Sin

Nico Bruinsma, owner of Cult Epics, is also the filmmaker who calls himself Nico B., best known for the 1998 underground horror short Pig, an exercise in sadism that still retains its ability to shock. His most recent effort, made between 2005 and 2008, falls into the other major area of Bruinsma's distribution operation—erotica. Sin consists of three shorts shot in the style of black-and-white silent films, accompanied only by snippets of piano music by Claude Debussy. The first segment, featuring Angelita Franco, centers on an exotic dancer from the Middle East who is kidnapped and taken to the West, where she becomes a popular stage attraction. The second, with Caroline Pierce, contrasts the life of a nude model with that of a nun who orally services her confessor (in the most explicit sequence of the trilogy, although another scene—involving self-gratification with a crucifix—is certainly more blasphemous). The last episode, bookended by shots that suggest it represents a male fever dream, has to do with a legless man and his well-endowed maid, played by Dahlia Dark. All three episodes reflect the tone of turn-of-the-century erotic literature, and from a purely visual perspective each boasts some effective moments. Extras include a collection of the director's 8mm shorts made between 1990 and 2015, nude outtakes, teaser clips, and a booklet with storyboards for the films in Sin. Due to the explicit content, this is an optional purchase for more adventurous collections specializing in erotica. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)