By Daniel Irish

Dark Garden

Michael Ninn makes art. Michael Ninn makes porn. For certain close-minded conservatives, that’s one dichotomy too far. And for select free-thinking libertines, watching a Michael Ninn film is like trying to jerk off to the Mona Lisa. But strike the right balance and you’re apt to find Ninn’s “porno chic” work beautiful, thoughtful, psychologically charged and deeply erotic.

Like his contemporaries Andrew Blake and Marc Dorcel, Ninn’s high-tone, heavily art-directed films tend toward plotless, music video-style abstraction. His many series (Diva, Soloerotica, Fem, Exposed, Pop and Neo Pornographia) interweave random, well-dressed, highly staged set-pieces of Sapphic, soft-focus body worship and exotic, chill-out techno music. It’s an acquired taste. But it’s not to say that Ninn can’t get down and dirty.

Though few and far-between, Ninn’s “plot-oriented” films are something quite special. Take, for example, 1999’s Dark Garden. This double AVN Award-winner is a smutty, ball-draining epic candy-coated in an ambitious sci-fi setting. It’s quite a shock for people used to the stained sheets and shaky video cameras that dominate much of the adult film industry. This is—no argument about it—an honest-to-goodness film.

Combining high-tech speculation with film noir sensibilities, Dark Garden takes place in an alternate, retro-style future that’s part Blade Runner, part Maltese Falcon. A pair of co-ed detectives (Juli Ashton and Julian) are assigned to investigate the mysterious death of the mayor’s son. Seems he burned out his brainpan sampling some illicit virtual reality sex gadget. The sex gadget comes courtesy of porn industry Golden Age icon Jamie Gillis (in a rare non-sexual role). Gillis plays a pair of twin brothers—one gifted with tech skills, one with financial wizardry—who are trying to stoke society’s naughty side with their pornographic implants. Sure, there are a few side effects (addiction and death being the two most troublesome), but when has that ever put a stop to some evil corporate types?

Gillis is amazingly convincing in his dual role, delivering twice the villainy at half the price. The creepy-yet-commanding elder statesman of sex has long been known for his taste in aggressive and verbally abusive BDSM, so the role of sadistic villain suits him well. (Seriously, the guy should get more mainstream roles.) Longtimer Julie Ashton (co-host of Playboy TV’s “Night Calls”) cuts a fine figure as the female half of our cop duo. Julian is ultimately a better woodsman than an actor, but does well enough as the troubled detective with a secret agenda. Among the other welcome faces (and talented genitalia) are Nikita as the film’s object of digital desire and Mia Smiles as an exotic office gal.

The sex is hot, hard and looks like a million bucks (or more). Slow-motion imagery, a sepia-toned color scheme and some old-school 16mm projection combine to give Dark Garden a near-hypnotic visual flavor. An early flesh-press between our police partners is a showcase of elaborate set design and camera manipulation. (Not to mention Ashton’s deep-throat abilities.) The scene in which Lea Martini gets worked over in a jail cell while Julian looks on between the bars is apt to move hands from DVD controls to crotches as well. And just about everything Nikita does in this film brings a new meaning to the term femme fatale.

The most interesting (and ultimately most daring) thing about Dark Garden, though, is its philosophical bent. Other than Rinse Dream’s incredible Café Flesh, I know of no other adult film that dares to be outwardly critical of pornography. I mean, Dark Gardens is a dirty, dirty film, filled with voyeurism, double penetration, cigar-smoking lesbian sex and other fine forms of groinal excitement. But when you break it down, it’s a movie about the deadly effects of pornographic addiction. “Meta” isn’t a word that you can apply to many works in the adult film industry, but Ninn clearly isn’t afraid of some self-referential soul-searching—or artistically lit, black-and-white filtered, slo-mo cum shots, for that matter.