InSex.com.

"What's the adage? Once money's involved...money corrupts, or something?"

Well, not only is it the end of Documentary December, but it's the end of the entire year. It's a time to look back and reflect on where we've been, and plan on where we're going.

Look back, with me, dear reader, to a time when I was a little neophyte in the world of erotica. I wasn't yet writing, I was just lurking the periphery of  the kinky world. I hadn't yet known my place in it.

Eight years ago I watched a little documentary called Graphic Sexual Horror and wrote about it on my Fetlife account. Since I'm older, wiser and more educated, I thought I would close out Documentary December by revisiting it.

My views haven't changed much. The men are still assholes. That hasn't changed. However, the women don't come across nearly as dim as when I first watched this eight years ago.

The film begins with people explaining what Insex.com was, and images of pd's paintings, which were amazingly detailed. Say what you want about the person, but pd is an exceptionally skilled artist and a creative film maker.

Okay, yeah, I agree. That's art.

At the start, everyone talks about how consensual it all is, how it helps these women reach deep inside themselves and find a strength, or a way of getting stronger. It's not about pd's libido, the goal is to get the women to orgasm. As the movie progresses, it becomes clear that pd will use anyone for his own desires. Much like in our previously reviewed doc Kink, consent gets blurred when money is involved.

Clean your gear you slobs!

The entire safe word fiasco with this site is such a point of contention for me. Like I said when I initially reviewed this film, the safe word they choose was "Ah-Ah", which is a stupid safe word because it can so easily be misheard as "AHHHH! AHHH!" or "uh-uh" or any number of sounds. A safe word has to be something that can not be misunderstood in the moment. Something so far removed from sex and emotions and feelings. Something like "doorbell" or "carrier pigeon". And of course, that's when she can use her mouth. At times the women are so tightly, completely bound I see absolutely no way they can possibly end the scene.

At one point, a woman is being lowered into water from a cage and she very clearly uses her safe word but it's ignored because it's mixed with screaming or coughing. Another woman had cattle prods on her Hard No list, but a cattle prod is used on her anyway.

Finally, at the hour mark, comes the scene. The scene everyone talks about when it comes to this movie. A woman's Hard No is to be slapped in the face, and yet pd slaps her in her face. The woman is shocked and scared and confused. pd talks down to her, demeans her, and basically victim blames her and says she's pulling and attitude while she's tearfully whimpering and trying to explain that it was a limit and he said he'd respect her limits. Then pd tries to cloud the waters by saying "it's a show, it's not real."

This whole situation is shitty.

It's a scene that always stuck with me and my heart goes out to her.

Princess Donna tells basically the same story she told in Kink, how it's her responsibility to safe word, how she's always ultimately in control, but she fails to mention how discouraged using the safe word is, and how money can be withheld.

Right after Princess Donna preaches personal responsibility, a woman said she had never done anal before, and they put a big dildo in her ass with no preparation. She was gagged and bound and in her interview said "I didn't get it, and it wasn't okay. I was crying and I was screaming, I feel like I was raped". She admits that she didn't safe word because she was unsure if they'd continue with the feed, or if she'd ever be invited back for another show, and that ultimately she did it for the money.

There's one interview with a model called 101, who's sunken in to herself and she looks like she's seen some shit. It's revealed that she was in a relationship with pd, and would do very extreme things, but not for love or art, but because she was an addict. Ultimately pd says he visited her in rehab and hospitals while she got clean but the story sort of ends there.

It's revealed pd tries to get girls to 'play' with him off camera, under the guise of "inspiration". How sleazy.

Ultimately, Insex folded because of the US government's obscenity laws. Banks wouldn't run credit cards for hard core sites and with no way to process payments, the site couldn't stay up and the content of the site was sold to a Dutch company. Apparently pd and his buddies are still lurking in the seedy underbelly of the Internet.

Nearing the end, the documentary shows set ups of more and more grim and torturous scenes. A woman standing on a block of ice from a rope around her neck. A woman with a breathing apparatus, submerged in a water tank filled with live eels or leeches. A naked woman hobbled and bound with a wooden block in her mouth, chained to a post in the snow. It's surpassed erotica, it surpassed art. It's torturous, cruel and exploitative.

I try very, very hard not to kink shame in this blog. I understand that I enjoy things people think are abhorrent. I don't like some of the most common fetishes their are because it's just not my thing, but pd himself goes on to directly correlate video games and movies to the things he does to women. He blames serial killers for putting this stuff in his head. The world is a violent place, how can he be expected to be a descent human being? Might as well torture people. As long as no one dies it's perfectly fine!

Way to shift the blame, there, Tipper Gore.

Graphic Sexual Horror is a fascinating look at some amazingly creative devices, rigs and set pieces. It paved the way for sites like Kink.com and other hard core sites. But it fondles the shroud of how creepy and manipulative these people are. It shows how pd and his ilk just throw women away once they're finished using them.

Abandoned and lifeless.

As we enter 2020 and no doubt explore new facets of ourselves, I ask you to stay safe, sand and consensual out there my friends.

Best Moment: There's a scene where a woman puts on make up, and gets all dolled up and then through the live show loses the make up and clothes. It's all about building up the feminine and tearing it away and it was interesting.

Worst Moment: A woman's hard no is ignored, she's belittled, talked down to, demeaned and coerced into continuing the live show, but she's obviously scared and confused. Brent does all he can to blame the victim.

LILITH'S SCORE: 3/5

NEXT TIME: We explore some of the nominees for 2019's best porn, starting with Teenage Lesbian.