Nerdly » ‘Graphic Desires’ DVD Review

01st Dec2022

‘Graphic Desires’ DVD Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: David Wayman, Sian Altman, May Kelly, Ocean M Harris, Jack Edwards, Valis Volkova, Caidney Simone, Eva Rya, Felicia Westring, Fahad Salman, Richard Sandling, Jenny Miller, Robin Kirwan | Written and Directed by Andy Edwards

One of the earliest films featuring the name Scott Jeffrey, that we reviewed here on Nerdly, was Darker Shades of Elise, a film Jeffrey produced back in 2017 and a film that didn’t really reflect where the rest of the actor turned director/producer’s oeuvre would head. But now Proportion Productions are back, only this time not with a low-budget monster movie, terrifying slasher film or brilliant metaphorical horror. No, with Graphic Desires the company bring us back to another time, the 90s post-Basic Instinct, with another erotic thriller.

Graphic Desires tells the story of the reclusive Franklin (David Wayman), a designer who works from home doing freelance work, who cheats on his partner with a mysterious girl he meets on a new dating app called Smasher. However, this relationship becomes the start of a deadly obsession.

First off, Graphic Desires is a great title, reflecting both the profession of Franklin AND the graphic acts that he has planned for his latest obsession, Atlanta (May Kelly), the woman he meets on Smasher. After all, when his best friend Brandon describes the app as ‘sex on tap’ you know Franklin isn’t looking for a new long-term partner! Although given he already lives with his girlfriend you know Franklin is being a very naughty boy… The title also reflects the film’s sex scenes too, which pushed the envelope of what I expected!

However wouldn’t you want to explore other women when your girlfriend is named after a yeast infection? The fact Franklin’s girlfriend is called Candida is hilarious and actually is only one sign of just how funny Graphic Desires is. But hey, when your film is written and directed by Andy Edwards, whose previous feature was 2016’s zombie comedy Ibiza Undead, that’s kind of to be expected. Of course, this is overall an erotic thriller, not a comedy, so expect plenty of both eroticism and thrills.

Like many an erotic thriller, Graphic Desires has plenty of twists and turns – including Franklin’s poorly named girlfriend Candida shagging his best friend, whilst his best friend tells Franklin to use Smasher to sleep with women behind Candida’s back! The trio of Franklin, Candida and Brandon (Ocean M Harris) are all playing ridiculous mind games with each other in a jealous “threesome” that weirdly has Candida upset even though she cheated FIRST! But that’s only the tip of the proverbial sexual iceberg… things get dark, to be somewhat expected with genre films like this, as Graphic Desires touches on the dark web and the seedier side of online dating, camming, possible sex trafficking and more.

As Graphic Desires goes on the film feels like it’s falling apart somewhat; with Candida chasing down leads on Atlanta, and Franklin obsessively stalking her but none of it is seemingly justified. Until, for the most part, the VERY end of the film, there’s no explanation as to why a quick shag makes Franklin obsessed; why Candida is so upset and determined to find Atlanta when she’s been sleeping with Brandon – going as far as snorting coke, doing sex work AND participating in a group BDSM session on her mission to find her – or why, beyond wanting to be with Candida, Brandon would ever want to get involved with EITHER of their obsessive quests and even enable them!

I was questioning whether I looking for too much. After all, this is an erotic thriller, an entire genre whose plots circle around naked people and softcore sex scenes NOT the plot – though if that’s what you’re after then Graphic Desires certainly fits the bill. But there’s more to the film’s plot than meets the eye thankfully. OK, so it’s no Jag Mundhra or Andrew Stevens production (if you know, you know), but the film’s biggest twist makes this a VERY interesting take on the erotic thriller for the digital age!