A closer look at Erika Lust’s films

We love the work of erotic filmmaker Erika Lust. Her movies are sensual, beautifully shot, and expertly directed. But a lot of customers aren’t quite sure which Erika Lust film they should purchase. The truth is, they’re all great, but there are definitely a few differences between them — primarily when it comes to length, scene pairings, and vignette plotlines.

So here’s a more in-depth look at four of Lust’s movies featuring partnered scenes: Five Hot Stories for Her, Life Love Lust, Cabaret Desire, and X Confessions. We’ve taken screenshots of each scene as well, so there is nudity. (If you’re looking for solo masturbation scenes, check out Lust’s wonderful Barcelona Sex Project.)

Jump to:

• Five Hot Stories for Her
• Life Love Lust
• Cabaret Desire
• X Confessions

Five Hot Stories for Her

Five Hot Stories for Her was Erika Lust’s debut film. It’s 1 hour, 52 minutes long and can be played dubbed in English, Spanish, German, and French. The actual language used in the film flucuates between English and Spanish. As you’d expect from the title, the film consists of five unrelated vignettes, each with a different storyline.

In the first scene, “Something About Nadia,” multiple female voiceovers talk about how they were drawn to a tattooed, dark-haired, mysterious woman named Nadia. One particular woman masturbates on a chair while fantasizing about Nadia — then manages to snag a date with her. The women have dinner in an apartment, make out on top of the kitchen island, then move to a luxurious bedroom to have sex.

Scene two is called “JodeteCarlos.com,” which translates to “Fuck you, Carlos.” It’s a revenge-driven vignette that begins with Carlos cheating on his wife. But most of the scene consists of his wife’s response, which is to have a party while Carlos is out of town and go to bed with two new men. There’s a bit of a twist at the end that makes the revenge even more sweet.

The third scene, “Married with Children,” features a couple whose home life seems a bit void of passion. But they don’t want to lose the spark, so they plan a BDSM-laden rendezvous in a hotel room. The husband wears a mask and dominates his wife with paddles, a collar, a leash, and a ball gag. It’s not a rough scene, but it is more kinky than the others on the disc.

Scene four is called “The Good Girl,” and was Erika Lust’s first foray into filmmaking. It’s a great spin on the pizza boy porn trope. It begins with the main character, Alex, listening to her friend ramble on about her recent sexual exploits. Deciding to break out of her usual shell, Alex seduces the pizza delivery guy. They have joyful, adventurous sex in many different positions.

The final scene is a short one entitled “Breakup Sex.” It’s a pretty simple scene in which two gay men, clearly on the verge of breaking up, fight with each other so intensely that it leads to making out, which leads to sex on the couch in what appears to be their shared apartment. This scene is in black and white.

Life Love Lust

Lust’s film Life Love Lust is significantly shorter than Five Hot Stories for Her, with a runtime of 34 minutes. It does, however, include several extras, such as two short fetish films called “Handcuffs” and “Love Me Like You Hate Me.” There are also trailers, a making of for “Handcuffs,” and a short video profile of Erika Lust.

Unlike Five Hot Stories for Her, Life Love Lust doesn’t have much dialogue at all, and when it does, it’s in Spanish without dubbing or subtitles. Like Five Hot Stories for Her, Life Love Lust features distinct and unrelated vignettes. Three, in this case.

The first scene, “Life,” features a couple working in a restaurant together… and what they do after hours as a private birthday celebration between the two of them. Let’s just say it involves hot and heavy sex on a couch. The artistic camera shots through the drink glasses on the bar are especially great in this scene.

Scene two, “Love,” is aptly named — it centers on a love affair between a younger man and older woman. There’s an array of cute and romantic footage of them enjoying themselves together — having drinks, kissing in a tub, having a pillow fight — which segues into them having sex on white sheets in a sunny room. The lighting in this scene is absolutely fantastic!

In the last scene, “Lust,” a woman visits a female erotic masseuse and relaxes into a massage in a darkened room filled with candles. This scene is very very sensual — most of it is spent with the masseuse rubbing her naked body across her client’s oiled skin — and there isn’t much of what most would consider “sex.” But it’s clear that both women are really enjoying themselves.

Cabaret Desire

Cabaret Desire is a bit different from the other films in that it has an overarching plotline. Don’t let that fool you, though — each scene is still told as a story, so they all include different performers and scenarios. At 1 hour and 14 minutes, Cabaret Desire also comes with the short films “Handcuffs” and “Room 33,” as well as a making of segment, and finally, a feature about The Poetry Brothel (a project that inspired and participated in the film).

Cabaret Desire is in English, but includes subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Swedish.

This film focuses on a bohemian erotic reading gathering, where attendees can pay for privately-told stories. As such, each scene begins with someone paying for a story, and the storyteller beginning to speak. The voiceover continues into the scene until the sex kicks in.

The first scene, aptly-named “The Two Alexes,” focuses on a blonde woman who meets two people at a bar — both named Alex — and launches a love affair with each of them. She loves that they share the same name but not the same gender. Her sex scenes with each Alex are juxtaposed almost interchangeably (the apartment backdrop doesn’t change), creating an intriguing visual trick.

“My Mother” is the second scene in Cabaret Desire, a story told by a man whose mother was an art thief. The storyteller explains that his mother sometimes spoke of her “best work” but never elaborated. His mother is shown in a black, full-body suit sneaking into a house to have her way with the male inhabitant. She removes his restraints in time, but never reveals her identity. The meaning of her “best work” is explained at the end.

The third scene, “In Wonderland,” is about a woman celebrating her 30th birthday. Her friends have lined up an elaborate birthday gift for her — sex with a handsome guy in a heavenly, whimsical setting. Again, Erika Lust’s penchant for setting the scene pays off — there are even grapes and champagne on a table nearby!

“Wet Sheets,” the final scene in Cabaret Desire, follows a man and a woman separately as they travel to meet up for drinks after a year apart. Intercut with the present day storyline are shots of their whirlwind three-day love affair that took place one year ago, which both remember fondly. It’s a really nostalgic, sweet, and sexy memory.

X Confessions

Released in 2014, X Confessions is Erika Lust’s most recent movie. With a running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes, X Confessions contains 10 different scenes, each one based on an anonymous sex confession submitted to Erika’s website. None of the scenes are interconnected, and there’s no overarching storyline. Scenes vary in length, between 3 minutes at the shortest to 15 at the longest. Like Life Love Lust, the scenes in X Confessions are in Spanish, but there is very little dialogue. Extra features are pretty sparse — just a trailer and a bit of information about Erika.

The first scene is called “Let’s Make a Porno,” and follows a real-life couple as Erika helps them make their fantasy into a reality. It shows the couple arriving on set, talking to Erika a bit, then filming the scene. Throughout the scene, the point of view switches from showing the crew as they film to showing the finished product, complete with music. After the couple have sex, they pose for some still photos.

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The second scene, “Hold Me So Tight It Hurts,” features some beautiful rope bondage. This is a solo masturbation scene, with a woman alone save for the hands that tie her up at the beginning. The framing of her body is lovely and the music is especially fitting in this scene — it builds and builds anticipation all the way to her climax.

“I Ama Verry Badx Secvretary” is next. In it, a man seduces a woman who is typing at a desk. She tries to keep typing, but quickly cannot resist. Erika Lust’s eye for unique angles really shines here, with a particularly artistic shot through the computer desk as the woman goes down on the man. Then they have sex, with her dress hiked up over her hips the entire time.

Scene number four is called “My First Time Eating Oysters… and Pussy.” It features two women in a black room, kissing and having sex. The scene is interspersed with close-up shots of women eating oysters and pouring champagne. The music is soft and sensual with a hint of anticipation as the women bring each other to orgasm — and one of them squirts.

The fifth scene is entitled “Sit Down, Shut-Up, and Watch.” It begins with a woman blindfolding a man and whispering in his ear, then leading him into a room where he is then made to watch her have sex with another man. At the end, she sits atop a luxurious couch and masturbates in front of both men.

“I Pegged My Boyfriend” is exactly what it sounds like: a pegging scene! A man goes down on a woman while blindfolded, then she penetrates him. The woman wears beautiful BS Atelier products from Spain — both a harness and a dildo. The man, meanwhile, continues wearing his nice business suit — from the waist up, at least.

Scene seven is called “Sadistic Trainer.” At the gym, a relentless trainer is barking at a group of people. The trainees are not happy with this treatment and quickly plot their revenge, tying up the trainer with jump ropes and forcing him to watch as they have an orgy in front of him. This scene features many performers who have been in Erika Lust’s movies before.

And now for a fun interlude! “A Blowjob is Always a Great Last-Minute Gift Idea!” is a quick, 3-minute long blip of a man reading a book in a park… while fellating a candy penis. Why not?

“Obsessed” is the second to last scene in X Confessions. Based on a confession in which a man admits that he is still not over his old love, it features a couple having sex while a projector splashes moving images on the wall. The music is dramatic and nostalgic, with dark and mysterious lighting.

The final scene is called “I Fucking Love IKEA.” A man is outside building something out of an IKEA catalog while a woman lounges on a chair nearby. Quickly, their thoughts drift to sex, and their reading materials morph accordingly, becoming amusingly pornographic. They have sex on top of a table, some boxes, and pillows. The natural lighting is beautiful in this scene — complete with lens flare.

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There are some things that all of Erika Lust’s films have in common: they’re all gorgeously shot and edited, with excellent music; they are fairly explicit but not raunchy, and her set design and scenarios are both realistic and aesthetically appealing. Lust’s artistic eye is apparent throughout her films, although the production values are a bit higher in the films following her debut, Five Hot Stories For Her.

Since the films are all comparable in terms of asethetic, we suggest choosing the film with scenarios and performers that appeal to you. Or, if you can’t decide, pick up more than one!