House of Wicked

Wicked Pictures

Genre: Vignette

Jessica Drake

Director: Brad Armstrong

Cast: Kirsten Price, Kris Slater, Alan Stafford, Jessica Drake, Johnny Castle, Marcus London, Rocco Reed, Kaylani Lei, Deep Threat, Alektra Blue, Tommy Gunn, Barrett Blade, Stormy Daniels, Danny Mountain, Mikayla Mendez, Derrick Pierce

Length: 85:52 minutes

Date of Production: 2009

Kaylani Lei and Deep Threat

Extras: The DVD started with two trailers and an optional trailer for the movie itself but the meat of the extras came from the menu itself. The first real extra was a bonus sex reel from previous scenes lasting 43:13 minutes, just the highlights of some scenes with the contract performers but worth checking out as a montage effort. There was then a 23:42 minute BTS feature called All Access: The Making of House of Wicked by Mark Stone where the cast and crew were given a chance to strut their stuff one scene at a time (Brad giving some insights as to what he was shooting for). I also liked the feature called Women of Wicked as it lasted 37:17 minutes and gave each lady a chance to provide some interview footage detailing things they consider important. There was then a 4:31 minute promo for the movie, a similar 3:09 minute promo for Tonight, a glamour photogallery, five more trailers, some spam, and a DVD ROM selection of secondary extras like awards & nominations, company profile, and desktop backgrounds. The case itself was a fold out style with each lady getting a page in her scene outfit with some stills from the scene too, a true double sided cover on the DVD case rounding things out even more.

Condoms: Yes

Alektra Blue

Audio/Video Quality: House of Wicked was presented in anamorphic widescreen using an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the SD version employing the MPEG-2 codec and a down-converted resolution of 480p (it was shot in 720p as seen in the BTS feature) as shot by director Brad Armstrong for Wicked Pictures. Unlike their features, this was a vignette release with each scene using a different theme as titled below. While some of the ladies really weren't the right fit for a particular theme (nothing personal but when someone in their 30's is playing a teenager, it seems to push even the porn dynamic of age fantasy), the overall impression I got of the ladies was favorable, each scene shown in a dark, moody atmosphere that Director of Photography Francois Clousot tends to provide. There appeared to be filters used in most scenes and some smoke machines providing an almost dream sequence approach to most scenes, the lighting such that it did not illuminate every nook and cranny as I prefer but providing more mood instead. The compression artifacts were minimal and the grain modest, the tease portion of the scenes heavily edited in MTV style though not as aggressively bouncing around during the sex itself as editor James seemed to go for. The audio was presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English, the separation and headspace observed only during the short Dolby Digital commercial before the virtually flat balance deployed for the movie was incurred. The vocals were edited out of the tease portions but the generic moans & groans kept in during the sexual escapades once they were underway, the music a bit too heavily mixed in (music credited to the Groove Addicts) and often at odds with the sexual action or theme of the moment.

Stormy Daniels and Danny Mountain

Body of Review: Brad Armstrong is the strongest director at Wicked Pictures when it comes to features and vignette releases, his peers improving over time but never catching up as the talented director continually looks for new ways to help fans get off. While the world waits for the next Fallen or the upcoming "Operation Tropical Stormy", he has provided some entertaining flicks my associates have found entertaining on many levels. In something of a yearly time capsule for the contract ladies, he also releases a vignette-driven title called House of Wicked, using every single one of them in a scene (and all but Stormy in a large lesbian orgy at the end). The stylish manner in which the scenes were reportedly shot included a lot of visual flair, rapid pace editing, and fairly short scenes with minimal tease, my initial viewing of the movie confirming this approach. Personally, I have never been a big fan of this kind of presentation but to see exactly where each of the contract ladies was with regard to her looks and performance abilities was too much for me to pass up so I took a lengthy look at the movie and its extras, finding it to be designed for a company specific niche some of you will really appreciate. The back cover of the case described the movie like this: "For the first time in WICKED PICTURES history, all of Wicked's stunning contract SUPERSTARS come together in one incredible movie. Alektra, jessica, Kaylani, Kirsten, Mikayla and Stormy as you've never seen them before...The result is the "HOUSE OF WICKED," an amazing combination of beauty, style, and raw sexual energy. These ravishing beauties slide into their own brand of Wicked Couture, and work it for the cameras like no one else can... Gothic, Club Wear, Asian Flair, Skater Chic, Cowgirl, Prep School, or Heavy Metal, each of which sets the stage for the WICKED GIRLS to do what they do best... and they've never looked more amazing doing it. Once you've entered the "HOUSE OF WICKED" you'll never want to leave..." Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that condoms were used for those still interested:

Mikayla Mendez

Scene One: Prep School: Kirsten Price, the brunette seen on the second from far right spot on the cover, was up first playing a boarding school rich chick in need of dick during detention. Okay, I know her age made this fantasy a stretch but she has long been the oralist at the company able to suck any dick that was stuck in front of her so seeing her with Kris Slater and Alan Stafford was not the worst way to go, even if making her the opening scene was another misstep. The punky B&W theme of the outfit, complete with chains and embroidered "W", was amusing, the rapid beating of the drum detracting from the heat she was producing in this classroom outing. Yeah, it was her giving two blowjobs and some vaginal penetration in a few positions before they blew their wads of genetic juice in her mouth (minor oral on her too), but as a porno for people wanting something less filled with circus act sex than most gonzo outings, it worked okay. Kirsten was an active vaginal rider and gave the usual grunts & groans as she bounced on cock, always getting one of them into her mouth or hand if not both.

The Lesbo Orgy

Scene Two: Heavy Metal: Jessica Drake, the major hotty with blond hair seen as the second from left hand side gal on the cover, was up next as a groupie of sorts to a heavy metal band of derelicts made up of Johnny Castle, Marcus London, and Rocco Reed in a boiler room. In terms of style, it was presented in abundance as the men slavered over her and she looked better than ever even if she kept looking at the camera. The music was all wrong for the vignette too but she took them on as if to establish her sexual dominance to the rest of the cast, slobbing knobs, jerking them off, and powerfully riding them in her sweet pussy. That she also did some taste testing was a bonus for the fans of hardcore that still follow the company, but it was her enthusiasm, energy, and passion that made this the stand out scene of the entire flick. It ended when they rubbed out wads of population pudding to her waiting mouth, Jessica still the best the company has to offer.

Scene Three: Asian Flair: Kaylani Lei, the sexy little Asian hotty on the middle of the front cover, was up next with the warehouse made up using some minimal themed decoration, the gal proving many company haters wrong by the way she took on Deep Threat in an interracial scene. Considering the girth of his pecker, it was surprising she could blow him so well but it was the driving penetration I liked the most, even though there wasn't nearly enough of it for my tastes. She did taste testing and the vaginal pounding ended with a facial before an abrupt ending.

Scene Four: Skater Chic: Alektra Blue, the beauty on the far left hand side of the cover (with sparkling blue eyes), was up next as she became the object of desire for two men, Tommy Gunn and Barrett Blade, that were dressed up like skater punks. This was another time when the age anachronism struck me hard (neither men fitting the role) but any chance I get to see her in action is a chance I will take. She was aggressive orally and the men gave her some oral in return. They also took turns poking her pussy pretty hard, unleashing their seed on her ass cheeks and tits when it was finished.

Scene Five: Wild West: Stormy Daniels, the most prolific female director at the company for years now, was up next, the prospective politician seen on the far right side of the front cover. Stormy is more than an acquired taste to me, she's practically a legend having survived so long in an industry heavily focused on youth, so I was happy to see her here even if she declined to be in the ending lesbian orgy for some reason. She looked all dolled up in the honky-tonk designed corner of the warehouse, the American flag proudly displayed for upcoming Memorial Day (and perhaps her proof of patriotism should she reestablish residency in Louisiana to run for office), engaging in sex with moper Danny Mountain. Given how difficult it was for him to get and maintain an erection, even with Stormy frickin' Daniels on his pipe, I was at a loss for words, his oral work just about as lacking in inspiration. Sadly, even a gal of Stormy's caliber couldn't save this one, her passive ride ending quickly in a facial.

Scene Six: The Club Scene: Mikayla Mendez, the curvy brunette seen third from the right on the cover, was up next as a DJ making out with dancer Derrick Pierce. He was devoted to her breasts and pussy, warming her up before she inhaled his cock to penetrate her pussy. The editing on this scene seemed especially weak though her ass sure looked good when bent over near the turntables. There was some fine taste testing too, the gal doing a decent job of blowing him before the ending facial even if her vocals were truncated at the end of the show too.

Scene Seven: Wicked Orgy: Jessica Drake, Mikayla Mendez, Alektra Blue, Kaylani Lei, and Kirsten Price, were up last in an orgy that sprang forth from a montage made up of portions of their earlier scenes. I'm not sure this was the best way to go with the use of such a select group of ladies but I'd be lying if I said they were not very sexy on the couches before them. Jessica did the most of the group, her technical DP coming off nicely but she wasn't the only analist of the day for those that care. I missed seeing Stormy in the group as it might have mitigated her reputation as a company diva (not to mention simply provide a more replay value for her fans) yet there were probably a score of reasons why she did not participate. The juices flowed freely and if you're a fan of the ladies, it will amount to a total score for the company in providing them for your stroking value.

Summary: House of Wicked by director Brad Armstrong for Wicked Pictures was the kind of "must have" hit the company makes each year for the legion of dedicated fans of their works more than a jaded guy like me so take my rating of Rent It with the appropriate grain of salt I always mention when reviewing out of my preference genre. Brad could have sleepwalked through the release since he has done so many vignettes in the past but he made a solid effort to cater to his audience in such a manner that I'm half surprised it didn't merit a second disc of extras to really propel it into the stratosphere. In short, House of Wicked was fun and entertaining, relying less on circus act sex than the appeal of their contract ladies to move units (pun intended).