Review: King Cobra

In much the same way as Hollywood films about Hollywood spotlight bed-hopping and back-stabbing, films about the porn industry have generally narrowed their focus on the industry's inherent seaminess. Innocence is lost, downward spirals are de rigueur, and murder is almost always waiting in the wings. All these ingredients are well in place in the true crime story King Cobra, which intertwines the rise of Sean Paul Lockhart and the downfall of Bryan Kocis.

Renamed Stephen in the film, Kocis (Christian Slater) is an older and closeted man living a quiet life in the suburbs. He also happens to be the mogul of King Cobra videos, which specialise in low-budget, Barely Legal-type bareback films. His latest discovery is the fresh-faced and hard-bodied Lockhart (Garrett Clayton), whom he invites to stay at his home and appear in a series of videos that turn the throbbing teen into twink sensation Brent Corrigan. Kocis may be a Svengali, but there's also something touching about the way he uses Lockhart (and all the yummy young boys before him) as a way to recreate his own first sexual experience.

Lockhart is no angel; he cunningly manipulates his sugar daddy into getting what he wants and, when he doesn't get it, he wields cruelty as only the young can. He kisses one on-screen partner Mikey long after Kocis yells "Cut" and keeps Kocis awake by having off-the-clock sex with Mikey in Kocis' home. Kocis may be in thrall to Lockhart, but Kocis has all the power in their relationship. It's clear that Lockhart is only sleeping with him out of obligation and, when the boy asks to renegotiate their contract for more money, Kocis agrees on the sole condition that Lockhart admits that he's a better lover than Mikey. Worse than that, Kocis has cleverly trademarked Lockhart's nom de porn, preventing him from appearing in other porn movies under the name Brent Corrigan.

Enter rival porn outfit The Viper Boyz, Joe (James Franco) and Harlow (Keegan Allen), who are mirror reflections of Kocis and Lockhart. Like Kocis, Joe is in love with his star talent, whom he rescued from the trauma of an abusive childhood. Joe rents out Harlow to middle-aged clients, but gets jealous when he thinks that Harlow is more than playacting with the men. Neither Joe nor Harlow have any illusions about their mutually exploitative relationship, but they are also genuinely in love with one another.

Director Justin Kelly keeps these two couples separated for as long as possible whilst also clearly indicating that they are inevitably and fatally destined to be in one another's orbit. Joe has gotten himself into massive debt by providing Harlow with a lavish lifestyle; Lockhart is increasingly frustrated that no one will hire him. So when Joe proposes Lockhart and Harlow team up for a film and Lockhart mentions that his contract with Kocis prevents him from participating as "Brent Corrigan," it's no surprise that Joe decides to take matters into his own hands.

Darkly intriguing and often intentionally superficial, King Cobra benefits from steady pacing, gleefully recreating the basement bargain production values of King Cobra's output, a script that exposes the vulnerability beneath the much-slathered smuttiness, and the excellent performances of its four lead actors. Particularly skillful is the manner in which our perspectives on each of the characters differ from one scene to the next. It's difficult not to feel pity for Kocis when he entreats Lockhart to "Please just make me feel wanted" during sex, disgust when he lasciviously views all the boy toys that undress in front of his camera, and sympathy when he attempts to reconcile with Lockhart. Similarly, Franco makes Joe sleazy, wistful, tender, and homicidal, sometimes all in the same scene.

King Cobra

Directed by: Justin Kelly

Written by: Justin Kelly

Starring: James Franco, Christian Slater, Garrett Clayton, Keegan Allen, Molly Ringwald, Alicia Silverstone, Sean Grandillo