There are some big-name spanko-oriented producers out there – I mean, nowadays I’d be thinking of AEG (Real Spankings, Real Spankings Institute etc.), Sarah Gregory (Spanking 101, Cheerleader Spankings, Momma Spankings etc.), Clare Fonda (Girl Spanks Girl, My Spanking Roommate etc.), Strand (Red Stripe, English Spankers etc.), Xerotics (Spanking Online, Fetish Flixx, Spank My Bottom etc.). Then there are those that were single brands but quite large and are no more – NuWest comes to mind. But I wanted to explore one in particular that now seems to have vanished – Raven Hill.
There was quite a pushback on the brand from many people who didn’t really warm to the two males behind the company and in front of the cameras – Richard Lewis and Tierre Ainese. Also, when you look at their material today, if you’re able to dig some of it out, they were producing video in an era when camera quality was nowhere near the standard we expect today. On the plus side, they didn’t seem to be faking the scenes and the girls they featured often took quite severe punishments.
But they did something else that made them pretty unique, and I don’t recall any other producer ever trying to copy them. They made three separate series where they claimed that the girls being punished were just ordinary girls they came across and persuaded to take part.
So far as I’m aware, the first of these themed series was called Beach Girl Spankings – this was actually my introduction to this studio. I was visiting a shop in the Soho district of London, and they had several boxes on display for VHS videos. There was one I’d heard a lot about so I enquired and agreed on a price. A tape was produced, in plain packaging and with a handwritten label (who says the internet was the cause of piracy). When I got it home I discovered it was not the video I’d asked for but was the first of the Beach Girls Spanking imprint.
The concept was they had rented a beachfront house in Florida and Richard went out on the beach to talk to some of the girls sunbathing there. I’m frankly amazed none of them took flight and dialled 911 because he quickly steered the conversation around to the idea that his company made fetish videos that involved spanking, and they wondered if any girls they found on the beach would be up for taking part. One of the most interesting aspects of the videos was that often some of the girls would reminisce about spankings they’d experienced at home while growing up. Anyway, some of the girls did agree to go to the house out of curiosity and they would be given alcoholic drinks once they got there.
By and large the girls didn’t really look like professional actors or models – more ‘girl next door’ style. All of the features start with Tierre wandering out on the beach with a microphone and camera and striking up conversations with some of the girls sunbathing there. None seem suspicious of this strange guy coming up to them when they are sometimes very scantily clad and engaging them in a conversation. Usually after some general pleasantries, the girls (and they’re always either just a pair of girls or one on her own) ask him what they’re doing, and he explains that they’re making films. They ask for more detail and he tells them that they’re filming for an adult audience but insists it’s not porn and eventually gets around to telling them that they’re spanking films. Almost all the girls say they’ve never heard of anything like that.
In one of the later films in the series, Tierre, in a piece to the camera, says that about one in seven of those they approach end up going back to their beach house with him. Unsurprisingly, we don’t see him talking to any girls who decline the offer – they probably wouldn’t consent to be featured in the video at all – but in one case one of two girls agrees to take part but her friend just accompanies her for support. (Spoiler alert – they both end up participating).
They are plied with alcohol and chat about the process. There are mentions of generous financial compensation, and on a couple of occasions, the girls refer to the amount they are being offered. I have seen reviewers state the amount they refer to, but in the versions I’ve seen, the sound has been tweaked, so we don’t hear the actual figure. It is always explained that they will get three five-minute spankings, the first of which is always a hand spanking over Tierre’s lap. One odd thing is that we never see the girls being told the punishments will be on their bare bottoms but when they are told to take their bikini bottoms down, they are never surprised, shocked or reluctant to do so. Some just remove their bikini bottoms for the duration, others just slip them down and pull them back up between sessions. One girl stripped totally.
The five minutes are timed with an hourglass that has been allowed to have just five minutes pass, and then the girls have to turn them back the other way to signal that they’re ready for the spanking to start. The second and third punishment means are chosen by the girl by selecting a puck attached to a Perspex board. We see the board from the other side and can read the options – Strap, Flogger, Central paddle, Cane, Hairbrush, Sherriff’s paddle, and Escape. The two paddles acquire their names from other Raven Hill productions in which they featured. The concept of the Escape puck is that if they select that they can take the money and leave with no further punishment. Of course, from their side of the board, the girls can’t read what is on the underside of the puck until they take it from the board.
Where the five-minute rule is applied, the girls are told to bend over a stool, chair or table and he does punish them for the full five minutes. However, he talks a lot – I mean an awful lot – so it’s not quite as brutal as it first sounds. If they select the cane, the timing is abandoned, and he gives them twenty-five strokes.
In all cases – the hand spanking and the punishments with implements – he starts very gently and slowly warms them up. By the end of each session, he is using quite a bit of force. All of the girls’ bottoms get red and in some cases, they are showing quite a lot of marking. They may need to spend some of their unexpected income on another bikini that will provide a bit more coverage for when they return to the beach. Another spoiler – so far as I’m aware, no girl ever manages to select the Escape puck.
The best thing about these films is the comments by the girls. Very early on, while they’re still at the beach, a few of them reminisce about spankings they got at home when they were growing up. My favourite line is when one of the better-looking girls finally finishes the five-minute hand spanking and she slides to the floor and says ”Daddy didn’t use to spank me that hard.” It’s also good to see when two friends have taken up the challenge, how much they seem to enjoy watching their friend being punished, even if they know that their turn is only minutes away.
If you’re prepared to overlook the video quality, then I guess how likely you are to enjoy these films will come down to one key opinion. Do you believe that they just found these girls on a beach and persuaded them to take part? In favour of believing it, I’ve never noticed any of the girls appearing in another spanking movie. And quite a few don’t have model girl looks by any means. They’re all clearly over eighteen so they can consent to take part for payments that they all seem to feel are quite generous. However, some are under twenty-one so probably have little experience of handling alcohol and probably shouldn’t be consuming it under these circumstances.
On balance, I believe that they’re probably genuine. And I do quite enjoy them. I’ll review some other Raven Hill series in the future.
