The Most Surreal Erotic Thriller of the 80s | Corruption (1983)

When Erotic Cinema Tried to Be Art explores Corruption (1983), the surreal adult film written and directed by Roger Watkins under the pseudonym Richard Mahler, starring Jamie Gillis. This documentary uncovers the hidden Wagnerian influence behind one of the most unusual films to emerge from adult cinema's final theatrical era, and the double life of the filmmaker who made it. By 1983, American adult cinema was reaching the end of its brief "Golden Age," a period when hardcore features still played in real theaters and occasionally aimed for genuine artistic ambition. Corruption stood apart — a loose adaptation of Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold, built around a businessman, a mysterious briefcase, and a demand to renounce love. Behind the camera was Roger Watkins, a filmmaker already hiding one secret identity as the anonymous director of a notorious exploitation film years earlier. This documentary traces how Corruption was made, why it went almost unnoticed on release, and how it was eventually rediscovered and restored decades later — becoming a quiet touchstone in the study of cult and adult film history. This video is part of UNREDACTED Cinema's ongoing look into banned film history, controversial movie history, cult cinema history, film censorship history, adult cinema history, exploitation cinema history, underground cinema, lost films, forgotten Hollywood stories, and movie production history — the hidden corners of cinematic legacy that mainstream film coverage rarely touches. Where should the line sit between disposable exploitation and legitimate artistic ambition — and who gets to decide which films are remembered and which are erased? Subscribe to UNREDACTED Cinema for documentaries exploring the forgotten, controversial, and culturally significant stories hidden throughout film history. If this deep dive into Corruption (1983) interested you, let us know in the comments which forgotten film you'd like covered next — and check out our other investigat