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To The Core

Girlfriend Films/Mental Beauty Inc.

Genre: Lesbian, BDSM

Director: Bonnie Rotten

Cast: Bonnie Rotten, Alina Li, Aiden Starr, Ashlynn Malloy, Skin Diamond, Alison Faye, Zoey Nixxon

Length: 166:39 minutes

Date of Production: 2/6/2014

Extras: There was a link to Bonnie’s website and three Behind the Scenes features. The first lasted 20:15 minutes, the second lasted 19:10 minutes starring Ashlynn Malloy, and the third lasted 18:29 minutes with Alison Faye with Skin Diamond. All three of the featurettes showed Bonnie making actual directorial choices, consulting with the crew at times, going over scenes with the cast, and included interviews & photoshoots; making one of the best BTS’s series I’ve seen in awhile.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: To The Core was presented in anamorphic widescreen as shot by director Bonnie Rotten for Girlfriend Films. Bonnie was wise enough to get industry veteran Alex Ladd as her Director of Photography, Robert Queensgate joining in as second camera, editor, and the man handling the score. As shown in the extensive BTS footage, the movie used multiple cameras, an increasingly rare method given the added costs, and this helped take better advantage of the varied situations. The lighting was strong in most cases, some artistic touches deployed to set a mood adding to the fun and some establishing shots included to set the scenarios, no company watermark distracting from the view. The mixture of close-up shots, contextual long shots, and medium shots also showed some care in making it visually interesting adding to the replay value in my estimation. The aural components of the show were fairly basic but I could hear all vocals easily, the score was well done, and the relative lack of ambient noises showed someone was paying attention. The vocals were a little hollow in the primary rooms as they bounced off the hard walls but this was a minor concern, no dubbing included that I noticed.

Body of Review: Bonnie Rotten has become something of an icon over the last year or so in the industry, her award winning performances resulting in her winning Performer of the Year from both AVN and Xcritic. As her enthusiasm and passion continue to impress the masses, Bonnie has made a deal with Girlfriend Films to distribute her latest works, titles that she herself directed for her fledgling company, Mental Beauty. I know that much of the time, the label “director” is bandied about carelessly as a marketing gimmick, especially for female performers making the jump but given the nearly hour of BTS footage included in the extras, I felt Bonnie could be credibly considered “the director” more than many of her peers (who conveniently leave out any BTS footage on their own credited works), adding a new dimension to this world class proven young lady. As such, her directorial debut is called To The Core, a set of four lesbian BDSM scenes starring Bonnie in two of them, Aiden Starr (who I still believe enhances every movie she’s in), cute Asian newcomer Alina Li, sultry Skin Diamond, and some others you will find nearly as appealing in their roles as submissives.

The company press release said this about the movie: “Bonnie Rotten’s directorial debut, To the Core, is now available from distributor Girlfriends Films. To the Core, Bonnie Rotten’s first movie from her studio Mental Beauty, Inc., showcases kinky and freaky romps with Skin Diamond, Zoey Nixon, Aiden Starr, and more. The tale of sexy, dominant women destroying the virtue of innocent, young girls, To the Core features vignettes with hot sex, stylized BDSM and fetish play, and the corruption of young girls, all sure to drive fans wild. In the first scene, schoolgirl Alina wants to show up her strict father and prove she is a woman. Zoey’s dreams offer her the perfect place to release her inhibitions in scene two. Next is Alison in scene three, who is introduced to a kinky new form of “playtime” by her partner. The final scene features Ashlyn, a runaway trying to overcome life’s obstacles and show off her strength. The four hot, all-girl combos will leave viewers glued to the screen. “My directorial debut drops today, and I’m psyched out of mind,” exclaims Bonnie Rotten, the 2014 AVN and XCritic.com Female Performer of the Year recipient. “The story in each scene is deeply intense and personal to me, but of course we move into some amazing sex from one of the most talented casts I’ve ever had the honor of performing alongside.” Bonnie Rotten co-stars in To the Core, along with Skin Diamond, Zoey Nixon, Aiden Starr, Ashlyn Molloy, Allison Faye, and Alina Li. Rotten adds, “The girls and I had an incredibly wild time filming, and I hope everyone is equally turned on when watching us.” In January, Girlfriends Films announced its distribution deal with Bonnie Rotten for her first foray into production and directing. The deal with Mental Beauty, Inc. is complete with national and international DVD, VOD, and broadcast cable distribution. The tattooed vixen will release six titles per year from the studio, featuring boy / girl, girl / girl, and kink content with tattooed and un-inked performers. “Ever since the announcement regarding our distribution deal with Mental Beauty, Inc, fans and critics have eagerly waited to experience Bonnie’s directorial touch in To the Core,” says Girlfriends Films President Moose. “Now, everyone can witness Bonnie’s brilliant talent as a storyteller on screen. Her first movie surpasses all expectations and establishes a delicious, unique style that will bring a kick-ass name to her studio in the adult industry.”” Here’s a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Scene One: Bonnie Rotten, the tattooed brunette featured on the front cover, was up first to dominate youthful Asian Alina Li, the submissive shown in schoolgirl attire as she walked the streets in search of a way to prove her strength. Alina entered the warehouse dungeon with a bit of an attitude, Bonnie grabbing her across her lap to spank her for her thieving ways. Alina’s perky little rump was soon looking increasingly reddened, Bonnie choking her as she pulled Alina’s panties down. This led to Alina being tied up and gagged her, applying some nipple suction devices to her before some initial flogging. Alina was drooling because of the gag and Bonnie sucked her nipples, the gal’s bald beaver moistened before the flogger was replaced by a whip and the one of Alina’s nipples was clamped. Bonnie gobbled gash before applying clothespins to Alina’s sweet pussy, more whipping and flogging adding some spice as Bonnie slowly increased how hard she was treating her pet, the wand vibrator initially used on Alina now giving Bonnie some pleasure as caged Alina squirmed. Bonnie squirted and then freed Alina to the table where a series of dildos helped her squirt out a gusher as well, Bonnie feeding her the fluids before the shared a pink, double headed dildo to both get off one more time.

Scene Two: Aiden Starr, a curvy blond bombshell, was up next in a red walled room serving as a makeshift dungeon, her skin tight fetishware looking great on her sexy body. Ashlynn Malloy, a dark haired gal with a lean body, was shown to be homeless when she awoke in Aiden’s parlor of play, the gal in sheer peach colored bikini undies as Aiden showed her right from the start who was the boss. Ashlynn’s clothing was discarded and her shaven snatch spread as it was fingered and slapped, Aiden using Ashlynn’s mouth to lubricate the hand for insertion. This, in turn, led to Aiden restraining Ashlynn using a cage for her head and a hand device to limit mobility, a bright blue flogger applied to Ashlynn’s sweet ass so high in the air. The way the skin of her ass rippled and the sounds of her skin being worked on made it look more real than most such scenes produced elsewhere, Aiden forcing the gal to provide details about what she wanted and needed, the dominant using her hand next. Additional toys led to Ashlynn being put in a larger cage, forced to slob Aiden’s strap on knob and drool as Aiden taught her how to throat the toy. Aiden then boned her like she owned her, making Ashlynn push back to meet her thrusts before she was released to get some more on top of the cage. The scene then ended with the sub being handed the wand and put back into the cage to rub out another, the camera fading out.

Scene Three: Skin Diamond, an exotic light skinned black gal with a body built for speed over comfort, was up next as she abducted blond cutie Alison Faye, a hood tossed over her head as she was taken to the warehouse dungeon. Alison began with something of an attitude, playing along as Skin gave her enough rope. Skin changed into a top hat and skin tight white top, her nipples poking through the fabric as she brandished a riding crop. That Skin wore a little fake mustache was a bit weird but she tied Alison up with rope to a cross, the gal’s bald pussy lightly played with before an electrical stimulation device was applied to her body. While I wished this was used more, Skin wanted to play with Alison’s yummy little ass, spanking it and flogging it before untying the gal to eat her pussy and ass. A metal speculum then spread Alison’s snatch apart, the gal bound in standing position and flogged before a whip made an appearance, Alison soon allowed to devour Skin’s dripping bald pussy at length. Skin put on a strap on dildo from there and made the gal suck it, the vaginal riding enhanced by the wand vibrator used to stimulate the young newcomer before they finished up.

Scene Four: Bonnie Rotten, again dressed in skimpy attire, was up last to dominate curvy babe Zoey Nixxon, the sub dreaming about Bonnie taking charge of her in a dungeon setting. As the smoke cleared, Zoey was led to a metal chain spider web and tied to it, her fishnet stockings and PVC lingerie providing a striking look contrasting to her red hair. Bonnie forced her top down with some effort to nuzzle her juicy tits, slapping them a little and spitting in her mouth before a lengthy kiss led Bonnie to tease the gal’s shaven pussy. Bonnie dove into it orally and continued to do so intermittently as she applied some clothespins to her tits and a wand to stimulate her. Zoey was then tied down to a bench for some flogging, the brief escapade all too short for me but adding some variety to the action as the gal was bound to the crisscross wall where some boob play and pleasure was contrasted with heated candle wax dripped on her body. The contrasting sensations of pleasure and pain excited Zoey, making her beg for more as Bonnie kissed her, the wax peeled and Bonnie masturbating before Zoey was released to anally fuck Bonnie with a flesh toned dildo before the couple used a wand in turns on each other which led to Zoey waking up refreshed.

Summary: To The Core by director Bonnie Rotten for Girlfriend Films is not going to be for everyone given the emphasis on lesbian action and the stronger BDSM themes tied so heavily to role playing but the good news is that it was exceptionally strong in those categories, a surprise for me since the field is replete with examples of how many ways you can fuck them up as a director. The replay value was strong and the strokability very solid given I had no doubt the ladies were all enjoying themselves regardless of which side of the power they were on, adorable Alina Li standing out as a submissive but all three dominants, Bonnie Rotten, Aiden Starr, and Skin Diamond, doing an exceptional job to the point where I rated this one as Highly Recommended. In short, To The Core was a great debut by Bonnie Rotten, her attention to detail and gathering up a strong crew enhancing the technical values while her inclusion of a great deal of QUALITY BTS footage making it clear who was in charge, those with any interest at all in the Lesbian BDSM who are sick of the poseurs and pretentious crowd providing substandard genre releases sure to find this a breath of fresh air. Give this one a chance and you will see why fresh ideas can combine with an experienced crew to make the kind of porn some of you have yet to experience.