Gritty in substance and style, "Fleshpot" looks at the seedy side of urban existence, specifically in New York City. Dusty (Laura Cannon/Diana Lewis) is disgusted with her life as a hustler and a criminal. She feels trapped in a cycle of survival that does not allow her to look beyond the current day.

This adult film is cinema verite and it does a fair job of capturing life in and around the streets. The acting is credible. Sometimes the framing is poor. Surprisingly, there are humorous moments, and some philosophizing by the characters.

Andy Milligan's films seem to be an incessant stream of incompetence and unintentional humour, but you can't fault the man for trying; modern-day makers of B-movies are blessed with the kind of budgets that Milligan could only have dreamed of back in the day, so it's almost impressive what he achieved with very little. Sadly, this doesn't make his films any the better, although it does make the man more interesting than his output.

FLESHPOT ON 42ND STREET sees Milligan taking a break from his usual horror nonsense (like GURU THE MAD MONK) to try his hand at a softcore sex film instead. The result is as poor as the rest of his output, with a script that lacks oomph and a budget that rarely convinces. It's just like somebody grabbed a camera and went out and shot a few scenes in the streets with his friends, which is probably what happened.

Still, there are worthwhile elements for the fans: a bitchy transvestite provides a memorable character for the film, and you get to see the scuzzy side of 1970s New York, something I'll never tire of. But the main actress was known for her appearances in porn movies and is as wooden as she is dull, the sex scenes are unappetising, and there's very little story to speak of.

Dusty Cole gets pushed by her boyfriend Tony into prostitution. She works her way in the dirty underclass of NYC including her trans friend Cherry Lane. She's taken with suit and tie guy Bob.

It's a rough and dirty little indie in the drug and sex culture of early 70's NYC. It's a real slice of cinema from a place and time. It is strictly amateur hour. Laura Cannon does pretty good acting for a porn actress. This is basically a porn with a real story and that happened sometimes. I really like the trans group and some attempt at realism dialogue. This has the energy of street level performers scaping together material and time for a low budget film.