Taboo - Lilith Likes to Watch Famous February




Title: Taboo
Year:
1980
Starring: Kay Parker, Mike Ranger
Director: Kirdy Stevens
Synopsis: When Barbara Scott’s husband leaves her, blaming her frigidity for destroying their marriage, she’s left alone, without a source of income, and charged with taking care of their teenage son, Paul. Feeling vulnerable, she turns to her friend Gina who opens Barbara’s eyes to the secret world of suburban swingers. But as erotic tension grows, Barbara begins to fantasize about her handsome son… - Via Letterboxd.com
Lilith's Notes: The prototypical porn that keeps it in the family.





"Dear Paul, we lost our heads last night..."


As Famous February rolls on, I foresee a thesis emerging: can one truly place themselves in a time they were not present for? Can we see the notoriety these films earned without having been caught up in the mania? I think with these four reviews, different films will have different answers.

But it's very easy to understand the reasons Taboo was so successful.

Barbara, played impeccably by Kay Parker's extraordinary cheekbones, is a divorcee. She tries to balance her home life and her dull personal life and on the advice of her friend Gina, (played by Juliet Anderson) goes on a blind date and attends a party. Little does she know it's a swingers party.

The repressed Barbara declines to partake and sits on the sidelines. She’s invited to join by one man, and harassed by another who eventually does take no for an answer after much coercion and groping.

Barbara goes home and…

Oh, I haven't mentioned her son yet. Scott (played by Mike Ranger) is a young man with a loving girlfriend, Sherri (Played by Dorothy LaMay). On occasion he peeps in on his mother getting dressed then plows said girlfriend like it was their last night on Earth.

I could see how Paul could be considered cute by late 1970s standards but he's waxy and creepy and looks like the lovechild of Rocky from Rocky Horror Picture Show and Mark Hamill from The Star Wars Holiday Special.

So Sherri and another girl go down on Paul and the sounds are really disgusting in a way I cannot describe. It makes me uncomfortable. Also the friend looks like a ganguro girl.

One could propose maybe the styling did the students dirty but the styling for Barbara is well done. She's very put together, and knows how to accessorize, right down to her garter belt.

Dejected by the disappointing date, but physically stirred up, Barbara comes to Paul while he's asleep in bed and they have sex. I assumed it was a fantasy, or a dream sequence. Surely there would be some hesitation? Surely Barbara would have some sort of internal struggle before giving in to her lust.

How wrong I was.

When Barbara and Paul finally get together, it easily could have been the rest of film’s run time. It was very hot, and I was yelling at the screen things like 69! And Titfuck! And they would and I would sit back, feeling smug.

The familial bond strengthens with every thrust and some might say so does the shame. Even still, it was handled with a deft hand.

Helene Terrie, wife of director Kirdy Stevens, wrote the script for Taboo and I think the fact it’s a wife and husband duo injected some sensitivity into the story. Also, in an interview with Kay Parker, she said the following…

“Somebody’s going to do it. If you do it, you can bring consciousness and quality to it, so just do it.”

Despite the subject matter, it’s rather clear that many involved wanted to make this more than just a porno, but wanted to tackle it with dignity. I think it was done well.

It’s easy to see why this film is infamous. Not only does it deal with a mother-son relationship, it also has a multiple-person, bi-sexual orgy smack in the middle of it. If anything, you have to admire this film’s guts.

Today, in 2022, pseudocest and fauxcest are some of the biggest, most popular categories of porn. You can’t visit Pornhub without tripping over a clip of one’s step-sister getting stuck in the drier. When I was a kid, our introduction to this fetish was probably Flowers in the Attic. Game of Thrones made incest mainstream for this generation. But the progenitor, the ancestor, the mitochondrial DNA…was Taboo.

Or, perhaps it’s all just relative.

Best Moment: The love scene between Barbara and Paul. It was perfect.

Worst Moment: Gina, the over-sexed friend, was a bit over the top. She gets off on the idea of Barbara getting assaulted.

LILITH'S SCORE: 4/5

Until next time, my voracious voyeurs. I’m Lilith, and I’m always watching.

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