The sex sirens are back for another season on DVD and just as entertaining as their first series on Cinemax. This season of Femme Fatales features the same stylish nudity and sex, but with some new faces. Still providing those intriguing twisted stories, the adult show is well acted and filmed for home viewing.
Created by Mark A. Altman (Producer: D.O.A: Dead or Alive) and Steven Kriozere (Producer: Necessary Roughness, Castle, NCIS) Femme Fatales is a bold move for Cinemax, but fans have demanded another season. Now on DVD comes season two of the sexually charged pulp fiction series. The popularity green lighted this second season and the stories are just as wicked. Each of the episodes is once again introduced by the beautiful Taint Phoenix (Death Race 2&3) who gives her best impersonation of Rod Serling of television’s Twilight Zone.
The weekly series that aired on Cinemax’s After Dark has a lot of punch when it comes to presentation and storyline. The female actors all have attractive bodies and the males are mostly girl magnets. Each of the twelve episodes in season two has a creative story that ties in with the program’s meaning of Femme Fatales: “An irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; Siren”.
I like the way the writers get you hooked to the story within a few minutes and then interject some timely twists to keep the tale interesting. For the guys there’s at least one nude sexual escapade in each episode to draw additional interest and it’s stylishly acted.
The Twelve Episodes are:
DISC 1
1) Family Business: Police Detective (Eric Roberts) calls on an old friend to spy on a mob boss to get evidence on her to take her down. The film also features Ashley Hamelton (Iron Man 3) and Nikki Griffin (The Dukes of Hazzard).
2) Trophy Wife: A cheating husband and his girlfriend find themselves digging their grave when the wife hires a private eye. Stars include Leilani Sarelle (Basic Instinct) and Chris Mulkey (Twin Peaks- TV).
3) Gun Twisted: A novice gun user shows up at a gun range and elicits help in shooing her gun from a patron who solicits her to help him rob a bank. The episode features Antonio Sabato Jr. (The Bold and the Beautiful- TV)
4) Killer Instinct: A secret agent finds herself being a captive and interrogated by a henchman. The episode stars Vedette Lim (True Blood- TV) and Mirtha Michelle (Fast & Furious).
5) 16 Minutes of Fame: A reality show turns deadly when one of the guests goes on a killing spree. Stars include the lovely Scheana Marie (Vanderpump Rules- TV)
6) Bad Science: This cool sci-fi thriller finds a young woman being teleported to a parallel universe where she meets her double. Her double, however is not happy to meet her. The chapter stars Robert Picardo (Star Trek) and the beautiful Hollie Stenson.
DISC 2
7) Extracurricular Activities: This teacher will do anything to keep his University Dean wife from finding out that he has been having an affair, even murder. The episode stars Viviva A. Fox (Kill Bill)..
8) Jail Break: Two prisoners in a women’s penitentiary woo a guard into helping them escape, but things get twisted in the process. Stars include Charlie Webber from TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
9) Crazy Mary: When her husband turns up dead, Mary gets thrown into a psych ward. When she tries to tell them it was the work of a serial killer, things turn deadly. The episode features Steve Railsback (The Box) and Paul Steve Rae (True Grit).
10) One Man’s Death: A politician’s wife and his mistress team up to get to the bottom of her husband’s death. Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) and the gorgeous Jes Macallan (Mistresses- TV) star.
11) Hell Hath No Furies: This wild and wacky episode finds a bevy of lovely assassins hell bent on doing the bidding of crime lord El Jefe. There is a special apprearance by Ellie Cornell
12) Libra: This way out superhero is out to avenge the death of her mother. It stars Jeff Fahey (Under the Dome- TV) and Betsy Rue (Halloween II). There is a longer version of this in the special features.
While the storylines are the reason to bring home the DVD, there are some bonus features that may be of interest to those who are always looking for the technical aspects of a production. The first two discs are the episodes and the third disc contains all extras.
Bonus Features:
- “Audio Commentary by the Stars and Creators” Every episode is covered with commentary about how scenes were handled and some witticism.
- “Libra the International Version with Audio Commentary” The last episode of season two gets personal treatment and a few minutes longer.
- “It s Not Personal, It s Just Business : The Making of Family Business” While they don’t have a full ‘making of’ Femme Fatales featurette, this along with another feature shows how they put it all together.
- “Libra Rising: The Making of Libra”
- “Defining Femme Fatales” The stars and some of the directors talk about what the title means
- “Lilith: Daughter of Darkness Featurette”- Tanit Phoenix talks about her role and being the narrator of each of the episodes
- “Second Season Red Carpet Premiere”
- 2012 San Diego Comic-Con Panel” Both creators Mark A. Altman and Steven Kriozere are with a panel of the stars from the film with a Q&A at Comic Con
- “Deleted Scenes”
- “Hell Has No Furries” The 70’s treatment on an intro for the segment.
- And Much More
The picture quality of the DVD season is extremely good and since it was taken from Cinemax it fills my whole 16×9 television screen. There is no picture distortion and very little grain in the scenes shot in low light. Even the special bonus features played well on the HD television.
The sound using the 5.1 Dolby Digital from the disc is very clear and clean. Sound effects are heard from both sides of the screen and no distortion was heard during the dialogue.
The series is unrated but contains full nudity, explicit sexuality, language, violence and drug use.
Specifications and additional film information:
- Cast: Tanit Phoenix, Catherine Annett, Madison Dylan, Sandra McCoy, Vivica A. Fox, Steve Railsback, Casper Van Dien, Nikki Griffin
- Created by: Mark A. Altman and Steven Kriozere
- MPAA Rating: Unrated
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Mature
- Running Time: 392 min
- Video Release Date: July 16, 2013
- Original Cinemax Release Date: May 25, 2012 to August 10, 2012
- Language: English
- Format: DVD
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Video: 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio, 16:9 Televisons
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Number of Discs: 3 Discs, 12 Episodes
- Distributed by: Entertainment One
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
