The Collector (I) (2004)

The serious approach Brad Armstrong takes for this Wicked Pictures vehicle starring Jessica Drake pays off, as the resulting film is of mainstream movie quality.

Surprisingly, the shot-on-film feature is closer to Brad's all-sex projects for Jessica, as there is hardly any dialog- the story and characters developed via her voiceover narration instead.

Brad's uncredited screenplay delves into the psychology of a compulsive collector, well-played in a NonSex role by Mike Horner. (In the BTS short subject Brad avers that he tried in vain to find an actor not associated with Adult Cinema for the role, but settled eventually on the always reliable Horner.)

He's hired Jessica as his prime consultant for his collecting activities, having met her at an auction house where she worked. Drake relates how her work for him evolved, illustrated by a pivotal scene where he's angered by her accidentally breaking a $17,000 mirror, causing him to spank her and have her masturbate for him to watch.

Film depicts Horner's spiral into perversity, centering around voyeurism. The sex scenes are vividly staged by Brad, who can't resist casting himself as a chauffeur in a threesome with Jessica and Lezley Zen, and production values are top-notch in depicting elements of Horner's vast collection, ranging from insects to vintage costumes.

Movie plays extremely well 15 years after its release, and serves as a nice bridge connecting Brad's ambitious storyline movies to his exercises in all-sex stylings.