A Dazzling Array of "WTF?"

If you are wanting a gonzo movie (i.e. a movie with no plot, just sex) look elsewhere.

Sanatorium is, at its heart, a theatrical, although independent and kind of weird, movie with a decent plot and some really great adult scenes. It's not porn, it's a story.

This would be great for couples or even among friends who are secure in their relationships and can discuss sex and movies. After watching this for the first (and the second) time, I wanted to discuss this with someone, to go over the details and the characters and the plot lines. It's rare to encounter that after watching what would be considered pornography.

Gary Orona said something really great, and true, in the director's commentary. He said that Sanatorium is a movie that you will watch the first time for the great sex scenes, but you will watch for the second time, the third time, and so on, for the story.

Tabitha Stevens is, above all, the star of this production. The cover boasts Sara Sloane, Kagney Linn Karter, Raylene, Francesca Le', Ashley Roberts, and more, but Tabitha shimmers more than them.

All actresses and actors did an above-average job, as they are in fact porn stars and not Hollywood actors. Some notable personalities: a cameo by Ron Jeremy, Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis as Marcellus (who also was involved with much of the muic), and Gary Orona (the director).

The DVD casing houses two DVDs. Disc 1 has the movie, the movie with director's commentary (highly suggested on second viewing!), and scene selection. Disc 2 has a bunch of extras: popshots, behind the scenes, a slideshow of images, an interview with Tabitha Stevens, bonus scenes, two of each, with Sara Sloane (misspelled as Salone) and Kagney Linn Karter, and two deleted scenes.

The packaging is quite fantastic, actually. The box it comes in is quite huge, double the size of the regular DVD box. It's meant for showcasing in a store or on a bookshelf or something, I guess. The cover of the DVD case is the same as the box, just smaller. On the front, Tabitha Stevens is topless, in a skirt, tugging against some lava rocks, Sara Sloane and Kagney Linn Karter are in the top left, and Kelly (a minor character, whose real name I don't even know) is in the background. The title, Sanatorium, is in the middle in a whimsical font, underneath "nothing is what it seems," which is a major phrase throughout the film. The back features some 20 or so snapshots from the movie, the stars, the contents of the DVD, a general plot synopsis, and a fold-in display mechanism.

This is more the experience of the film, not my experience.

Sanatorium follows porn super star Tabitha Stevens (the character, and the porn star) through her career in porn. The political arena around porn is heating up, and anti-porn crusaders are the most vocal (and most hypocritical) of all. As Tabitha realizes this, she is fraught with insanity and helplessness, and she decides to go on a 'vision quest,' which means no eating or drinking for four days as she looks for and inhabits a cave. While on her vision quest, she has many visions, or hallucinations, most of which involve some sort of sex. After the vision quest, she has emerged as a 'sexual warrior' who is ready to ruin the lawyers, politicians, etc. that caused her this insanity.

The movie is, indeed, non-linear and may be difficult to understand completely the first time around. I heartily suggest watching it through the first time, then going back and watching it with the director's commentary the second time. It really clears up a lot of confusion and really makes the movie more enjoyable.