Bound

Director - Jared Cohn (The Horde, Buddy Hutchins)
Starring - Charisma Carpenter (Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Angel), Bryce Draper (Muck, The Haves and the Haves Not), and Daniel Baldwin (Grimm, Zero Dark Thirty)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Tagline - "No grey, only black and white"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5);

     Every few years a film adaptation comes about and causes a bit of a stir.  Recent years saw the Harry Potter book series turned into an extremely successful film franchise.  That was soon followed up by the painful Twilight Saga with some Percy Jackson scattered throughout until we hit the Hunger Games films.  Now, the erotic book series 50 Shades of Grey has mature women all worked up with the recent release of the film adaptation.  Most of you are wondering why I am talking about that film and why I am reviewing the mockbuster from the fine folks over at The Asylum.  In 2013 I attended ShockaCon and met director Jared Cohn.  Jared, along with Eugene Clark, talked to me for a bit and took a few photos.  He later befriended me on Facebook and has been supplying with news ever since.  He recently took on the mockbuster Bound that stars the beautiful Charisma Carpenter of Buffy fame.  I really wanted to see this flick and Jared, along with his producer Gabriel Campisi, was nice enough to send me a link to an online screener.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows Michelle (Carpenter) who is a very successful business woman but is struggling sexually.  Her current lover just doesn't do anything for her.  However, things change when she meets a younger man named Ryan (Draper) who begins to push her sexual boundaries.  This soon proves to be not enough and he starts invading her personal life,  First he tries to ruin an important business venture by turning on her vibrating panties.  He then forces her to fuck on her father's desk before she finally tries to call it off.  This backfires when he informs her that he has been fucking her daughter as well.  She dives deeper into the world of BDSM until she finally gets her revenge.
     When I first heard of the film I assumed it would be a a romantic flick that was extremely sexual.  However, I was surprised to discover that the film was actually a sexual thriller that really knew how to use the suspense to it's advantage.  The acting in this film is great by most of the cast.  Charisma Carpenter is just as sexy as ever and shows shes still got it.  She also does an amazing job in her role which makes the story easier to swallow.  The supporting cast is great which is something we normally don't see from an Asylum flick.  Sadly, I was not impressed with Bryce Draper's performance.  His demeanor never changes throughout the film which makes is almost impossible to like his character before the story actually turns dark.  The story for this one is an erotic drama that quickly turns into a very dark thriller.  However, the acting makes the story feel a little confusing.  The intent was for the viewer to be enthralled by the introduction of the sex-educated man but that is not the case.  The character's introduction does not do that.  Instead, the viewer immediately picks up the vibe that he is a douche only to discover that he is, in fact, a douche.  This takes the effectiveness of the story down a little. Finally, this thriller is not focused around death so we do not get any kill scenes and great special effects.  The film relies heavily on rich story and just enough suspense to draw the viewer.  Overall, Bound is a solid thriller that is has some great atmosphere and an amazing performance from Charisma Carpenter.  This film is sexy and deserves a watch.