Night Rhythms (1992)

Overused as the phrase “this could never get made today” is, that certainly seems to be the case with the erotic thriller. Controversial as a film like Basic Instinct (1992) was upon its original release, given the stranglehold woke cultists have on modern Hollywood and the sociopolitical climate in general, the wave of sexually provocative and confrontational films that defined a good chunk of the 90's would be damn near impossible to greenlight. Time works in funny ways however, and well over 20 years later many have started to look back at erotic thrillers in a different way. Films that were once lazily dismissed as sexist are now starting to be celebrated for their portrayals of uninhibited female sexuality and agency. The direct-to-video erotic thrillers, even more lurid than their studio counterparts, were also even more female driven. Ironic as it might seem that the director of some of the most infamous hardcore adult films would also be responsible for the most female-centric softcore erotic thrillers, but that's exactly the case with Gregory Dark's softcore films. Dark's films like Carnal Crimes (1991), Secret Games (1992), Mirror Images (1992) and it's 1993 sequel and Animal Instincts (1992) are all driven by female-centric narratives. Sticking out in the crowd a bit is Night Rhythms, a rare Dark detour into a male-centric narrative and a film that finds Dark really playing around in a genre sandbox.

Nick West (Martin Hewitt), the host of a popular late night radio call-in show catering to the needs of lonely and unfulfilled women comes to in his studio next to the dead body of Honey, a fan whom Nick unknowingly had sex with live on-air after being knocked unconscious. Although innocent of the crime, Nick has no memory of the events prior to being knocked out and is forced to go on the run into hiding. With the help of longtime friend and ex-stripper Cinnamon, Nick attempts to clear his name and discover Honey's real killer, getting on the bad side of Vincent (David Carradine), a ruthless gangster and owner of Cinnamon's former place of employment in the process.

“Yeah, there's a lot of Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler in these shows” said Dark in regards to the hard-boiled crime fiction influence in the erotic thriller while speaking to Psychotronic Video in 1997. Indeed, a criminal element is an essential ingredient to any erotic thriller, with the other genre erotic thrillers are commonly lumped in with being neo-noir, and Night Rhythms is one of Dark's most explicitly nor-influenced films. Along with being a male-driven narrative, Night Rhythms also differs from Dark's other erotic thrillers by taking the story out of the cushy LA suburbs and into the heart of the city. The Hitchcock influence is also obvious, the man in over his head trying to clear his name being a favorite Hitchcock starting point, but the influence of giallo, a genre the erotic thriller owes a lot to, is quite strong in the plot of Night Rhythms. While the Italian influence may be more obvious in studio films like Basic Instinct and Jade (1995), a radio host going on the lam and playing detective in attempt to solve the murder he's being framed for could be the plot of an early Dario Argento film. One curious quality the film does share with Dark's other erotic thrillers is despite the lack of a domestic angle, Dark still works in some cynical commentary on relationships and the dating world and the film has become even more enjoyable overtime with some of the swerves sure to make the heads of the professionally offended spin.

Night Rhythms was the third of Dark's erotic thrillers to feature Martin Hewitt in the lead who has previously played the antagonists in Carnal Crimes and Secret Games. Although long retired from acting, Hewitt has become synonymous with 80's and 90's softcore and melodrama having starred in Endless Love (1981) and Two Moon Junction (1988) alongside Sherlyn Fenn in the later, directed by Zalman King, a softcore pioneer and the mind behind Red Shoe Diaries (1992) and the series that followed. Also crucial to the film is Delia Sheppard in her third role for Dark as Bridget, West's assistant at the radio station. Sheppard was also somewhat of a muse for Dark at the time, even playing a duel leading role in Mirror Images. Like Hewitt, Sheppard's name is forever linked with late night softcore, even playing the titular temptress in the second entry in the infamous Witchcraft erotic horror series prior to her series of films with Dark. Night Rhythms, if it wasn't obvious, is worlds removed from Witchcraft and one of Sheppard's finest showings. The same could be said for the film as a whole for Dark. While none Dark's series namesake films follow any sort of storyline continuity, being a standalone title, Night Rhythms does have a slightly different feel and despite Dark's flipping of the script with a male protagonist, the film is a key piece of 90's erotica.