The Seduction of Mary

Almost a classic Adult movie, This Victoria Paris feature from VCA deserves to be better known on the basis of its sustained erotic atmosphere, Porno Chic elements, and masterful performance by Mike Horner.

Horner has appeared in numerous fine films, but he really sinks his teeth into this plum role: erotic novelist Marshall Solomen, who has the abllity to mesmerize people with the force of his personality.

His chief victim is Paris as Mary Johnson, decked out in amazing business attire (so dressed to impress it would look fine today, not dated. She's an agent reading Marshall's novel "Hidden Desires", and we see her fantasizing from the book as well as her immediately falling under the author's spell when he arrives at her office for an appointment.

The movie casts a spell of its own, thanks to Craig's slow and methodical pacing, a sustained droning musical score by Double Vision, and the strong performances of Horner and Paris. And its blurring of reality vs. erotic fantasy is a key to its overall success.

Paris excels in the more difficult role, as she is the submissive character, despite her outward projection of command and authority as a successful businesswoman. And her erotic emoting in the frequent sex scenes is terrific.

Third major role is Jon Dough as her husband, the actor doing a fine job, perhaps because he's not the center of attention, which led to his frequent overacting in many major videos of this period.

One thing that struck me: the movie has all the elements of the prototypical Marc Dorcel production of recent decades (but predates that format); sexy lingerie, strikingly beautiful heroine, insidious eroticism rather than gonzo sex, and domination/submission motifs. If remade by Dorcel with any of his top players, it could outshine current pornography by a mile, and bring back eroticism in a big way.