The Gauntlet

Vouyer Media

Genre: Gonzo

Director: Vince Vouyer

Cast: Maya Hills, Tim Von Swine, Jenni Morrison, Tee Reel, Jon Dough, Kyle Stone, Nollie, Ivanna, Matt Zane, Steve French, Arnold Schwartzenpecker, Chelsea Rae, Vince Vouyer, Erik Everhard, Lefty LaRue, Mark Shy, Mike Hash, Brad Baldwin, Marcus Leon (others uncredited); Roxy Deville, Joanna Angel (bonus scenes only)

Length: 156.5 minutes

Date of Production: 1/10/2006 (box); 12/10/2005, 12/18/2005, 12/20/2005, 1/2/2006 (credits)

Extras: For such a lengthy movie, extras are truly a bonus so I was surprised to find some good stuff here. The first extra was a ~21 minute selection of footage from the cutting room floor. There was a lot of sex and nudity as well as some of the playful tension breakers found on a porn set that has lots of youthful newcomers. It was well worth watching, especially if you're a fan of the ladies in the cast. The next extra was actually three separate sections of bonus sex footage called the Bonus Core. The first of these was a lengthy 14 minute long blowjob scene with Roxy Deville, a 23 year old gal with a bubbly personality (according to cameraman Tim Von Swine) completely new to doing a blow bang with four guys (Kyle Stone, Marcus Leon, Arnold Schwartzenpecker, and Brad Baldwin). They all got some fine head from the gal, finishing up by completely glazing her face. Joanna Angel was up next in the second segment as she spoke with, and then blew, Vince Vouyer after teasing the camera with a good long look at her assets. This scene only lasted about 5 minutes but she was fun to play with. The third section was only about a minute long and consisted of Maya Hills getting hammered in her pussy by Tee Reel. There was also a long photogallery, a true double sided DVD cover, and a cardboard protective sleeve for the DVD case.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: The Gauntlet was presented in a non-anamorphic widescreen color with an approximate aspect ratio of 1.85:1 as shot by director Vince Vouyer (with some help from his pal Tim Von Swine) for his brand new company, Vouyer Media. The lighting was not flat and even like his previous work at Red Light District and Platinum X Pictures but it was still substantially better than that which you'll find in most gonzo porn. There was little grain and the fleshtones were somewhat off in many portions of the show but the fact that it was shot in HD led me to think that there was more detail available for the inevitable conversion to the higher resolution format coming out later this year. The composition of the shots was such that the ladies were made to look as good as Vince could make them, and given his level of skill developed over the years, he showed he still has what it takes. The audio was presented in a 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo English but there was no separation between the channels and the vocals were on the low side in all but a few circumstances (at which times they were too loud of course).

Body of Review: Vince Vouyer has been known for many things over the years and having a super developed libido is certainly one of them. From watching him at conventions over the years, I'm tempted to say he'd fuck a woodpile if he thought there was a snake in it, challenging Brad Armstrong for the title in many aspects. In other industries, these comments would be taken as insults or slams but in porn they serve to show who the alpha males of the pack are that most bow down to so it should come as no small surprise that Vince struck out on his own last year to form Vouyer Media where he'll be the top man. His first release for the company is a title focusing on oral and newcomers to porn called The Gauntlet where three gals are challenged to seek out strange new life forms and boldly swallow what no straight man has ever partaken of inside the Vouyer mansion. Here's a look at the scenes, noting that no condoms were worn and my suggestion that they show Vince making some substantial efforts to enhance his previous formulaic approach to gonzo porn:

Scene One: Maya Hills, the exotic looking 18 year old gal on the front DVD cover, was up first as she gave Vince an interview in the piano room while sitting on a chair. Hailing from Florida, she walked through the house as instructed by the director and wound up working with Tim Von Swine first. Tim's not exactly a studly guy and this might appeal to fan more since she followed his orders to do some tease before working over his hairy body. The scene was oral and vaginal done in a POV (point of view) fashion, with her relative innocence something out of a dream. For his part, Tim actually did a decent job himself as he hammered out a load for her to eventually swallow.

Scene 1.1: Jenni Morrison, an average looking gal that likes working with black men, Maya Hills, Tee Reel, and Jon Dough, were up next as Maya continued to walk the gauntlet of the house. Jenni blew Tee as Maya inhaled Jon's rod, swapping partners for more oral and a vaginal ride. The ladies were loud and vocal about the rough sex, though not all that active compared to more experienced gals from what I've seen (at least initially). Jenni did anal with Jon and the gals each did some taste testing as they worked the guys over in the upstairs bedroom. Maya swallowed both the loads though, never sharing with Jenni.

Scene 1.2: Maya Hills, Kyle Stone, and 2 other guys were up next at the bottom of the staircase as she worked out three more loads from the men. The POV camera work prevented me from getting a good look at the guys although Kyle has been in porn forever so I knew who he was easily enough but this marked her finishing up 6 full loads from the men of the house.

Scene Two: Nollie, an 18 year old brunette with a pink see through top and skirt, was up next as she gave her interview with Vince before exploring the house. She initially came across Ivanna and the infamous Matt Zane (in an uncredited role) where Nollie blew him to completion as Ivanna went down on her pussy. There was some cumswapping but Nollie swallowed it and got full credit for the load.

Scene 2.1: Nollie, Ivanna, Kyle Stone, and Steve French, were up next in the living room. This was a full scene where the guys went down on the ladies, fingering them and otherwise getting them ready with some taste testing before boning their mouths and pussies. I liked that the men snacked too, giving the gals some oral loving before proceeding any further. Ivanna was actually the better sexually of the two, going so far as to provide an active ride in her pussy and ass, but Nollie was cuter and the lead of the scene so she was the one to swallow the loads.

Scene 2.2: Nollie, in her last shot at immortality in the movie, then came across Arnold Schwartzenpecker, and a slacker dude that I think is Mike Hash, blowing both of them as though she were on the bonus plan. They didn't last very long but the 18 year old gal ended with five loads before Tim got last dibs on her pussy and nailed her for a vaginal creampie.

Scene Three: Chelsea Rae, a very cute gal with long legs and looking younger than her 20 years (birthday being 12/27; just a week after the scene), gave an interview with Vince Vouyer before showing him a good time on the couch in the series standard POV act. It was a long blowjob with a single poke inside her ass (and ATM) before she sucked down his mighty load. She then went off to get as much semen in her belly as possible.

Scene 3.1: Chelsea Rae, having found Erik Everhard in the next room, started blowing him as she used her mouth and hand to work him over after some fine tease footage. He then boned her pussy with her tasting it clean but when it came time to suck down a load, he denied her! I was surprised at this since it isn't standard porn. So she went to the next scene.

Scene 3.2: Chelsea Rae, having been denied by Erik, went onto work a load out of Tim Von Swine orally in less time than it took me to write this sentence. It wasn't a bad pop shot but he sure was quick about it.

Scene 3.3: Chelsea Rae, Erik Everhard, and Steve French, were up next in the downstairs living room as he sought to give her the load he had denied her previously, along with some interest for making her wait. Granted, Steve is even hairier than Tim (and reportedly smells worse than Ron Jeremy after he eats a bucket of garlic & beans), but a lot of guys like the way he roughly handles the ladies. I prefer Erik's style but as she blew Steve, Erik took her curvy ass from behind. The sex led to a DP and her swallowing two more loads with Erik leaving her with an extra treat in the form of an anal creampie.

Scene 3.4: Chelsea Rae, finishing up the movie by taking on 4 ethnic guys (3 were black and the other looked Latino) and swallowing their loads after aggressively working them out with some solid sucking action. They did throatfuck her but she seemed quite alright with it, always showing a positive attitude and winning the contest per Tim's comments at the end.

Summary: The Gauntlet was a test of the ladies to swallow lots of jizz but also to see if Vince Vouyer could make it on his own after all these years associated with established companies. Needless to say, the critics that suggested he'd fall on his face have now been proven wrong as Vince emerges stronger than he ever was before. I'm not a huge fan of the format he chose for his company's first outing but his selection of ladies, especially the exotic Maya Hills and more sexually talented Chelsea Rae (with Nollie in between the two on most levels), proved he should find no barriers to success. The technical qualities might use a bit more polishing up but I think Vince is poised to show the world that the true talent of a movie is not just within the ladies and gentlemen in front of the camera but also with the guy working the camera and producing the action. In that sense, as always, I wish his venture well and think the level of quality displayed showed some serious fuck for the buck, solid extras, and earned a rating of Highly Recommended.