Color, 1976, 91 mins. 35 secs.
Directed by Jonas Middleton
Starring Catherine Erhardt, Jamie Gillis, Douglas Wood, Laura Nicholson, Terri Hall, Roger Caine, Kristen Steen, Kim Pope
Mélusine (UHD & Blu-ray) (US R0 4K/HD) / WS (1.85:1) (16:9), VCX (DVD) (US R0 NTSC)


Perhaps the best example Through the Looking Glassof the intersection of horror and adult films as well as of the most successful attempts to Through the Looking Glasscreate 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 Through the Looking Glassfantasies which separate her even further from reality. After learning the backstory Through the Looking Glassbehind 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.

Carefully filmed and paced, Through the Looking Glass was released in both hard and soft versions; fortunately the visuals and story are strong enough to support it either way. More surreal than arousing, the hardcore material simply adds to the disquieting quality of Catherine's experiences, particularly a memorable sequence during a violent thunderstorm. If anything, this would make a great double feature with Jess Franco's A Virgin among the Living Dead for af variety of reasons. Apart from Gillis and a turn by porn vet Kim Pope, the film includes a few other familiar faces including Roger Caine a.k.a. Al Levitsky (the guy who gets twigged in George Romero's Martin) as the family chauffeur and the ubiquitous Teri Hall as (what else?) a frisky maid. While '70s porn had flirted with the use of horror conventions before (most notably in The Devil in Miss Jones), this is the rare film that really triumphs in both areas. Unfortunately director and onetime actor Middleton departed adult films Through the Looking Glassafter a brief three-film career (and went on to be involved Through the Looking Glassin Just Before Dawn); after this delirious achievement, where else could you go?

The softcore VHS release of this film was fairly easy to come across in the late '80s and early '90s, and it retained a surprising amount of extreme material including some kinky behavior in the finale. If ever a film of this genre and vintage demanded a sparkling new digital transfer, this would be it. Unfortunately VCX's DVD from 2002 recycled what appears to be the same drab one-inch master sourced for the long discontinued VHS edition; black levels are especially weak and detail is soft, to be generous. Colors are generally acceptable and accurate, but that's about it. Compression artifacts are abundant, particularly the orange-lit finale which still made it through uncensored despite a crackdown at the time on the edgier material seen there.

Not surprisingly, word of mouth continued to spread about the film even outside of adult film enthusiasts, helped along by events like a 2013 35mm screening at Anthology Film Archives in New York. Eventually a much-needed 4K restoration was undertaken of the film from its original camera negative by Distribpix, which finally bowed in a 2024 4K UHD and Blu-ray release from Mélusine that was absolutely worth the wait. Through the Looking GlassNow properly framed at 1.85:1, it's such a dramatic improvement in every possible way that this feels like watching it Through the Looking Glassfor 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.

The Rialto Report
's Ashley West makes several contributions here including a thorough essay in the insert booklet about Middleton and two audio tracks: the Rialto Report podcast interview in which West finally tracked down Middleton for an extensive life-spanning conversation, and a new audio commentary between the pair covering the director's strong religious upbringing in Georgia and grooming to take over his dad's textile business, his rationale for getting into adult films, the funding of his three features by New York church members, the casting and location scouting process, and tons more. It's all fascinating and very welcome to have here for posterity. Through the Looking GlassAlso 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 Through the Looking Glassget 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

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VCX DVD

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Updated review on October 24, 2024.