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| Image Courtesy of Backup Plan Productions |
The self-proclaimed Queen of Late Nite, Beverly Lynne was
one of the essential actresses involved in the fusing of straight to video
erotic thrillers of the 90's and the softcore infiltration of major
pornographic juggernauts into cable television and direct to DVD cinema.
What follows are three entries from her filmography that highlight
Lynne's renowned sexuality and free-spirited antics.
Image Courtesy of Terror Vision
One of Lynne's early roles, Hell's Highway is a
shoestring budget indie horror film with a lot of heart. A group of
friends are travelling on a lonely stretch of highway and elect to pick up a
beautiful hitchhiker. As the woman reveals her true, depraved intentions,
the friends are thrown into a violent bid for survival.
While the budget shows in every possible category, there is an underground,
guerilla filmmaking charm that puts this one over. Lynne has the film's
single sex scene, but it is her performance within the car (where most of the
action takes place) that signals not only her commitment to her roles, but also
her sensuality and comfortableness with risqué content.
Image Courtesy of American Independent Productions
Easily Lynne's greatest performance, Haunting Desires
is a vampire neo-noir veneer that covers a softcore Cinemax center. Lynne
stars as a reporter who is investigating a bizarre series of deaths. This
ultimately leads her, and her detective partner to Underworld, a nightclub that
is dominated by vampires.
While the script, effects, and acting are absolutely ridiculous, there is a
certain 90's charm that is unavoidable. Lynne is fun as the lead and her
plethora of scenes are steamy, dipping into BDSM-lite territory. Jay
Richardson (Victim of Desire) supports as Lynne's detective wingman,
bringing his usual charm and wit to the proceedings. Evan Stone is
the weak link as Adrian, the vampire master, but even his Hot Topic antics fit
perfectly in Fred Olen Ray's undead cat house.
Image courtesy of American Independent Productions
While not technically a "thriller", Fred Olen Ray's Bikini Chain
Gang is one of Lynne's most infamous films. Lynne, Richardson, and
Stone return, but this time Ray added in professional pornstars such as Nicole
Sheridan and Brooke Banner. Lynne stars as Jessie, a cocktail waitress who is
wrongly convicted and sent to a women's prison, which is run by a sadistic
warden (Richardson) and his right-hand guard (Sheridan).
What follows is one of the last softcore features of the 21st
century. As adult oriented cinema continued to evaporate and the erotic
thriller was overtaken by the availability of internet pornography, Ray's women
in prison parody remains a symbol of a forgotten era. While its script is
nonexistent and the cast lacks cohesion, these deficits are overcome with
borderline hardcore sequences, so much so that finding a copy of the film
proves difficult. Lynne continues to be a carefree and dominant force,
qualities that would continue when Lynne and her husband started their own
production company several years later.
--Kyle Jonathan