In one of her last roles for Wicked, and possibly adult, lovely Alexa plays a haunted mental patient in need of counseling from an even crazier Joel Lawrence. This is dark, sobering stuff kids. While award-winning director Jonathan Morgan's (Double Feature!) latest is infused with Wicked's typical handsome production values, most of its six sex scenes are in general nothing special, though sufficient for the couples for whom The Gate is intended. A few scenes, however, are hot enough even for some single strokers. They be anal queen Bridgette Kerkove's rectal reaming by Herschel Savage (pre-nom it for Best Couples Sex Scene - Video; pre-nom Kerkove herself for Best Supporting Actress - Video for her turn as a cynical rich bitch marking time in the loony bin) and a sizzling, trash-talking Kaylynn (who just naturally radiates dick-stiffening nastiness)/Joel Lawrence gooey oral/anal/facial coupling. As for the plot, it centers on Alexa's detention in the above-mentioned mental ward for killing her husband and the climactic revelation that those maddening voices in her head are really…. O.K., O.K., relax, we won't give it away. Yes, porn has a long, proud tradition of flirting with the Dark Side. And sorry, but Lawrence's manic, constantly twitching performance is annoying as hell (he makes Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now look positively placid by comparison). Only slightly less annoying is the performance given by Alexa, who essentially throws violent, ear splitting, psychotic fits every other second. Other pluses, however, are the jarringly creepy open credits (Morgan has obviously seen Seven) and the gorgeous metallic box cover, which deserves a pre-nom for Best Box Cover Concept.
