Porn kills

John “Johnny Wadd” Holmes had to be one of the more messed-up individuals to ever walk the planet, and Val Kilmer does a decent job of illustrating that in this interesting film from director James Cox (ironic name for this film’s director, actually). Holmes, equipped with a 13-inch unit that made him king of the porn industry, suffered a major downfall that led to his alleged involvement in a quadruple homicide and eventual death from AIDS. This film picks up after his porn heyday, when he’s hanging around a drug den later to become famous as the location for the Wonderland Murders. While never convicted of any crime, some authority figures believe that Holmes took part in the massacre, perhaps even swinging a pipe to deliver a death blow to one of the victims. Kilmer does a nice job depicting the addicted, desperate personality that Holmes had become, and Kate Bosworth is equally good as Holmes’ underage girlfriend, Dawn. Eric Bogosian goes a little too over the top as Eric Nash, the crime lord believed to be responsible for orchestrating the Wonderland Murders. Paul Thomas Anderson sort of stole this story from Boogie Nights, a far more enjoyable film than this one. That’s OK, because a good crime drama about multiple homicides should be the stuff of nightmares, and there are times during this production that qualify as just that.

Special Features: A limited-edition version of this DVD includes a second disc dedicated to Wadd, a documentary on the late porn star that covers his life from childhood to death. It’s not the best of films. Strangely, they sometimes use clips from Holmes’ porn career to accentuate true life events, and that just feels wrong. All versions of the DVD include shocking Wonderland crime scene footage that is quite grotesque, a commentary by director Cox and deleted scenes. Lots of stuff.

Movie: B

Special Features: B+

Geek Factor: 6