I don’t have a DVD cover or movie poster to go along with this review, so for now I’m just using this picture of AUGUST AMES. I’ve been a fan of this voluptuous beauty since she made her softcore debut in Model For Murder, so I’m very happy to see her back in another Retromedia feature film, this time in a leading role. Like Kiss And Kill this is another erotic thriller (and also stars a Black woman…well, Ames is 1/4th Black, that’s close enough, right?).

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD (as if y’all watch these films for the plot…)

This is written by A.G. Lawrence aka Anthony L. Greene who has a long list of credits mostly writing many episodes of various softcore television shows. This film shows he is just as adept at writing feature films (which he has also done before). And it’s directed by the always reliable Dean McKendrick. August stars as Bridgett, a 19 year old young woman with a mysterious past and murderous heart. As the film opens, she’s in hotel with some dude (played by Andy Espinoza Long), she’s in a dominatrix outfit, including a leather mask that covers her face and head. They have hot sex on the bed (all the while she keeps her mask on). And then when it’s over, we see her leave, with Andy lying dead on the bed, with a knife stuck in his chest (and a pillow covering his penis).

Brent Harvey co-stars as Garrett, an advertising executive who works for a marketing company called M3. Currently he and his co-workers, Cory (Kyle Knies), Jenna (Mia Li), and Angie (Kira Noir) are working on developing an ad campaign for a new client, who happens to be a seller of dildos and other sex toys. This ad campaign is very important to Garrett, as he hasn’t had a successful campaign in a while, and the boss, Sonia (Valerie Baber) makes it clear to Garrett that if he doesn’t close this account, he’ll be fired.

After a meeting, Garrett literally bumps into Bridgett, who says she’s just been hired as the new intern. Later after work, Garrett is at a bar, working on his laptop, when Bridgett shows up with Cory. Even though she and Cory seem to be heavily flirting with each other, Bridgett ends up ditching him and going home with Garrett. The two begin an intense sexual relationship, and Bridgett helps Garrett develop a new ad campaign for the sex toys. Jenna, whom Garrett used to live with, is immediately suspicious of Bridgett, but Garrett dismisses her concerns as jealousy.

But Garrett’s good fortune quickly starts to unravel. Thanks to a “mistake” by Bridgett, regarding grabbing the wrong flash-drive, he accidentally shows a video of them having sex to Sonia, who promptly fires him. While Bridgett plays innocent, Garrett still cuts it off with her. She then immediately seduces Cory, but then kills him afterward, stabbing him to death with Garrett’s letter-opener. Bridgett checks into a hospital, claiming that Cory got too aggressive with her and attacked her, and when the police find his body and then question her, she tries to implicate Garrett in the murder. During this time Garrett and Jenna reconcile and spend a romantic night together. But while they sleep, Bridgett sneaks out of the hospital and heads towards Jenna’s house with murder on her mind. . .

END SPOILERS. WATCH THE MOVIE TO SEE HOW IT CONCLUDES.

Another good story. Retromedia is being wise in enlisting these new writers for their films. I’m not saying there weren’t some flaws, we never get any motivation for why Bridgett set her sights on Garrett. There’s a scene where, soon after meeting him, she reveals a ton of information she knows about his background, which implies that she deliberately got the job at M3 to meet him, but that’s not expanded on. It’s also unclear whether the mix-up with flash-drives was actually an accident or not, as Garrett getting fired didn’t seem to help her in any way. The opening sex scene, as hot as it is, has no context to the rest of the film, and gives away the fact that Bridgett’s a killer right at the beginning. It may have been more suspenseful if they’d held back that revelation until a bit later in the film.

Still, let me be clear, that overall this is one of Retromedia’s better-written films, especially as far as “erotic thrillers” go, and I hope this isn’t the last time Mr. Lawrence/Greene writes a script for them.

This is a good cast. August, of course, does a good job as the leading lady, and I was quite impressed with Brent Harvey’s acting, as well. Valerie Baber was also quite good, and I hope to see her return in more softcore features. Kyle Knies still could stand to improve his skills (when he supposed to be dead, he looks likes he sleeping), and Mia Li, who is smoking hot and looks great in her sex scene, also has some room to improve when it comes to delivering dialog, but she gets the job done. No complaints about Kira Noir or Andy Long, whose roles were relatively small here, outside of their one sex scenes.

And speaking of the sex scenes…

There are the traditional seven scenes, as Retromedia typically has in their films. One is a solo scene with Valerie Baber, as she strips and gets herself off using several sex toys, as Brent’s character watches. She then later has a hot lesbian scene with Kira. Mia Li has a sex scene with Brent, and they’re good together. The rest of the sex scenes all feature August Ames.

In addition to the aforementioned opening scene with Andy Long, she has two scenes with Brent Harvey, one on a couch and one in an outdoor hot-tub. And she has one scene with Kyle Knies (which takes place in a messy backroom in a club). All the scenes are hot, especially the dominatrix scene, and the first scene with Brenty, as it actually ends with them in the missionary position, which I appreciated due to the fact that it’s something we strangely don’t see often in softcore (or hardcore) films. And it’s a testament to August’s sex appeal, and the directing abilities of Dean McKendrick, that you can watch the same woman in four sex scenes in one movie and not once get bored with it.

Illicit Desires is an engaging film that harkens back to the classic erotic thrillers of the 90’s. It gets a Chacebook rating of 4 STARS

You can catch this film, like I did, via HBO on AMAZON, or check your TV listening to see when it will be shown on HBO on TV. This film is not currently available on DVD, nor is any listing for it available. I’ll will update this post with a link when and if that happens.