The Chameleon (1989) / Chameleons (1992)

In a lot of ways, John Leslie could be considered the Jess Franco of hardcore. Although Franco was no stranger to adult films, having dabbled in it himself numerous times, that's not what makes the two auteurs similar. Both were exhaustively prolific directors, often churning out multiple films in one year and like so many filmmakers of the auteurist type, both utilized their regular troupe of actors, crew members and score composers. Most importantly though, what really draws Leslie and Franco together is the way both kept returning to the same type of material, always putting a fresh spin on it with “parallel” films. Franco was particularly adept at making films with storylines that were nearly incidental to films he'd made prior without the new films being sequels. Leslie was very much the same way with many films from his 1988 to 1995 hot streak exploring many of the same ideas such as the loose trilogy of Mad Love (1989), Laying the Ghost (1991) and Fresh Meat: A Ghost Story (1995) all putting an XXX twist on new homeowners encountering supernatural entities whereas the The Catwoman (1988) and Curse of the Catwoman (1991) center on women discovering their inner feline, metaphorically and literally. Two of Leslie's most bizarrely plotted films, The Chameleon and its companion film Chameleons follow in the same mold, with the later being one of Leslie's finest works all around.

One of Leslie's most outlandish concepts, at the heart of The Chameleon is the love between Diana (Tori Welles) and Marc (Tom Byron), a couple who's relationship has become strained due to Diana's ability to inexplicably morph into the body of anyone she desires, affording her the luxury of endless sexual partners, much to the chagrin of Marc. Like so many of Leslie's features from this period, the one word that best describes The Chameleon is “clever”. For starters, the main concept is ingenious for an adult film in that it gives way to featuring several different performers in various sex scenes while continuing to tell a story. What's more though, the idea of being a “chameleon” gives way to many a metaphor which Leslie ponders on quite a bit. While it's made very clear early on that Dianna does have to ability to literally shape-shift into other people, her desire to become someone else is much more than just out of a purely sexual need as despite the confidence Welles radiates throughout the film, Diana is also filled with self-doubt and loathing and Leslie even peppers the film with scenes of Dianna speaking to a therapist. Leslie is also heavily invested in the dynamics of Dianna and Marc's relationship and it's sure to surprise many just how invested the film is in presenting their relationship, the terrific performances from Welles and Byron easily selling that aspect of the film with everything building to a mind-warping surprise at the end of the film.

Leslie would return to the world of chameleons in 1992 with Chameleons (awkwardly subtitled “Not the Sequel”), this time focusing on a chameleon couple, Claudine (Deidre Holland) and Reynaldo (Rocco Siffredi) who's life is turned upside down after an encounter between Claudine and Casey (Ashlyn Gere) at a swingers club which leads Casey to crave the chameleon experience no matter the cost. A crown jewel in Leslie's filmography, Chameleons greatly expands upon the chameleon mythology established in the earlier film, adding the caveat of the life being drained out of the person who's identity is being assumed. A much more intimate and insular film than the original Chameleon, dealing with a handful of central characters taking place in limited settings, there is a strange claustrophobic and almost sickly atmosphere to the film with the already berserk plot featuring almost zero skepticism from any of the characters regarding their situations, but also with Leslie giving no clear indication as to who is supposed to be a “good” or “bad” character. Most of the characters are presented as looking out for only themselves, with the second half of the film becoming a series of head games between Gere and Holland with both constantly switching the roles of potential villain. The cleverness of the first film is multiplied tenfold with the storyline taking some wonderfully sly directions, a benefit of the small cast, and just like the first Chameleon, the film builds to a brilliantly bewildering final twist that trumps the finale of the original film.

Both films feature typically excellent scores from Bill Heid, Leslie's right hand man for music during this period, the soundtrack for the first Chameleon being one of Heid's very best for Leslie done in Heid's signature jazz style with a touch of lounge. Chameleons was the third collaboration between Leslie and Ashlyn Gere who had previously appeared in Leslie's excellent The Tease (1990) and later in Bad (1992). Excellent as the entire cast of Chameleons is, with Siffredi and Holland doing some of their finest work, all ultimately end up in the shadow of the force of nature that is Gere who owns the entire film with her forceful performance and imposing presence. It's also interesting to see Siffredi in a role that required quite a bit of sensitivity considering some of the things he would become known for later in his career. Siffredi was also becoming a Leslie regular around this time having already appeared in Curse of the Catwoman (1991) and would feature again in Leslie's fourth wall breaking The Rehearsal (1993). Chameleons is also notable for having been one of three Leslie features lensed on 35mm film which was becoming more of a rarity for adult films during this era, though it's a distinction the film deserves as it along with the first Chameleon feature, like so many of Leslie titles, represent adult filmmaking at its most original and unique.

Mad Love (1989) / Laying the Ghost (1991)

Whether or not certain fans of each medium would like to admit it, horror and adult films do share a certain kinship. Despite the massive popularity of both genres, both are still maligned and ghettoized by many in the more mainstream sectors of the entertainment industry, horror even sometimes dismissed as mere pornography by the more imbecilicly inclined (which of course leads to idiotic terms like “torture porn” and “gorno”) and both have many conventions dedicated solely to each respective genre attended by millions of loyal fans worldwide. The two are often paired together for the purposes of parody but when both genres cross-pollinate in a more serious manner the results can be masterful with the right people involved. Films like Though the Looking Glass (1976) and Stephen Sayadian's Nightdreams (1981) are prime examples of hybrids from the golden age or “porno chic” era and on the more European side of things Jess Franco's hardcore take on his Female Vampire (1973) scenario Doriana Gray (1976) and Jean Rollin's Phantasmes (1975) took the adult film into more fantastique directions. After turning his attention to directing in the late 80's, John Leslie quickly solidified himself as a genre specialist and would constantly fuse hardcore with more oddball, oftentimes horror based material which he did for the first time with Mad Love and again with Laying the Ghost, two very strange forays into the pornographic paranormal.

Taking a fairly typical haunted house set-up, 1989's Mad Love quickly reveals itself to be far from typical after married couple Jeff and Elizabeth Reynolds move into a large San Francisco mansion to house sit while the mysterious elderly owner is away. Their first night in the house, Elizabeth is awoken and startled by two copulating strangers, though she dismisses it as a dream, however the next day she realizes it was no dream as she finds herself visited all though the house by it's long departed past guests determined to initiate her into their postmortem ceremonies. Again, not exactly a typical haunted house affair and Leslie does a few clever things to toss even more curve balls along the way, particularity the way in which the opening scene, which at the outset seems to have nothing to do with anything, eventually comes full circle making the film seem as if the story is taking place in some sort of cursed time loop. The way Leslie reintroduces the owner of the house late in the film is brilliant as well making the narrative all the more elliptical. The film was Leslie's first real chance to show off his unorthodox approach to hardcore, firstly with the look of the house itself which is full of odd decorations but working within the realm of a ghost story allowed Leslie to play around with dream logic, the final third of the film having the excellent lead actress Kendal Marx tossed into a web of sexual delirium.

Similarly plotted is 1991's Laying the Ghost which once again focuses on new inhabitants of a house, Stanley (Joey Silvera) and Kate along with Kate's sister Mandy (Savannah) who have their bedrooms visited by two ghostly figures (Peter North and T.T. Boy) on their first night in their new home. Determined to put an end to their visits, they enlist the services of paranormal expert Dr. Laura Rhodes and her assistant Andrew who inform them that their visitors are the spirits of Captain Johnathan Parker and his brother, two pirates who died in a shipwreck near the house hundreds of years ago who return to the site of their deaths in search of their true loves. An exceptionally strange film even by the standards Leslie set for himself, Laying the Ghost is Leslie at his most eccentric. Whereas Mad Love was played entirely straight, Leslie's approach with Laying the Ghost is one of frivolity which renders the film even more bizarre than Mad Love. In a lot of ways, Leslie treats the film like sitcom, even going so far as to adding canned audience laughter whenever North and Boy appear on screen. Silvera has a habit of shouting his dialogue at the top of his lungs throughout the entire film and Tom Byron, in the role of Dr. Rhodes assistant Andrew, sports a hilariously exaggerated surfer accent. Despite all the absurdity on display, Leslie once again manages to tie everything together nicely and even has Bryon and Savanna develop a rather endearing romance.

While Mad Love, like most of Leslie's films from this period, was scored by Leslie's go-to collaborator Bill Heid, Laying the Ghost differs in that it was scored by Double Vision, who's name should be familiar to fans of this type of film as they worked with the previously mentioned Stephen Sayadian, AKA Rinse Dream the same year providing memorable scores for Nightdreams 2 and 3 (1991) and Party Doll a Go-Go! (1991), the later being their finest work. The score for Laying the Ghost might not be on the same level as their work with Sayadian, but it's nevertheless interesting to see Leslie working with someone other than Heid around this time. 1991 was also the same year Savannah worked with Gregory Dark, another outside the box trailblazer in the adult realm appearing in New Wave Hookers 2. She only worked with Leslie one more time in Angels (1992), Leslie's twist on an It's a Wonderful Life (1946) type of story. Of course, her tragic suicide at the age of 24 is well documented. Leslie would return to the super natural once again years later with perhaps his most avant-garde work, Fresh Meat: A Ghost Story (1995), even bringing back the canned laughter and new house set-up, making a perfect triple bill with Mad Love and Laying the Ghost, the two earlier films showcasing Leslie's penchant for well crafted and increasingly peculiar narratives.