The Pet (2006)

Director: D. Stevens

Writer: D. Stevens

Composer: Chris Walden

Starring: Pierre Dulat, Andrea Edmondson, Sommer Nguyen, Steven Wollenberg, Magi Avila, Lydia McLane, Carole Lieberman, Barry Adler, Mark Azeeze, Reza Dale, Tania Damha, Aaron Patrick Freeman

More info: www.thepetmovie.com & IMDb

Plot: The story follows a young woman who, in an emotional and financial crisis, succumbs to the charm of an aristocratic benefactor. Their relationship develops from her desire to be loved and cared for and his desire to overcome the loss of his beloved setter, a loyal and devoted pet. She agrees for a considerable sum of money to become his human pet, to sleep in a cage, never wear clothes, and to be led on a leash for a period of six-months. His desire to showcase his beautiful new pet and to have her market value appraised prompts him to place her on the GSM [Global Slave Market]. His arrogance and wealth together are no match for the power and ruthlessness of 21st century slave traders.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this but I saw a short video clip of the fetching scene in the snow and I was intrigued.  It's really well done.  I guess I'm surprised.  It starts with the 'tagging' of a recently captured woman who is going to be sold into slavery.

Once the story begins proper, we meet Mary (Edmondson) and her troubles when along comes Philip (Dulat) to save the day.  He offers her emotional support at a time when she has none from anywhere else.  She likes him.  Subtlely, he's able to talk her into being his pet for a couple of days.  I'm sure the $10k check went a long way in helping her make that decision. 

He's very kind to her, by the way.  He's into the sub/dom (submission/domination) lifestyle.  With her as his pet, even though she's naked 24/7, there's nothing sexual about it.  She picks it up rather quickly and enjoys their unusual relationship.  Like a faithful dog, for example, she wants to be near her master. 

Uh, oh.  It looks like we've gone and had ourselves a little accident.

Philip is associated with the people that deal in the slavery industry and they keep trying to get him to sell her to them but he refuses.  He has a written contract with Mary and he's very loyal to her.  On a winter trip they're all at a gathering where we meet other people in a similar situation.  The other subs, however, are not pets voluntarily like Mary.  Theirs is a true slave position as they are forced into it.  Here's where we get a nice game of fetch.

I wish my dog would do that.

HOW MUCH IS THAT SPOILER IN THE WINDOW?  YARRRRRR!

The bad guys nefariously try to take Mary from Philip and sell her but their plans are thwarted at the last minute.  Mary ends up dying in her cage and Philip (and his wife who is completely on board with this and cares for Mary like you would a loving pet) mourns her passing. I'm still confused as to why she died.  Maybe it was because of the drug the bad guys gave her to sedate her during the kidnapping.  That's the only thing I can think of.  Regardless, it's not the ending I was expecting.  It's much more somber than that.  I really enjoyed it.  It's more than some exploitation picture that's loaded with nudity (and this is wall-to-wall total nudity), it's got a message.  The opening and ending text gives you a little insight as to how prevalent this problem is (slavery, that is) and it's a nicely handled message disguised in exploitation.  Having demonstrated a healthy sub/dom relationship and the difference between that and out-and-out slavery is a positive statement.

I have a good friend who was the sub in a relationship for several months many years ago.  When she first told me about it I was horrified.  I was so naive then.  But it didn't take her long to explain it in such a way that I quickly understood how wrong I was to think so.  She liked it.  She would never do anything she didn't want to but she allowed herself to be completely immersed into the world of being someone's slave and she enjoyed it.  This picture does a good job of getting that across.  Yeah, some of the minor roles are filled with people who are struggling with the acting bit but the leads do a fine job.  The score is good, too, especially the main theme.  The 94 minute run time flies by.  Check this picture out.  At the very least you're gonna LOVE the eye candy and maybe get a better understanding about this unusual lifestyle.  After seeing this, it's kind of hot and I'm more curious about practicing it than ever.  But then maybe that's the pig in me.