Safe Words Optional, Sanity Not Guaranteed

Read Time:4 Minute, 53 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Vanilla
–

Genre: Comedy, Thriller, Short
Year Released: 2023
Runtime: 16m
Director(s): Chase Pearson
Writer(s): Chase Pearson
Cast: Aaron Latta-Morissette, Melanie Rains, Daniel Victor
Where to Watch: available now, watch here: www.YouTube.com

RAVING REVIEW: There’s nothing shy about VANILLA. It doesn’t ease into its premise or whisper sweet nothings to the audience. This short comedy is loud, crass, proudly inappropriate, and knows exactly what it’s doing. It's the kind of film that looks you straight in the eye while getting undressed and dares you to look away. Self-awareness isn’t a side effect here—it’s baked into the entire experience. VANILLA thrives on confronting the audience with its blend of uncomfortable humor, kink-friendly roleplay, and relentless genre subversion. It’s not just a sex comedy—it’s a meta-kink carnival where the punchline is how far it's willing to go.

The setup flirts with romantic comedy, only to rip that away before the first kiss can land. Clark (Aaron Latta-Morissette) and Helen (Melanie Rains) return from what appears to be an innocent, maybe even sweet date. There's a moment that feels lifted out of a traditional rom-com. But the next thing you know, he’s in his underwear, wearing a ski mask, and roleplaying as her fantasy intruder. VANILLA doesn’t wait to peel back the layers; it tears them off like a stripper with a vendetta.

How unabashedly shameless the film leans into its premise makes it click. Chase Pearson directs with a wink and a smirk, letting the film wear its absurdity like a badge of honor. From the moment Clark steps out of his comfort zone and into his briefs, the film commits to the bit. That full-throttle commitment elevates it from a weird idea to a fully realized short bursting with energy, sexual tension, and comedic discomfort.

The comedy here is of the squirm-inducing variety, inviting you to laugh and immediately wonder if you’re supposed to. It’s bold enough to joke about things most films wouldn’t even touch, yet it rarely feels mean-spirited. Instead, it invites the audience to play along, just as Clark is invited to play along with Helen’s unconventional fantasy. That uneasy, exaggerated dynamic—consensual but loaded—is the film’s playground. It’s one part performance art, one part sex farce, and just enough thriller to keep you off-balance.

Latta-Morissette’s performance is a crucial anchor. Clark is simultaneously the straight man and the emotional core, thrown into a fantasy that feels like Freud and a Reddit thread co-wrote it. Watching him try to interpret Helen’s cues, stumbling through this surreal sexual theater, is half the comedy. He’s the guy who said, “Sure, I’ll try anything once,” and now deeply regrets not asking for a definition of anything. Rains, as Helen, plays her part with a deadpan precision that makes every line feel loaded. She’s in total control—even when pretending not to be—and that contrast drives the film’s kink into far more chaotic territory.

The film doesn’t just acknowledge the taboo—it builds its world on top of it. There’s something gleeful in how VANILLA refuses to be tasteful. It knows it’s ridiculous. It knows some audiences won’t be able to handle the content. And it doesn’t care. That defiant confidence is rare, especially in short films that often play things safe to appeal to fests and censors. VANILLA flips the table and lets the dice fall where they may.

VANILLA isn’t trying to be nuanced. It’s trying to slap you awake. It’s loud, unapologetic, and brimming with kink-positive CNC chaos. It refuses to apologize for its content or censor its point of view. And by operating in this absurdist, performative, and boundary-poking space, it becomes more than just a sex comedy—it becomes a critique of our need to categorize desire, and a parody of the genres we use to contain it. Ultimately, VANILLA laughs at its title—and us for expecting anything less. It’s a bold, bizarre little beast of a film, and it’s not asking for approval. It’s daring you to follow its safe word straight into the weird. Now I just have to wait patiently for more of this world!

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[photo courtesy of WALK THIS WAY PRODUCTIONS]

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