Sextrap

The Iron Curtain very much a thing of the past at the dawn of the new millennium, most major adult companies both gay and straight have started up subsidiary European lines in those formerly underprivileged countries. Bel Ami's George Duroy set the standard with their flawless models – Lukas Ridgeston and Johan Paulik achieving legitimate superstar status – and top notch production values. Studio 2000, one of the more interesting porn purveyors in the gay geography, acquired the services of Czech filmmaker Jan Novak as their local liaison, teaming him up with veteran director John Travis of POWERTOOL fame ('nuff said ?) to instigate their own brand of Eastern Bloc erotica. Though nowhere near as glossy as Bel Ami's stuff, SEXTRAP proves competently crafted with crisp 'n' clear photography making the most of its unglamorous location and an unobtrusive soundtrack by Rock Hard that seems mostly recycled from previous scores.

Delectable Daniel Koukal (who dropped from view after Novak's subsequent SEX, TRICKS AND ROLLERBLADES) has been kicked out of the house for being gay and now suffers the misfortune of having his car break down in the middle of nowhere. A sympathetic stranger tows him to the nearest garage populated by, oh joy, the type of pretty boy mechanics one only encounters in gay skin flicks. While Koukal is seduced in the back room by Josef Sladek (the single performer here to turn into something of a Studio 2000 regular, appearing in Travis' PAYLOAD among others), four frisky grease monkeys have the movie's first – and, unfortunately, weakest – sex scene. Somewhat appropriately, the action's more mechanical than spontaneous.

Best of show is up next. Seemingly nerdy Ondrej Mika is miffed at Sladek's snatching of Koukal before anyone else got a chance and drops to his knees in frustration before the magnificent meat of fresh out of the shower Marek Gloss. The chemistry is palpable as these two work each other over, skipping not a single orifice or protrusion. Oops, looks like it's time to hit the shower again ! Koukal brings up the rear, so to speak, in a terrific teaming with mischievously grinning Milos Jirik, leading to some of the most heartfelt 69 action I have witnessed in quite a while. Most viewers will be pining for brunette tease Filip Kral however, who just peeks and solos, albeit twice. Darn !

Escaping the cookie cutter trap that Bel Ami has set for itself, SEXTRAP proves that a greater variety of rough around the edges models provides more interest than their airbrushed, groomed to within an inch of their lives brethren. Personally, I wouldn't have minded taking a break from the sleaze that the garage setting inevitably carries with it but there are an awful lot of guys out there who buy into this fantasy, rendering my quibbles pointless. With just four long sex sequences to its name (at least two of which are absolute keepers), SEXTRAP still manages to hold viewer attention with hunky guys, generally good chemistry and acceptable heat levels. Hard-up homos – definitely been there, done that, got the t-shirt – could do a hell of a lot worse.