First, let me get the negatives out of the way. They are very few, and minor, and I don't want their mention to detract from the thrust of my message. (1) The insertion mannequin (or whatever you call that plastic human-body analogue Rick uses to fake insertions) looks pretty fake. Nevertheless, it really wasn't bad enough to diminish my enjoyment. (2) During a simulated anal scene, there is a slight ring of blood around the anus, as Ralphus mentioned. Now, this doesn't gross me out, and heck, I know it can be realistic (I once had a girlfriend who enjoyed vigorous anal and once we went overboard and she bled a little), but it does zilch for me erotically. (3) The chair-tie scene with Lisa at the end loses a little momentum. It's a fine scene which would be well-appreciated in any movie, but maybe because Lisa was a little too relaxed and sitting ... or maybe because Rick filmed the movie linearly and everyone was losing steam by the end of the night, that scene sagged slightly in quality compared to the rest of the movie. For one thing, Lisa seemed too relaxed and the tension was lost. (funny to talk about a nude woman in bondage with clips on her nipples and nether regions as "too relaxed" isn't it? :-)) Also, the way her arms (bound behind her, behind the chair back) were not tied down TO the chair made it seem like she could have gotten loose.

Anyway, just wanted to get those really minor quibbles out of the way, because this is a GREAT flick, especially if you like psychological tension. During the Gimp Board's 7th year, by now longtime fellow Gimpers know I go for the psychological aspects of BDSM, the slow, steady buildup, the sexual tension, the menace, the ambiguous situations (e.g. "she's struggling, she's struggling ... she gives up"). If you like that kind of thing, this film is for you. And what a film.

At a technical level, I have no complaints. The film looks beautiful, sound is good, everything is nicely filmed. The outtakes show the perfectionism Rick and the actors were striving for. A lot of hard work (THANK YOU, GUYS!) but they achieved it.

Lisa and the male actor do yeoman's work. The chemistry is great between them. If there was an Academy Award for BDSM movies, this would win. This is the kind of movie which rises to the level of high art, which argues for there being an Academy Award for BDSM movies. Rick, at the very least you should enter it for an AVN award or something.

In some ways, the movie resembled a so-called "mainstream" porn flick. It is interesting to see this convergence, as those movies have gotten rougher, and as Rick in this movie got "softer," more "psychological" (sorry if the term is redundant, I don't know what else to call it). One example - there were several scenes with Lisa on her knees being mouth-fucked by the villain. And, just like in vanilla porn, every so often Rick would cut away to the villain's face to show the viewer his reactions. NO! Viewers of mainstream porn HATE when directors do that. Just as you're getting excited watching the money shot, the director cuts to some sweaty guy's goofy throes of orgasm facial expression. What a turn off, with vanilla porn, it brings your sexual excitement crashing down. But here, in The Apartment, it works, interestingly BECAUSE the villain is using a fake prick to cum on Lisa's face. So when Rick cuts to his face, instead of some goofy expression which induces viewer erection-drooping, the villain is able to maintain a menacing. lecherous sneer, which increases the power of the scene a lot.

And when I say the movie is "softer" I don't mean that negatively. Yes, there is a little less bondage than in other Rick's flix, but there is still plenty, and some scenes are stellar. (As Ralphus mentioned, the closet scene was one of Rick's best ever.) By "softer" I only mean that the menace level is enhanced, and doing so makes a more complete film and makes the bondage that much more meaningful.

The outtakes were a lot of fun, and showed how hard everyone worked to get the film right. It was interesting how the villain and Rick were laughing but Lisa was usually so serious. At first I thought she may have been tired or stressed, but as the outtakes went on it seemed more like she was just a very hardworking actress fully and completely in "the zone". It was funny how she'd be loosely bent over the couch and Rick would say "action" and how heartily she LEAPT into the scene each time. Maybe I'm reading too much into it -- maybe she just wanted to finish the hell up and get paid and go home -- but the impression I was left with was deadly seriousness on her part to give a good performance. Her acting was the acting of a tigress.

All of the psychological elements of the film were intense. Did she dream all of this, or did any of it really happen? Or, was the whole thing HIS dream? I've got to tell you guys, if you like not just basic BDSM but also GOOD movies, then buy this film. This is the first porn film in many, many years where I watched every instant of it from start to finish without fast forwarding through a single moment -- that is how good it was. The only time I felt the least bit tempted to fast forward was the last scene, the chair scene, where my attention span drifted just slightly. But that was a small moment out of a large film, whose scenes otherwise all worked perfectly. Even the whipping scene "worked" in a way in which I don't usually think it will in one of Rick's flix. It was the perfect length, nicely AOH (arms over head), and very well-acted and directed, very realistic and erotic. It's funny, but most of Rick's flix, I form a first impression the first time I watch them and then the more I watch them the more I notice over time, and they all seem to grow on me. I usually like them better over time, I can't remember any where I liked them less. This one, I liked so much I can only imagine I will like it more and more the more I watch it.

This is the perfect ZFX film, with a pacing and tension on a par with any good Hollywood thriller. The fact that it is BDSM is all bonus.

Oh, and by the way, Lisa looked AWESOME in this film. She has a body type which is not usually my preference (I like really tall and thin girls). But she looked phenomenal in this film. FWIW, I liked the pigtails, I thought they looked cute. And her body was smoking hot. After this film, I am now thoroughly convinced that Rick's house in Florida sits directly on top of that Fountain of Youth that the Spanish explorers were searching for in Florida. Somehow, he discovered the motherlode. How else is it that the girls in his films just get better and better looking? (Okay, I would also buy an argument if anyone wanted to offer one that appearing in BDSM films does a lot for their egos and boosts their self-esteem in some way and causes them to pay greater attention to their appearance, hah hah). But anyway, after this film, all I can say is, MORE LISA, MORE LISA, MORE LISA!