The Whore Within Me

Studio: Digital Sin
Director: Visual Blurr
Cast: Bobbi Starr, Lorelei Lee, Adrianna Nicole, Madison Young, Leighlani Red, Steve Holmes, Dirty Harry, Alex Gonz, Christian, Jon Jon

Portions of this review originally appeared on Fleshbot

Bobbi Starr is a schoolteacher with a secret in director Visual Blurr’s Very Important Porn Movie, The Whore Within Me. From the moment we hear Starr’s voiceover, about how all her life she did the right thing and if anyone could ever guess what goes on in her mind, we know that the digital crackling of the film, “Ringu”-esque buzzings and jumps, and the sepia filter will combine to give us one hell of a porn think piece.

“Would they believe their schoolteacher likes getting punished for the bad things she’s done?” she asks. “God, I’m such a whore.”

And yes, I guess she is. With freshly-painted face, Starr goes to a warehouse to be spanked and violated by Christian, who treats her most harshly. Conversely, could he have ever dreamt she was a schoolteacher??

The movie unfolds with several scenes of women telling the camera, the director, or themselves how and why they are promiscuous (with examples), and to the extent that we believe them they are more or less compelling. Shot over the span of a year by Blurr, The Whore Within Me seems to be a labor of love that now and then loses its focus. This does not mean that it is not immediately better than many porn movies; it just breaks some of the rules it sets up for itself, and that is a little distracting.

Meanwhile, Leighlani Red, a Natasha Lyonne-looking student in Starr’s class, wonders how she can possibly write an essay about a life-changing event when she, herself, is a whore?

“Do I write about getting banged by the dumpsters?” she asks. Not if the essay is about “David Copperfield,” but if the dumpster-banging really changed you, well, sure.

The sex scenes mean something, and they are masterfully shot by Blurr, who in the credits admits he was once studio New Sensations’ warehouse guy. But Blurr throws a lot extra at what are already very good sex scenes; it does seem like they would be just as effective if they weren’t so affected with editing tricks.

Lorelei Lee’s scene is wonderful. In her Why I Am a Whore segment, she describes sucking off a friend when she was interrupted by a Very Special Guest, and how she chose to deal with it. Whether or not the story is true, it’s an intriguing story, and we want to see what Lee does next.

“Nobody understands why we do the things we do,” says Lee. “I like it when people treat me like a slutty piece of meat.”

Blurr shoots his performers warts and all. Each is pale and easily bruised; there is no one in the movie a viewer would accuse of phoning in her scene.

Adrianna Nicole’s suburban housewife deadpan is very credible, even though she is far from the suburban housewife ideal in real life. That is why she is an Actor.

“How do you tell your husband of eight years that you’re a whore?” asks Nicole, cashing in on her double-team fantasy. “I guess that’s why I’m telling you.”

Finally, Madison Young plays the Ultimate Whore, crusing the streets of the northeast San Fernando Valley looking for the Aged to fuck her in the ass. She finds Dirty Harry.

“My body is a tool,” reports Young. “And I love guys using it to get off. Sex is all I think about. It’s an addiction.”

While The Whore Within Me is not a feel-good porn movie, it is also not so earnest with itself that a viewer could forget why he or she is there. It paints a picture of these performers, who identify themselves by name, as along for the ride on their uncontrollable urges. because of the narrative setup, the viewer is asked to believe the story, and some performers have a better story than others.

One thing is certain: you expect Sasha Grey to show up in every scene, whispering “Yes, but I’m also a whore.”