The reservations come because I'm also familiar with Teraz's work, and while they often tackle unique deathtrap ideas, I've had decidedly mixed results with their movies I've purchased. Teraz creator Roman Nowicki has posted here that the company's motto is "Scared but Sexy!" and they don't do histrionics. So the question is how do you burn a woman at the stake and not have her get hysterical? You use lots of computerized special effects and pretty much throw any semblance of reality out the window. I've stated before that in my bondage/torture fantasies, I want to believe what I'm seeing is real, which is unfortunately the opposite of Teraz's modus operandi.

The good thing is I knew that in advance, so in spite of everything I knew about Teraz's past work, I went ahead and put down my money anyway. The lure of Cindy Dollar at the stake was too tempting. Besides, how often do you see naked women burned alive in movies? Well actually, if you're a Teraz devotee, the answer is...A LOT. On that level, Roman has something in common with me; he definitely has the burning fetish. He's set women on fire so many times in his films that I just know he's gotta be a pyromaniac.

The 17-minute long film starts off slow, though. I mean really slow, to the point where it seems like padding. Over half the movie is comprised of mainly just Cindy on her bed alone, masturbating. I know some guys like seeing a woman masturbate, but being a perv and not "normal", I just don't see the appeal of endless graphic close ups of body parts being rubbed. I was anxious for the actual good stuff, i.e. the bondage and peril to begin. You know, the real reason anyone would buy a video like this in the first place.

At one point her creepy old grandfather comes in, graphically feels her up and warns her that if she touches her body sexually, a witch will come by and punish her for being a bad girl. Cindy's reaction to the incestuous visit is...well, she doesn't react at all. No shock, no surprise, no revulsion. After he leaves, she just continues to masturbate. That should be Clue Number One that we're watching a Teraz movie and nothing resembling actual reality is going to occur.

But finally at Minute 9, Cindy is indeed visited by an evil witch (Gee, Grandpa was right!) who whisks her away to a fantasy setting outside where she suddenly appears already tied to a stake and surrounded by a group of men in Colonial garb wielding torches and pitchforks. The bondage isn't especially tight; the rope is just lightly looped a few times around her ankles and the lower portion of her legs below the knees. There is a single strand around her waist and looped over one bare breast. So as far as a genuine secure ropework goes, things could definitely be improved. But hey, this is Teraz, folks. We're not going for realism here.

Cindy is berated by the group of men, who shout things like "Punish the bitch!" and "Disgusting whore!" and announce in no uncertain terms that she deserves to be punished for masturbating and being a dirty girl. As for Cindy, she looks absolutely beautiful tied up there to the stake. I had seen her in an earlier Teraz production and knew already about her physical attributes. While I'd bet that her chest might have been surgically enhanced, she's clearly a gorgeous woman, with no tattoos and a sweet face. Her heavy accent makes it clear that English isn't her native language, but she handles the helpless begging and pleading just fine as the men prepare to do their deed.

They begin by gagging her with a rope through her mouth and around the stake (an obvious ode to the classic BATS in The Devonsville Terror) and tell her what's going to happen to her as we are treated to several loving close-ups of Cindy whimpering at the stake. Meanwhile the lead bad guy shows her a torch and threatens her by saying "We must teach the salacious slut her lesson!" and "Time to feel the flame against your chest," while the men in the crowd shout "Burn her nipples!' This is one aspect of Teraz's works that I absolutely love; no company writes better threatening dialogue than Teraz. In every production I've seen from them, the bad guys know exactly the right things to say to their victims. No silent villains here, it's obvious they relish their work, and humiliating the girl is an important part of their job description.

"It's time to light the bitch up!" one of the men announces, and a small pile of straw at her feet is ignited. What follows is 2 to 3 minutes of obviously computer generated fire footage superimposed over Cindy writhing on the stake. They don't look especially realistic, nor, I'm guessing, were they intended to. In other words, I don't think anybody will ever mistake them for actual fire. But even with the advent of improved digital and CGI effects available now, I'm guessing creating fire effects are among the more challenging illusions to pull off.

She finally expires with both her hair and one of her breasts engulfed in simulated flames, as one of the men exclaims, "I do love the smell of barbequed bitch!" How can you not smile at a line like that?