We reviewed writer/director Jayden Creighton’s human trafficking short Trespassers back in 2019. While plans to turn it into a feature seem to have fallen through he’s back with another short thriller, Kinks.

Rose (Rachael Winter Baskerville) works as an escort apparently to help pay for some kind of expensive medicine for the person we hear her talking to at the film’s start. She’s hired herself out to an extremely wealthy couple Katherine (Kate Logan, Jiva) and her sub Mr. X (Sam Sidhu, Occupation: Rainfall). But when their demands push her past her limits she finds out just how dark their kinks are.

Kinks is a beautifully shot and acted film that left me a bit conflicted. The cinematography and lighting are both excellent. The use of coloured filters enhancing the film’s effect and making a nice contrast to the dingy warehouse setting.

It’s also a very effective thriller with an overlay of Hostel style torture porn. The scenes with Rose bound and subject to Mr. X’s attentions while Katherine watches, dragging on a cigarette and obviously aroused are quite chilling. Once she gets free there’s genuine suspense as to whether on not she’ll escape, or even survive.

However, I did have a couple of problems with the film. The first one is I suppose more of a pet peeve. Every time I see anyone involved in the BDSM lifestyle in a film or TV show they’re portrayed as a dangerous, if not homicidal, sadist. It’s a stereotype that needs to be put on the shelf

My other complaint is the same one I had with the anthology The Red Nightmare. Trying to make horror that won’t violate YouTube’s standards isn’t easy even with relatively safe subject matter. Kinks tries to cover much nastier subject matter and ends up feeling somewhat neutered. It’s like watching the edited TV version of a film. Kinks is a good enough film that it’s still worth watching, but it feels like it’s missing something.

Kinks is available to watch on Duckpond Production’s YouTube Channel. You can check their Facebook page for more information.