of the intersection of horror and adult films as well as of the most successful attempts to 
create a mainstream-level production in the hardcore arena, Through the Looking Glass plays like a particularly elaborate homage to Fellini, Ken Russell, Roger Vadim, and about a dozen other European directors, all served up on a genuinely creepy platter. Our fairy tale gone bad centers around Catherine (Erhardt), a wealthy, sexually repressed woman in a sexless marriage to Richard (Douglas Wood). Her issues seem to stem from a very queasy relationship with her father (Gillis), who died six years ago and left her the sprawling family estate where her daughter, Jennifer (Nicholson), seems to be very content. Catherine begins to pass the time by sitting in front of an ornate, antique mirror, which happens to contain an apparition she believes is her father who drags her into occasional romps through a series of supernatural realms. From trysting with another woman in a room filled with silver, glittering fabric to a lavish garden party where the guests enjoy a particularly obscene centerpiece, Catherine loses herself in decadent 
fantasies which separate her even further from reality. After learning the backstory 
behind her sexually voracious guide, Catherine is finally torn all the way through the mirror for a nightmarish finale, with a little twist in the tale waiting at the end. 
after a brief three-film career (and went on to be involved 
in Just Before Dawn); after this delirious achievement, where else could you go?
Now properly framed at 1.85:1, it's such a dramatic improvement in every possible way that this feels like watching it 
for the first time. The little details in the costuming, hairstyles, and production design really jump out here, and the night scenes are finally clear and easy to see. The UHD is obviously the way to go if possible, a really intoxicating experience all around. The DTS-HD MA English 2.0 mono audio is also excellent (apart from some baked-in sibilance in some of the dialogue recording) and shows off the haunting music score by Arlon Obler (Bloody Birthday, The Incredible Melting Man) with a young Harry Manfredini way before Friday the 13th. 
Also here are the theatrical trailer, a 2m47s collection of three short scenes present only in the softcore version, an alternate unfiltered version of the hell finale so you can 
get a better look at some of the vivid costuming designs, an image gallery of the original pressbook and some great production photos (it's weird to see a giddy Erhardt smiling so much on the set), a 1-minute collection of location photos at the Woolworth Estate in Long Island, and an archival video interview with Middleton (40m7s) for The Rialto Report surveying his background and his three adult films (including Illusions of a Lady, now the hardest one to see and whose legal issues played a big part in ending Middleton's XXX period). Also here is Middleton's very first directorial feature, 1972's Cherry Blossom (64m8s), along with its trailer. Out of commission since its VHS release, this is a curio from the early days of porno chic bookended by amusing whitecoater-style narration from a college professor. Here we have the case study of young, sexually curious Cherry and her "sexually deprived" aunt Sena, both of whom embark on a carnal odyssey (including each other, of course) involving familiar faces like Caine and Marc Stevens. There isn't much of a story here as it's basically wall-to-wall sex scenes without a shred of the flair Middleton brought to the main feature here, but it's great to have for historical value in a nice new scan.Mélusine Blu-ray
VCX DVD
