The Pornographer

September 2024 · 5 minute read

An extremely naive philosophy informs "The Pornographer," a simplistic morality tale about a young, lonely man who attempts to realize his sexual fantasies by plunging into the corrupt world of adult video production. A small distributor may be intrigued by the premise and squalid milieu, though commercial appeal is limited for a film that has little new to say.

An extremely naive philosophy informs “The Pornographer,” a simplistic morality tale about a young, lonely man who attempts to realize his sexual fantasies by plunging into the corrupt world of adult video production. A small distributor may be intrigued by the premise and squalid milieu, though commercial appeal is limited for a film that has little new to say.

USC alumnus Doug Atchison shows good directorial instincts in his first effort, but his tale seems to be influenced more by movies than by experience. Early chapters, with their somber tone and v.o. narration, borrow heavily from “Taxi Driver,” whereas latter ones are utterly predictable. The audience is always ahead of the protagonist as he sinks deeper and ultimately wreaks havoc on those he cares about most.

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Michael DeGood is well cast as Paul Ryan, a young man who, unable to connect with women, indulges in prostitutes and pornography. Out of frustration, Paul produces some homemade erotic videos and brings them to Spano (Craig Wasson), a powerful adult-video producer who baits him with promises of fame and fortune, contingent on Paul’s discovery of an ingenue. Paul turns to Kate (Katheryn Cain) , an innocent small-town girl who’s newly arrived in L.A., aspiring to make it big as an actress. First with persuasion and then with manipulation, Paul seduces Kate into performing in one of his videos.

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Script fails to provide convincing motivation for his alienated protag’s behavior, a problem that consistently undercuts the drama. Paul turns out to be not especially perceptive about the sordid milieu he’s entered, and by the time his moral awakening occurs, his stupidity has caused humiliation and tragedy. The “big” revelation, that the porn industry thrives on the corruption and destruction of innocents, seems to shock the helmer and his protagonist, but it’s old news to any mature viewer in the 1990s.

Atchison unfolds his story in a satisfyingly visual manner, and he gets good performances from his lead thesps. Indeed, pic’s major reward is the forceful, nasty work by Wasson as Spano, though watching him brings to mind his turn in Brian De Palma’s far superior “Body Double,” which probably was one source of inspiration for this movie.

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