Tainted Love / Shades of Gray

The erotic thrillers of the 1990s generally fell into two camps: the theatrical releases that really, really wanted to become the next "Basic Instinct" and the direct-to-video movies that merely wanted to cash in on the success of "Basic Instinct." Obviously, these two camps overlapped, though the theatrical releases, by virtue of having A- and B-list stars and big studio budgets, at least seemed more highbrow even as the movies became more and more ridiculous ("Color of Night," "Body of Evidence"). In contrast, the DTV movies had an easier goal: provide enough skin and simulated humping to satisfy prurient interests. The thriller part of the equation was incidental, its main purpose to ensure no one would feel too dirty for having rented one of these titles.The late Jag Mundhra was one of the more prolific directors in this genre, his "Night Eyes" (made before "Basic Instinct," thank you) being one of the more popular DTV movies of the era, spawning two sequels. He is better at his craft than most hacks, though I question the copy on this DVD double feature that refers to Mundhra as an "acclaimed director." Acclaimed by whom? And for what? Certainly not TAINTED LOVE (made 1995/released 1998), about a tomboy cop, played by Lee Anne Beaman, who gets a makeover so she can go undercover as a "fashion model" to find a serial killer and winds up falling for the prime suspect. Early in the movie a couple of Beaman's male co-workers are heard gossiping about her: "Some people say she's a [lesbian]. Ha-ha-ha-ha!" While I disagree with her alleged sexuality being a punchline, there is a reason people say such about her as apparently wardrobe was told to break out the Lesbian Stereotype duds: leather jacket, flannel shirt, baseball cap and biker boots. This is all the more laughable when you consider that Beaman, a regular in Mundhra's movies, is only slightly more convincing a tomboy than Tara Reid is a scientist. Though she gives it the ol' college try, she's much more comfortable in her role once she gets made over by a call girl (don't ask). Beaman is romanced by a fashion designer, played by smarmy-but-hunky Doug Jeffery, the male equivalent to Shannon Tweed in this genre. By the time Beaman and Jeffrey get it on (their coupling aboard a yacht looking more like a photo shoot for skin magazine than actual sex) we're nearly an hour into the movie's 93-minute running time, which is about 30 minutes too late by most viewers' standards. Mundhra does pepper that first hour with periodic flashes of female nudity, though his attempts to photograph nude murder victims in a titillating fashion goes beyond tasteless.By comparison, SHADES OF GRAY (1997) is a much better movie, at least in terms of delivering more simulated -- and more explicit -- sex scenes. Kelly Burns (also in "Tainted" as a fashion model) is Gray, a police sketch artist. After sketching a murder suspect, she unwinds with her cop boyfriend (Doug Jeffery, again). Though the couple appear to have a quite satisfying sex life, Burns wants more, complaining to Jeffrey: "You come over, you f---, you fart, you leave." Jeffrey takes off in a huff, leaving Burns vulnerable to the murder suspect she drew earlier (Blake Adams, also briefly in "Tainted" as a junkie/armed robber). Fortunately Jeffrey returns for some forgotten keys just in time, but his nick-of-time rescue isn't enough to prevent Burns from breaking up with him, quitting her job and heading into the country to stay with her sister -- and meet a handsome trucker, played by Tom Reilly. And while Reilly is attractive, he's also kind of goofy, but maybe I get that impression because his jeans look like they were meant for Urkel on "Family Matters." It doesn't matter because, despite being less than friendly when they meet cute, Burns ultimately marries the guy and gets him out of those jeans in some sex scenes that would jeopardize an R-rating were this movie rated at all. Alas, their sexy marriage is threatened when a high school art student is found murdered, Jeffrey is brought in to help with the case, and a witness (his mere appearance on camera is a plot spoiler) describes a man who looks exactly like Reilly. "Shades" is a little longer than it needs to be (the disc cover gives a 97 minute running time, but I clocked it closer to 105 minutes), but benefits from slightly stronger performances and doling out explicit sex scenes at regular intervals. Incidentally, "Tainted" star Lee Anne Beaman appears in this one, too, in a bit part as a wise-cracking truck stop waitress who, by all appearances, wandered off the set of "Hee Haw."These Jag Mundhra movies give us a pretty good idea of what a merger between Lifetime TV and "Skinemax" might look like, though falling a little short of being that awesome. Still, Mundhra did manage to give his movies a unique style, putting them a notch above most DTV dreck. If only Scorpion Releasing had put as much effort into the transfer. The picture is fine, but the sound on both movies is terrible, and terrible in different ways. On "Tainted," the sound is out of synch, so we hear the end of lines before the actors' mouths have finished speaking them. "Shades" is in synch, but it sounds as if two tracks have been reversed, with the score booming in the foreground while the dialog sounds as if it's being uttered from an adjoining room. It's this poor sound quality, and not the quality of the movies, that is the reason for my two-star rating. Whatever enjoyment fans of cheesy thrillers and naked people might derive from these movies is dashed by the lousy audio.

These are two of late director Jag Mundhra's erotic thrillers of the 90's. Mundhra is probably better known for directing the horror films OPEN HOUSE, HACK-O-LANTERN, the cop thriller THE JIGSAW MURDERS and one of the best erotic thrillers NIGHT EYES, so here's a chance to see him at work in a genre that was popular in the 90's. Plenty of nudity and a smattering of violence, Scorpion Releasing delivers two of his lesser-known films and they look very good for two films on one DVD. Not for everyone, but entertaining enough for fans of the genre.

2 great rare flicks on one dvd , if you like erotic thrillers , then these 2 films are a great pick up at a great price

Good double featuree

1年半ほど前にリーズナブルな中古の出品があったので半ば衝動的に購入したものの、何となくそのままになっていたのをようやく視聴したが、もっと早く観るべきだった（笑）。この手のB級エロティック・ムービーの女優の中で抜群の美貌を誇る”Watch Me”のケリー・バーンズが両作品に出演して美しい肢体を惜しげもなく晒してくれているのに感激した。

excellent service.great moviesand played well