Sanatorium is a thriller/suspense adult erotic film. Starring many of the industry's prominent headliners, with cameos by many other well known stars, Sanatorium is an interesting, dramatic film that happens to have sex in it.

Before I go on, I must admit to being a bit reluctant to see this kind of a film; it was marketed as a psycho-thriller, and I'm not usually one to see scary movies.

The basic plot of the film shows a lapsed pornstar having a discussion with a philandering politician. The politician has, at the beginning of the film, has just come from a press conference in which he condemned the porn industry; Tabitha, the film's protagonist, describes her internal revolution, and how she came to accept herself and her sexual freedom.

We are shown her struggle to get out of the porn industry while she is still obligated to make five more films, and has to deal with the entrapment of that contract.

She discusses, in this narrative, the hypocrisy and twisted double-standards that she and other industry-members have dealt with while being involved in the adult industry. It is earmarked by an interesting message, though, as Tabitha states, "We're all brainwashed to feel guilty, the moment you know you've been brainwashed, you're free..."


The film itself was interesting to watch; I intended only to watch a few scenes at a time but found myself captivated by the plot and watched it straight through, the first time I watched it. I did find that I was a little confused about what was going on with the main antagonist and the main protagonist's descent. I wish that there had been a little more description about what was going on in those scenes, because I had some difficulty following it through.

Sanatorium itself has a wide array of sex scenes, including female/female, multiple couples, vaginal and anal sex, and interracial sex. Beyond that, there is a lot of airtime of sandy nude women. I found that the cinematography itself was excellent, but the porn scenes themselves were nothing spectacular. There were a few cheesy lines, but nothing that made me groan and turn it off.


However, barring a few scenes, this film is accessible to most audiences and isn't off-putting for those of us who are reluctant to view darker films.

There is a brief (about ten seconds) scene of a woman shown in a suicide suspension pose. Although there is no blood visible in this scene, the character is lifted off the ground into the air by hooks pierced through her flesh.

There are several scenes of a woman in a straight jacket with a mouth spreader bar in and a hooded mask on; she has obviously been institutionalized and is disturbed by the prospect.

A third scene shows a woman who has been shot to death and there is a great deal of blood on the walls behind her; this is a short scene, however, and is more to focus on the protagonist's response to such action. In the same scene, we are shown a depiction of the protagonist being injured, and she is shown bleeding for a few seconds.

I definitely think this film has its place, audiences seeking a darker, more suspenseful movie will enjoy this greatly; though it may not be enjoyable for all audiences. While this is a film I wouldn't ordinarily chose, it was an interesting new experience.