Dave hits up the prolific George Saunders for the inside scoop on his late in the day erotic thriller.

“My mother provided catering and had to watch me have multiple orgasms with my leading ladies. I shall never live that down.”

The joys of low budget filmmaking.

For George Saunders, though, it was a surprise that the movies was the industry he ended up in. With a talent for ballet, Saunders attended NYU and Julliard before going on to dance with companies in San Francisco, South Africa, and Europe. Inevitably, age catches up to those with such a physically demanding career, so, by 1990, Saunders found himself switching to filmmaking despite having no prior experience.

Penning a draft of Jim Makichuk’s horror flick Blood Games (1990) was enough to give Saunders the bug – and within three years he was writing, producing, directing, and starring in his own features like Street Angels (1993), Vendetta (1996), and this, his riff on the erotic thriller trend, INTIMATE DECEPTION (1997).

“I got the money from an attorney who liked the fact that I was an actor and writer, specifically on occasion for Playboy,” recalls Saunders. “He and his partner put up $100K. Now remember, in those days, we had to shoot 16mm film which was expensive. We couldn’t fuck around like on digital. I had to find actresses comfortable with sex scenes. Lisa Boyle, who’d worked a lot with Playboy, fitted the bill. I found a gem in Nicole Gian too – beautiful, sexual, and a great actress.”

It has to be said, both of Intimate Deception‘s ladies are absolutely fantastic. Boyle, star the superb I Like to Play Games (1995), has rarely been better, and it’s impossible to discount Saunders’ praise for Gian either. The latter plays Jennifer: a woman whose marriage is on the rocks. Her husband, Charlie (Saunders), however, has been having a tough time ever since he killed a seventeen year-old intruder. Further drama arrives when two newcomers waltz into their lives: Tina (Gian) is a beautiful model who rents a room in their home, and John (Dan Frank) is a fresh face in the neighbourhood. Initially all seems well – but it soon becomes clear that Tina and John know each other and harbor a potentially sinister agenda…

Although built from a comprehensive checklist of softcore tropes, what makes Intimate Deception stand out is Saunders’ ability to add depth to his characters and lace his dialogue with a stirring musicality. He’s savvy to the nature of the beast too and imbues exchanges with a sharp metatextual edge (“No! You’re not the femme fatale who falls for the sensitive artist!”). While reminiscent of Martin Hewitt’s photographer in Gregory Dark’s Carnal Crimes (1990), Saunders’ Charlie is especially well written – as are the circles he moves in, such as when he’s visited by a deliriously camp art critic who’s more concerned with boosting his own ego: “My latest work is a tribute to Lorena Bobbitt, using Moby Dick as the motif.”

Considering that the movie was made in barely a week and a half on the back of numerous called-in favours, Saunders is fully aware of what he achieved:

“I was producing and played the lead, and we had ten days to shoot on our limited budget. The production was enhanced by Jim – my producer – lending his parents’ house to most of our locations. We skimped and begged a local paint gallery to use their huge facility. I pleaded with family and friends to be background. We came in on budget – with telecine and post – which, back in the prehistoric ’90s, was a fuckin’ miracle.”

The orgy of twists that take up the bulk of the final reel run the Wild Things (1998) gamut in terms of pushing the boundaries of plausibility. Less is more would have been something to consider. Still, those produced by Cameo and Mystique aside, there are precious few post 1997 erotic thrillers worth their salt. Intimate Deception is a notable trend bucker – even if, ironically, it failed to please the suits at Playboy.

“We made many good deals, both overseas and domestically, but, we did not get a Playboy deal,” sighs Saunders. “Why? [Laughs] You will like this: not enough hard fucking. You be the judge! I tried, but perhaps I came off as too romantic…”