Prolific pornographer Marc Cushman (signing as Ca$h Markman, as usual) goes into Rod Serling territory with Penthouse's "Picturesque", vaguely in "Night Gallery" mode. I recall seeing a movie with virtually the same premise made by Cushman a couple of years earlier titled "Picture Perfect", starring Randy Spears, that corresponds more closely to the misleading IMDb listed synopsis for "Picturesque". Apparently recycling (with slight alterations) previously used scripts helped Marc accumulate over 1000 writing credits, his sole and dubious claim to fame.
Evan Stone is the poor little rich boy obsessed with his collection of black & white framed photos of his female conquests. His lawyer played by Cushman regular Frank Bukkwyd narrates the story in smarmy fashion, pretty much killing off the potential for suspense and horror that it endemic to the material. It is immediately indicated that Evan uses a special camera that captures the subject's soul forever, causing the person to disappear in flesh & blood form.
Bukkwyd is his enabler, procuring beauties for him to hump and photograph. Flashback structure fits Penthouse's vignette format, with a key flashback showing Frank obtaining the magic camera from Mikayla, whose fetish gear and eyes turning red (via film's meager SPFX) imply a demonic substance to the fantasy story.
Various plot twists near the end and attempted to create irony are poorly handled by Cushman, whose dialog is lame as usual (e.g., a declaration by Frank that: "Nothing says truth like a gun, my dearest'). The overwhelming misogyny of the screenplay is countered by labored attempts at relevance, as in a cynical remark late in the game by Frank on who our legal system (and everything else) is rigged in favor of the rich. With scripts like this one, actually better than his usual drivel, it becomes clear why Cushman toiled away on thousand or more porn videos never to achieve (or attempt?) mainstream acceptance, where the bar to entry is set considerably higher.
Kendall Brooks is breast in show as one of two blondes that have the requisite Penthouse lesbian scene, pawing away at pristine Marlie Moore. Mikayla briefly brings some star power to the proceedings, while a subplot involving Frank's cheating wife Brooke Banner results in an idiotic scene right out of the dreaded cuckold genre.
Evan Stone is the poor little rich boy obsessed with his collection of black & white framed photos of his female conquests. His lawyer played by Cushman regular Frank Bukkwyd narrates the story in smarmy fashion, pretty much killing off the potential for suspense and horror that it endemic to the material. It is immediately indicated that Evan uses a special camera that captures the subject's soul forever, causing the person to disappear in flesh & blood form.
Bukkwyd is his enabler, procuring beauties for him to hump and photograph. Flashback structure fits Penthouse's vignette format, with a key flashback showing Frank obtaining the magic camera from Mikayla, whose fetish gear and eyes turning red (via film's meager SPFX) imply a demonic substance to the fantasy story.
Various plot twists near the end and attempted to create irony are poorly handled by Cushman, whose dialog is lame as usual (e.g., a declaration by Frank that: "Nothing says truth like a gun, my dearest'). The overwhelming misogyny of the screenplay is countered by labored attempts at relevance, as in a cynical remark late in the game by Frank on who our legal system (and everything else) is rigged in favor of the rich. With scripts like this one, actually better than his usual drivel, it becomes clear why Cushman toiled away on thousand or more porn videos never to achieve (or attempt?) mainstream acceptance, where the bar to entry is set considerably higher.
Kendall Brooks is breast in show as one of two blondes that have the requisite Penthouse lesbian scene, pawing away at pristine Marlie Moore. Mikayla briefly brings some star power to the proceedings, while a subplot involving Frank's cheating wife Brooke Banner results in an idiotic scene right out of the dreaded cuckold genre.