Movie Review: Preaching to the Perverted

Directed by Stuart Urban  

Starring: Guinevere Turner

Christien Anholt

Tom Bell

Charlotte Weston

Julie Graham 

Filmed: 1997 

Running time: 97 minutes

Many times as I’ve watch BDSM themed movies, I’ve wondered what it would be like to see the kink interwoven within a solid plot with good acting. “Eyes Wide Shut” starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman comes to mind as a movie with heaps of sexuality but also a plotline that keeps your attention.  

As the readers of my column know, I was disappointed with the film version of “Venus In Furs” (1994 version) and the movie “Seduction - Cruel Woman” as the directors went for art over plot and the slow pace took away from the erotic scenes in those films. I like to be aroused and occasionally shocked at the content but I also want to be entertained when I watch a movie. 

I suspect that much of the problems with BDSM films are their low budgets. There is only so much a director can do when he doesn’t have a great deal to work with. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I watched “Preaching to the Perverted.” I went into this film not expecting much. I thought it would be another “bizarre” film with plenty of shock value but little entertainment value. And while nowhere on the scale of an “Eyes Wide Shut”, it was obvious early on that “Preaching to the Perverted” had a healthy budget.  

First of all, the look of the film is great. The photography, sets, costumes, and soundtrack are all first rate. In watching the extras on the DVD, I learned that they used the color pink in every scene that represented some sort of kink. The fetish outfits are magnificent and definitely bizarre at times but in a fun way.

 

 

 

Then there were the various locations where they shot the film. Whether it was the scenes at the “House of Thwax” or the secluded mansion (reminded me a little of the mansion in “Eyes Wide Shut”) or the fancy cars that Mistress Tanya and her entourage drove around in (loved her license of “Bow B 4 Me”) there was plenty for the eyes to behold and enjoy.  
 

The acting was also good, given the nature of the material. Guinevere Turner was excellent as the sexy and dominant Mistress Tanya Cheex. Whereas I found the dominant females in “Venus in Furs” and “Seduction - Cruel Woman” to be unconvincing and in some cases depressing, here I found both Turner and Julie Graham as the lesbian Dominatrix Eugenie (submissive to Turner but dominant to others) to be credible as dominant females who believe in the superiority of women (or “Womon” as Mistress Tanya calls her gender, meaning “I woo no man”). The lesbian Eugenie believes in “cunt power”.

 

 

 

The plot is about a British government minister, Henry Harding, on a moral crusade (he heads the United Front Opposing Filth). He hires an inexperienced young computer whizzkid, Peter Emery, to infiltrate the United Kingdom BDSM scene. Harding is set on putting out of business a club called "House of Thwax" run by Mistress Tanya Cheex. Peter is a Christian and a virgin and he is given the mission to secretly videotape evidence of the club's immoral and illegal activities. He is to gather evidence so Harding can prosecute those involved. It is all a part of his campaign to shut down the fetish and sex club industry.
 

Peter gains access into Mistress Tanya’s inner circle and she begins to introduce him to her world of fetish, kink and female domination. Peter finds himself attracted to Tanya, and realizes that he does not want for her to go to jail in Harding's prosecution. Peter develops both a physical and a spiritual connection to the mysterious Mistress.

 

 

 

There were plenty of over the top and unrealistic scenes in this movie. “Preaching to the Perverted” is not a serious look at the Fetish world or the world of FemDom. This is a fantasy movie, pure and simple, but interwoven within this fictitious fantasy movie are plenty of genuine portrayals of Doms and subs. The movies goes for humor in a lot of scenes and thus the D&S action is over the top. Yet there are some scenes that I found to be erotic. 
 

For example, in the beginning of the film Mistress Tanya is being pleasured by one of her male slaves in a most unusual way. She attaches a chain from his nose ring and runs it to her cit ring. Her slave twists his head from side to side inducing orgasm after orgasm for Tanya. That is until the director goes for humor and has the slave sneeze, which breaks the mood for Tanya. She disciplines him by placing a gag in his mouth and administering a whipping to him as she relaxes and reads on the bed (pausing every so often to give him another smack with her whip).  
 

Later, this same slave attempts to have intercourse with the Mistress which disgusts her. Tanya reprimands the slave by correctly pointing out, “No penetration, Ever! No penis, Ever! My clit ring can give me more pleasure in a few seconds than your penis can in a million years.” Tanya is definitely a true believer in FemDom. 
 

Another erotic scene was Peter’s first live encounter with Tanya. She is performing on stage at her club and Peter, trying to get close to take pictures, is grabbed as they mistake him as part of the show. Tanya demands her slaves be whipped but Peter refuses. She then asks him if he is willing to take her mark (a piercing on his nipples). The naïve virgin refuses at first but when she tells him that he will never get close to her again unless he proves his loyalty, Peter takes one for the team (The British government) and allows Tanya to pierce his nipples in a public display. 
 

Later, Tanya brings Peter to her bedroom and she plays with him. She attaches a chain from his nipple rings to her nipples rings and does a soft erotic dance, moving side to side to stimulate both her nipples and his.

 

 

 

Once she is aroused, she orders Peter to orally service her. Being a virgin, Peter does not know what to do. Tanya calls for her lesbian slave, Eugenie, and asks her to demonstrate for Peter how Mistress likes to be orally serviced. Peter watches and after Eugenie is done pleasuring Tanya, it is Peter’s turn as he gets to pleasure a woman with his mouth for the first time in his life. (Note – this is an “R” rated movie so all of this is implied and they walk the audience up to the line but no actual sex is shown).

 

 

 

Another erotic scene is when Tanya has Peter use her pleasure device “The Relaxerciser” on her. It is an electro stimulation device that Peter uses to send shock waves to Tanya’s clit ring. Peter’s job is to turn up the charge on the box when his Mistress cries, “More, Fuck me, More”. Peter feels humiliated and emasculated as he is giving his Mistress pleasure but he is getting nothing in return. He even asks “is this all I’m good for, to be the keeper of your clitoris box?” Tanya just smiles. 
 

Another great FemDom scene is when Tanya makes Peter prove his loyalty by being Eugenie’s pony. He is dressed in a harness, forced into a pair of high heel shoes and he is attached to a cart as if her were a horse. This takes place at a mansion owned by a wealthy couple in the country, she has an important position with the government, but she and her husband host secret fetish parties. Tanya and the other attendees of the party watch with enjoyment as Eugenie takes Peter for a ride around the estate. A large butt plug with a tail is placed in Peter and he pulls Eugenie in the cart as she whips him with her buggy whip.  
 

Later, Tanya hangs Peter in suspension and admires the marks from the whipping. Peter says he feels more like a Zebra than a horse because of the stripes on his flesh. As Peter hangs in suspension, Tanya rewards him for his obedience by giving him pleasure for the first time in his young life (via an implied BJ). 
 

These kinds of scenes are interwoven within the plot line of Peter trying to gain evidence to convict these people for engaging in perverted practices. Peter is torn between his loyalty to Harding and the government, and his growing love for Tanya.   

 

What is nice about Peter’s character is that he never lost his innocence or his sense of right or wrong. While the film obviously takes shots at Moralists and Religious people who try to impose their morality on society (Harding), it does treat Peter’s faith with respect. He manages to stay committed to his beliefs while at the same time he becomes accepting of the lifestyle choices of others. He comes to realize that although BDSM is not his cup of tea, he sees that these people are here by choice and they represent no threat to society.

 

 

The movie takes a predictable direction with a big trial scene in the end where Peter must choose between Tanya and his government. Does Peter dare lie under oath to protect the woman he loves? And can a Pagan woman and a Christian man be compatible? These questions are answered by the end of the film with a rather predictable slant in favor of a kink friendly audience. I am sure the Church would not approve, and they didn’t as this film was banned in some countries, including Ireland. And such a response by the Church and the Government makes the director’s point even better than this movie ever could. Supposively writer and director Stuart Urban made this film after attending obscenity trials in London against people involved in various fetish clubs. 

Interesting that the other group of critics about this film were the BDSM community that didn’t like how they were portrayed. They wanted a more serious portrayal of the BDSM scene, and not this over the top fictitious portrayal. I guess moralists can come in many different shades. A closed minded, judgmental person can have tattoos and wear leather just as easily as a conservative Church attendee.  

I recommend “Preaching to the Perverted” for its entertainment value. The plot should keep your attention as it moves at a fast pace and the characters are interesting. It is funny in spots and the D&S scenes and references will appeal to readers of "Predominant" and my blog.  

The extras on this DVD are also good. I found out that Guinevere Turner was trained for this role in New York by the real life Dominatrix Mistress Diane. Mistress Diane flew to London for the movie premiere of “Preaching to the Perverted” where she met and fell in love with the director of the documentary “Perverts Progress: The making of Preaching to the Perverted.” They actually got married shortly thereafter.  

I also enjoyed the comic strip about this movie that is on the DVD. It shows some of the more erotic scenes in a different visual, as a comic strip. The DVD is available on Amazon.

 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars