End of the Year Review - Lilith Likes to Watch
2025 sure was a year. We consumed so many short films that reflecting on best and worst was a rather daunting experience. Therefor Kage and I decided to tackle the end of the year list in a new way: Make our own little award show!
Who was the best performer? What had the best set design? What was the worst remake? As usual, the one real rule was that it had to be something we watched for the first time in 2025. Otherwise, it was a free for all.
Let's begin!
Let's begin!
***
Best and Worst of 2025...
Flesh and Fire
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A witchy, arcane experience where a woman tends to herself sing a lit candle. It's also infuriatingly brief and apparently only a trailer for a bigger work we were never able to find. This is our new White Whale. If anyone can direct us to the full experience that is Flesh and Fire, please do.
It has never left our minds since we saw it. We are bewitched.
Also, if there was an award for Best Use of a Candle of the Year, Flesh and Fire would win hands down.
Anyone But My Husband
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I know, what did I just say about Flesh and Fire. The thing is, the scene in Anyone But My Husband is longer, and relatively edgy for it's time, as well as narratively relevant to the overall story. And it might make you thirsty.
Gummiboot
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A sweet but fraught story about a couple who want to grow close together through the exciting magic of golden showers. It delves into what makes that kink so alluring, as well as honestly portraying the ups and downs of a real, adult relationship. Sometimes a little confusing and it just sort of ends, but it tugged at our heartstrings, and is a great expression of strengthening bonds through kink.
Reflective Desire
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A bunch of pseudo-anonymous players in latex and gasmasks bringing each other to torturous pleasure. So good, it looks like it hurts.
Cam Damage for Reflective Desire
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Look, ever since we first saw Cam Damage in Stars, we've been fans. It was fun and very hot to see him unscripted and pushing his own boundaries. Highly recommended. Also he seems like a cool nerd.
Nikolai Kinski in Dream Story aka Traumnovelle
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It's kind of difficult to know where comparison ends and judgement begins. Is this bad because it's not Tom Cruise and Stanley Kubrick, or is it bad because Kinski is bad?
I get that it's supposed to be a dreamlike experience but there's dreams, and then there's sleepwalking.
Anyone But My Husband
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I was surprised it held up so well, was funny, and genuinely hot and had a great variety of kinks. Irreverent and acknowledging it's Post-Deep Throat advantage, it knows what it is and as a result, aged like a fine wine.
Dream Story aka Traumnovelle
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Us watching the trailer: Oh shit, this exists!
Us 20 minutes into the movie: ...oh.
Indulgent Delights
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This was a close one. Initially I thought Manhood was obviously the winner, but then I thought about it a little more. There's something to be said about watching the makeup be applied. A woman dousing herself in glitter paint from head to toe under gauzy lenses and neon lighting just works. Add a violet wand against glitter-coated flesh and it's a magical experience.
I'm So Slick- I'll F*** Myself
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It gives the impression that it was just cashing in on a trend. When the gory, goopy body horror was a big point in the film it cribs from, this did nothing with it, and it could have done so much. It's better to try and fail than to not try at all.
The Lickerish Quartet
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Radley Metzger is a master at finding visually striking locations and designing sets. From the weird sculptural walls in Misty Beethoven, to the dungeon themed sex party in Camille 2000, nothing beats the library from The Lickerish Quartet. Belle would have an orgasm.
Becumming
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We hated every single thing about Becumming from the performer's terrible tattoos, to the bad costumes. The set was just another heaping of bad on top of everything else. It's supposed to be a vampire's layer but is clearly someone's basement, and the cheesy plastic Halloween decorations just made everything worse, not better. So, so bad.
Forgive Me, Father by Ryan L. Reeve
A priest hitman, a mafia princess serial killer, and a tattoo artist poison peddler. And they bang.
I've said it before, but sometimes you feel like a book, or at least a scene is written especially for you. I got that feeling early in this book. It's not a perfect story but it gave me what I wanted.
Liarmouth by John Waters
Yes, that John Waters.
I want to like Waters way more than I do. I think he sounds like an awesome person but I've never found the courage to stomach any of his movies. When I heard about Liarmouth it went on my TBR for years. I like the first bit, but when we get to the Bouncers or whatever, it went from absurdist to stupid and I stopped reading it. I wanted to read a book a month again. I didn't, and I blame Liarmouth for the slump
Middle-Aged Actresses in 50 Shades Rip-offs
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While the actual products, like Babygirl and Pretty Thing aren't very good, I think the trend in itself is a net benefit for actresses and audiences alike. Women so rarely get to see themselves as desirable, sexual beings past a certain age, and it provides employment, and maybe even comeback opportunities for actresses. Just, in the future, make better products.
Generative AI
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Under The Bed
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Under The Bed returned this year and not a moment too soon. It seems to have upped its game, too, since the offerings we watched were both hits. It's great to see you back!
Cheers! Portland, Strip Club Capital of America
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If you asked me a year ago if I thought a documentary about strippers would make me choked up, I would have said no. Going forward, it is now a distinct possibility. It happened once, it may happen again. Moving, silly, touching and forlorn, it's such a great narrative.
The Celluloid Bordello
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Cheap production, strangely disingenuous, with bad-faith editing and cherry-picking movie scenes to prove their points. No one seems to understand how stories or narrative structure works, and it flits about from point to point with poor evidence.
Skip it.
The Devil in Manhood
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A three-breasted devil-ess with horns on her head and spikes at her cheeks. Ricky Greenwood once more goes above and beyond in regards to quality in his monster fuckery. Well done, well done.
The Werewolf in Werewolf
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It almost doesn't seem fair because this is a vintage movie, and yet, we're given next to nothing except for Chewbacca's ancestor in a clumsy, awkward short that almost feels fake. This was a pretty weak werewolf.
Camille 2000
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Maybe we're using the term remake a little loose here, but Camilla 2000 is a legit adaptation of La Boheme, so it counts. It's not a great film, and boy does it drag but compared to it's competition, it's head and shoulders above. Even on set design and costumes alone. At least everyone has some measure of chemistry.
Emmanuelle 2024
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What if we tore everything away that made the character of Emmanuelle distinct, self-actualized, in control of her own sensuality, leaving her as cold and boring and antiseptic as a plastic beige chair in an IKEA show room?
If you have a better idea for a gritty reboot, I'd like to hear it.
Anyone But My Husband
Read Original Review
What I said earlier still rings true. This was a pleasant surprise. Humorous, surprisingly dark and delves into the psyche of a woman betrayed and abandoned. Revenge is a life well lived and Nora lives her life to the fullest.
Emmanuelle 2024
The truth of the matter is that we watched so many shorts that actual features were low in number, and boring is the worst thing you can be, so here we are.
BLUSH Film Festival
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It was the first time Kage and I were able to actually experience even just a taste of an actual film festival. All from the comfort of our desks. It was hectic and frenzied, but quite a joy to experience. We found gold in those films
BLUSH Film Festival
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Burnout is real. When we hit lows, they were super low. We didn't watch everything and we didn't like everything we watched. Maybe some of our biases chose our watch list for us. There is only so much space in the human attention span.
Cheers! Portland, Strip Club Capital of America
Read Original Review
Is it cheating? Maybe. Look at it this way: It was the final film we watched in 2025 and I'm more than grateful we got to end on such a high. So, let's give it the praise it deserves.
Emmanuelle 2024
Read Original Review
It feels so unfair that this piece of bland oatmeal is getting so much attention. If it were a mean girl, it would think we were obsessed with it.
***
And that’s the best and worst of 2025. What did you think of them? Did you like this format? Should we do it again this year? What was your best and worst watched, porn or otherwise? Let us know!
Welcome to 2026, my voracious voyeurs. I’m Lilith, and I’m always watching.
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