Dark Secrets
Word of warning, content of an adult nature.
________________________________________________________
*½
Softcore starlet, Monique Parent, stars as a hungry news reporter who is granted permission by her editor (Joe Estevez; yeah, he’s the unfortunate Estevez reduced to low budget trash; even Charlie starred in some good movies and had success on television) to “go undercover” hoping to score a big story by gaining access to dirt that might lurk in the private life of successful businessman, played by Justin Carroll, using nude modeling to get his attention. When she falls in love with him and is seduced by his Midnight Club S&M, dominatrix, punishment & pleasure night life, her life and motivations become askew and complicated. Can she still brush aside her growing feelings and newfound passions and provide the kind of story that will lend her career a real shot in the arm? Or will she follow her heart?
That’s it in a nutshell. She is drawn to the naughtier side of the night life once unknown to her, including a minor fling with the S&M lifestyle so prevalent in the Midnight Club, as well as, a steamy encounter with Julie Strain (a proud, popular regular at the Midnight Club and loyal member of Carroll‘s entourage). When Parent decides to go rogue and attempt to negotiate a deal to sell the rights to her story for a bunch of money and a contract as a serious journalist, her true colors emerge, and Carroll sees her for who she really is. Very interesting that Parent turns out to be the heel in the end while Carroll--corrupt in how he blackmails powerful politicians that wrong him and records sexual encounters in the rooms of his castle, while running a club known for girls getting whipped, their bodies shrink-wrapped and abused with hot candle wax, and all types of couplings, piercings, bondage, and punishment dueled out to and from willing participants--turns out to be more respectable. He tells her he might have married here, even, if she had turned out authentic as he hoped. Strain is enthusiastic and game in her part which is not a surprise. Parent is still a bit young in her career, but her beauty is well utilized.
The plot is basic and simple in its structure; for the exception of Parent’s betrayal of Carroll, who is deemed to be of questionable morals and ethics but his openness and honesty does prove that there’s more to him than what first appears, the film doesn’t necessarily provide us much in the way of thrills. Unless you enjoy the lifestyle of those at the Midnight Club. As a sex movie, Dark Secrets really doesn’t have a lot of long scenes, although there’s plenty of nudity. Parent has two key sex scenes: the best with Strain in the cold and rain, their breath actually visible, their bodies wet, and another with Carroll. The sex scene with Carroll is edited heavily but hers with Strain is relatively uninterrupted which was a nice surprise. Strain has a sex scene with a buddy of Carroll’s (going through a tough divorce and depressed), but it is badly mangled by cuts and major close ups. This will probably infuriate Strain fans who would enjoy seeing her in the throes of ecstasy; the editing gets in the way of any sort of erotic charge that might have resulted of the scene uncut.
The opening scene, set mostly in a cage, plays out with one woman, the dominant, using various methods of punishment over another, the submissive. Carroll watches intently as his butler stands by when needed, observant of the activities that occur. Parent is introduced by him to this world, she finds the freedom so explicitly uninhibited compelling and desirable, and almost finds herself becoming active within the club. It is when Strain nearly involves her in an act that Parent breaks for it, her investigative reporting losing its way.
Parent was always my favorite of the softcore stars (like Kim Yates and Nikki Fritz) that grew out of the mid-to-late 90s into the new millennium; she still works in the softcore genre, but the roles have decreased due to the rebirth of hardcore. It is really amazing she's still working as typically porn starlets have a small window in the business before the genre wears out its welcome and roles become scant as 18-24 year old girls take up the space once occupied by the likes of Lauren Hays and Amy Lindsey. Seeing Parent now a cougar, having softcore sex with Charlie Laine, I harken back to flicks like Dark Secrets when she was the rather new girl on the block. The fact that Parent still looks great is a testament to how well she's kept herself. I still find her an eyeful to ogle; while most that were working at the time she acted in Dark Secrets have since left the business, Parent's longevity in a business that normally provides actresses with a short window to make money is rather astonishing. So few are even willing to endure the genre for twenty years. This is part of my Scarecrow's Smut Reviews series..
Softcore starlet, Monique Parent, stars as a hungry news reporter who is granted permission by her editor (Joe Estevez; yeah, he’s the unfortunate Estevez reduced to low budget trash; even Charlie starred in some good movies and had success on television) to “go undercover” hoping to score a big story by gaining access to dirt that might lurk in the private life of successful businessman, played by Justin Carroll, using nude modeling to get his attention. When she falls in love with him and is seduced by his Midnight Club S&M, dominatrix, punishment & pleasure night life, her life and motivations become askew and complicated. Can she still brush aside her growing feelings and newfound passions and provide the kind of story that will lend her career a real shot in the arm? Or will she follow her heart?
That’s it in a nutshell. She is drawn to the naughtier side of the night life once unknown to her, including a minor fling with the S&M lifestyle so prevalent in the Midnight Club, as well as, a steamy encounter with Julie Strain (a proud, popular regular at the Midnight Club and loyal member of Carroll‘s entourage). When Parent decides to go rogue and attempt to negotiate a deal to sell the rights to her story for a bunch of money and a contract as a serious journalist, her true colors emerge, and Carroll sees her for who she really is. Very interesting that Parent turns out to be the heel in the end while Carroll--corrupt in how he blackmails powerful politicians that wrong him and records sexual encounters in the rooms of his castle, while running a club known for girls getting whipped, their bodies shrink-wrapped and abused with hot candle wax, and all types of couplings, piercings, bondage, and punishment dueled out to and from willing participants--turns out to be more respectable. He tells her he might have married here, even, if she had turned out authentic as he hoped. Strain is enthusiastic and game in her part which is not a surprise. Parent is still a bit young in her career, but her beauty is well utilized.
The plot is basic and simple in its structure; for the exception of Parent’s betrayal of Carroll, who is deemed to be of questionable morals and ethics but his openness and honesty does prove that there’s more to him than what first appears, the film doesn’t necessarily provide us much in the way of thrills. Unless you enjoy the lifestyle of those at the Midnight Club. As a sex movie, Dark Secrets really doesn’t have a lot of long scenes, although there’s plenty of nudity. Parent has two key sex scenes: the best with Strain in the cold and rain, their breath actually visible, their bodies wet, and another with Carroll. The sex scene with Carroll is edited heavily but hers with Strain is relatively uninterrupted which was a nice surprise. Strain has a sex scene with a buddy of Carroll’s (going through a tough divorce and depressed), but it is badly mangled by cuts and major close ups. This will probably infuriate Strain fans who would enjoy seeing her in the throes of ecstasy; the editing gets in the way of any sort of erotic charge that might have resulted of the scene uncut.
The opening scene, set mostly in a cage, plays out with one woman, the dominant, using various methods of punishment over another, the submissive. Carroll watches intently as his butler stands by when needed, observant of the activities that occur. Parent is introduced by him to this world, she finds the freedom so explicitly uninhibited compelling and desirable, and almost finds herself becoming active within the club. It is when Strain nearly involves her in an act that Parent breaks for it, her investigative reporting losing its way.
Parent was always my favorite of the softcore stars (like Kim Yates and Nikki Fritz) that grew out of the mid-to-late 90s into the new millennium; she still works in the softcore genre, but the roles have decreased due to the rebirth of hardcore. It is really amazing she's still working as typically porn starlets have a small window in the business before the genre wears out its welcome and roles become scant as 18-24 year old girls take up the space once occupied by the likes of Lauren Hays and Amy Lindsey. Seeing Parent now a cougar, having softcore sex with Charlie Laine, I harken back to flicks like Dark Secrets when she was the rather new girl on the block. The fact that Parent still looks great is a testament to how well she's kept herself. I still find her an eyeful to ogle; while most that were working at the time she acted in Dark Secrets have since left the business, Parent's longevity in a business that normally provides actresses with a short window to make money is rather astonishing. So few are even willing to endure the genre for twenty years. This is part of my Scarecrow's Smut Reviews series..
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