Ashleah (click pictures for trailers to each separate scene)

Brand New Faces 12

Vivid Entertainment

Halia Hill

Genre: Gonzo, Newcomers

Director: B. Skow

Legacy Premier

Cast: Ashleah, Voodoo, Halia Hill, Alan Stafford, Legacy Premier, Charles Dera, Sarah Shine, Chris Johnson

Length: 203:46 minutes

Sarah Shine

Date of Production: 3/5/2008 (box); 2/27/2008, 2/25/2008, 3/3/2008, 2/27/2008 (the scenes themselves)

Extras: After starting off with heaps of spam (with cute Sunny Leone and others hawking the company's stuff), the rest of the extras took on a new light. There were not many of them, a handful of trailers and more spam, but the length of the scenes largely made up for it again.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Brand New Faces 12 was presented in the same 1.78:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color it was shot in by director B. Skow for Vivid Entertainment using the standard definition MPEG-2 codec. For those unfamiliar with his background, suffice it to say that his experience outside of porn is superior to many inside the industry and it shows up in his movies, including this one as shot in HD, though presented in the SD format (for now) as shot in 1080i to provide a lot of resolution supporting some of the effects (making it look more like a real movie than just a porno). The lighting was well handled and this added to the pleasure of watching the gals in play as the lengthy scenes gave them enough freedom to explore what was advertised as their first scenes (with a money back guarantee). The composition of the camera angles and lighting were almost always optimal this time, Skow seeing fit to try and enhance the look of the ladies at every turn as possible. The fleshtones were accurate this time and the DVD mastering was well done (if in a bitrate hovering around 4 Mbps), making it a mixed bag in terms of visual quality; leaning towards above average. Some will rail about the watermark on the lower right hand corner of the scenes but it went away pretty quickly so don't worry about it; my biggest complaint being that having reviewed one of the series in Blu-Ray recently, the standard definition follow ups seem lifeless by comparison. The audio was presented in a 2.0 Dolby Digital English (in 192 Kbps with a 48 kHz sampling rate) offering with the vocals sounding flat and the music pretty decent. For some reason, the levels were about the same as usual but aside from the added background noise, the dynamic range was average and the separation of the vocal track nonexistent.

Body of Review: B. Skow has been the driving force at Vivid Entertainment in terms of providing good looking porn in recent years; typically bringing something unique to the mix as he enhanced the performances of the ladies he shot for the company under so many sets of circumstances. His latest release is a bit different in that it was a series of lengthy scenes called Brand New Faces 12; a movie dedicated to showcasing four lovely young ladies in their first scenes for porn and the sequel to the extremely popular Brand New Faces 11 I saw recently. The porn industry is replete with gals claiming to be in their first scenes ever but the catch this time was the cover promising a "100% Money-Back Guarantee" that these were the first times the ladies were on film. Be that as it may, the cover also promised that the scenes were candid and given my experience with newcomers, I was hoping Skow could pull a rabbit out of a hat and also make them award winning performances. If you're still interested, here's a quick glimpse into the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used:

Scene One: Ashleah, the stripper with multi-colored hair seen on the lower left hand corner of the front cover, was first this time in a scene shot on 2/27/08. The 20 year old gal started out on the couch of shame in the studio, Skow admiring her boobs before the lean gal showed herself off in a seductive manner. She signed her certificate and her ample breasts were the first thing I noticed when the clothes went flying, her pink bra barely holding her in place. Ashleah had a few extra pounds of baby fat that looked really good on her, the natural breasts the best of the entire show as far as I was concerned. There was the usual interview and solo tease portion of the scene before Voodoo joined in to put her through her paces, her unfinished tramp stamp on her lower back looking best when she bent over. She seemed to like Voodoo and slobbed his knob attentively, never taking much inside of her mouth but always providing a modicum of enthusiasm. He reciprocated by pounding her moderately passive pussy, the sweat rolling off both of them as he did the deed on the bed, Ashleah getting into the vaginal plowing as the scene progressed. I was half surprised that she also did anal as well as a genuine looking anal creampie, the splooge pushed out before Skow applauded her efforts. Nice!

Scene Two: Halia Hill, the sexy cute brunette seen on the upper left hand corner of the cover, was up next as she was captured for posterity while she texted someone about her scene. Halia had a pretty face and her knowing nature wasn't a turn off as it could have been in a newcomer flick. I hated her large implant scars (the kind under the breasts) but she still looked appealing enough for me. Halia also exuded the personality of a stripper, giving Skow something to think about as she followed the established series formula in the dressing room before retiring to the bedroom set where she was to work with Alan Stafford. He went down on her and she blew him, the performance never elevating above a mere performance with limited chemistry to speak of. Halia had some potential too but never showed it off here, using more hand to gland combat than mouth to get him hard. Skow directed the action rather than let it flow as with most gals, her ability to have fun truncated by the way she had issues with Alan's modest member. The action stopped a number of times here too, even showing her hesitate before doing some PTM at times, continually looking at the camera for instructions before clamping down when she took the wad of genetic juice to her face.

Scene Three: Legacy Premier, the attractive black gal with a great ass I wish was on the lower right hand corner, was up next as she showed off a professional look that hid away her sexy figure. She had sweet DSLs and used verbal cues nicely enough, her attitude shining compared to that displayed by Halia. Legacy was a stripper too, showing a sense of humor and a sexy demeanor, her ass the best of the batch this time as the college going stripper from Atlanta proved more than a match for Charles Dera. I liked the way she treated the director and her partner, Skow remarking on many things running through my mind as I watched the scene (great minds think alike). The pawing portion leading to the sex where Charles ate her out a bit before hammering away at her sweet pussy on the squeaky bed before she did some PTM during the blowjob. Legacy was no stranger to sucking a cock and her expertise elevated the heat of the scene, her skills able to milk a nut easily by the looks of it. Skow got in close enough that he bumped into her head, Legacy lost in the moment before bouncing on cock vaginally. She had some rough edges but they were few (and far between) so I really hope she makes more fuck flicks if she can keep improving on her game. The scene finished up with an open mouth wad of population pudding, the load one of the biggest I've ever seen the guy provide.

Scene Four: Sarah Shine, the girl next door type seen on the upper right hand corner of the cover (that reminded me a whole lot of a youthful version of someone employed at Shane's World), was up last with Chris Johnson. Sarah had a bubbly personality indicative of an 18 year old having an adventure, giving me the impression that she was more of an attention whore than a gal looking for quick cash. I liked the way the thong rode her ass cheeks and she seemed to be ready to do some POV work with Skow before Chris came into the picture, the scene shot on 2/27/2008 for those keeping track. Skow did finger her and I recognized his hairy arms right away, the dialogue between the couple kind of fun until Chris came in to break the illusion that Skow would get laid for once. When the time came, she dropped right to her knees to blow Chris though, his flaccid cock taking way too long to get ready to bone the babe. Chris' sexual identity aside though, Sarah seemed right at home with all the acts included, the oral leading to a moderately active vaginal ride by both of them. She became more into the action as the scene progressed too, ending up with the recommended facial cream when she milked his nuts dry using her hand and mouth.

Summary: Brand New Faces 12 by director B. Skow for Vivid Entertainment was worth a rating of Recommended to me for all the action, the new faces, and the technical handling of the scenes but fans of brand new gals will think it was a "must have" since the ladies looked and performed their roles so well. I can't definitively state that none of them have shot a professional scene before but unlike so many titles that Vivid sits on for years as part of their marketing approach, Brand New Faces 12 was rushed right to the pressing plant to jump on the newness factor (something other companies seem to have embraced in the past as many of you like to see "firsts", real or imagined). I also liked that a bit of diversity was applied this time, Legacy Premier cute enough to become the next black starlet with the right public relations work. Whatever the reality of the marketing claim though, all four of the cuties were breaths of fresh air and deserve some accolades for providing enough fuck for the buck, strokability, and replay value to make this a keeper for your collection. Skow does it again with his attentive nature to make these four ladies shine better than his peers could hope to, the series website probably the best thing the company has provided in a long time in terms of consistent quality.