Deranged

Seth Gamble struck out with his directorial debut "The Red Room" for Wicked Pictures, a tedious & repetitive all-sexer. His second try, the thriller "Deranged", is a winner, providing suspense and some nice performances though of course sex vignette content is the goal.

It's also a treat given Wicked's recent slide to the bottom. As one of the great porn labels of all time, its sale to a conglomerate and abandonment of its original Couples story-oriented features format have been depressing.

Kenzie Taylor stars as a criminal psychologist working on the case of serial killer Tommy Pistol. He's in prison, and she inveigles upon corrupt warden Derrick Pierce to get an interview (and sex) from prisoner Tommy. Though Wicked unfortunately delivers all the spoilers to the story in its publicity materials, the movie still holds up.

I especially enjoyed the unusual structure in which a hot flashback featuring Lily Larimar (playing Kenzie's character as a teen) and Jane Wilde climaxes the film's sexual content, prior to story resolution. Also impressive is busty starlet Maddy May as the first victim.

Actual violence is only suggested, with (unlike the sex) explicitness avoided. It's interesting that back in its peak period Wicked released two very fine thrillers by Jonathan Morgan: "Crazed" and "The Gate", but those days, as well as long-time contract director Morgan, are long gone.