It's highly unlikely that you have seen anything like To The Last Man from Raging Stallion. It's a film that defies conventional description as "gay porn" while it redefines the genre itself. It's an epic piece of dramatically powerful storytelling that's beautifully shot, extremely well-acted, and loaded with potent sex scenes that are intricately woven into its rich tapestry. You've probably heard To The Last Man referred to as "ambitious" but that word doesn't do it justice when it connotes merely the effort and not the success that it is.

 To The Last Man is a story told in two parts about neighboring Arizona ranches and their deep-seeded blood feud which flares up over water rights in a beautiful landscape threatened by drought. It's also a timeless story about the nature of man and how passions can take many forms and go to any extreme---from lovemaking to deadly violence. And yes, there is graphic violent content here which one can avoid if one chooses by watching the "sex only" version of the video. But we don't recommend this option because, contrary to our preconceptions, the violence is not gratuitous. In fact it's essential since its brutality is a great counterpoint to the sex as well as acting as a catalyst for characterization. But most importantly, it drives the plot.

      
                                                             The Flying V Ranch Men
                                                         top row (l to r): Damien Crosse, Antton Harri, Antonio Biaggi, Jackson Wild
                                           bottom row (l to r): Damian Rios, Ricky Sinz, Scott campbell, Logan McCree

 As for the plot of To The Last Man it isn't very complex but to divulge the details to the uninformed would do the film an injustice. As we mentioned earlier this is the story of a feud between two ranches--The Double K, owned by brothers Jake Deckard & Scott Tanner, and Ricky Sinz' Flying V. Nature has played a cruel trick on the seemingly kind and loving brothers' ranch by allowing a drought to fester there while ironically it blesses Flying V, owned by the hard-nosed and cruel Ricky Sinz with a bounty of water in the form of a swollen creek and natural reservoir. For reasons which reach back a generation, Sinz has no intention of intention of helping the brothers out. However, The Double K does get some water, thanks to an affair between one of its men and a ranch hand from the Flying V. The affair and the perceived betrayal are discovered and punished by a deadly form of frontier justice which ignites even more bloodshed (mostly seen the in the second half of the film). Blind fury and unreasoning revenge take their relentless and tragic toll all the way to the film's conclusion.  

        
                                                             The Double K Ranch Men
                                                         top row (l to r): RJ Danvers, Rick Powers, Tristan Jaxx, Dan Rhodes
                                               bottom row (l to r): Jimmy Tripps, Jake Deckard, Scott Tanner

  As we mentioned there are a multitude of very hot sex scenes intertwined in the movie. Almost all of them are as integral to the plot as the previously mentioned violence. Between the two parts The Gathering Storm and Guns Blazing there are a total of 16 characters and all but one have at least one sex scene even if they don't have key roles. It's obvious that these are two ranches populated by the horniest group of rugged guys you've ever seen and the natural scenery seems to be an aphrodisiac. We couldn't single out one scene over the other for excellence because frankly they are all very well-shot and well-paced.

This leads us into the acting. We were able to see To The Last Man on a big screen with 99% of the sex scenes edited out which turned out giving us a better appreciation of the film. For one thing seeing it in a theater make it all seem larger than life which a TV or computer monitor can't full duplicate. We recommend you view this on as large a screen as possible. But the real benefit is that we got a better idea of the acting which is spot on almost across the board.

Stars Ricky Sinz and Scott Tanner have the biggest roles and hence have a big responsibility to be authentic as the opposing ranchers with conflicting personalities. Ricky Sinz is such a natural as an actor that his character is consistent from beginning to end from sex scenes to non-sex scenes. He's the bad guy here to be sure but he relishes it with gusto. Scott Tanner may have the less colorful role but he's got a harder task of making a good guy less one-dimensional. The script helps him along by giving his character lots of drama and yet he doesn't let it drift into the realm of over-acting.

  As we said the acting seen in To The Last Man is universally good although we especially liked Jake Deckard & Antton Harri. Their roles are very pivotal to the plot and their fates the most interesting thanks to their chemistry and believability.

  Sometimes in an achievement of this size it's the smaller, often subtle touches that we appreciate and often get overlooked. For one thing there's the humor, however dark it gets. Ricky Sinz gets some choice one-liners and his scene with Matthew Johnson in a cameo as the preacher is priceless. Scott Tanner gets to have his Scarlett O'Hara moment and has great fun with it. And then there's the bloody violence which is sometimes so over the top that it's satirically funny. Even the title of part two, Guns Blazing, is an inside joke for affiliates and retailers of the Raging Stallion line.

  When all is said and done the three names that get the most credit are Chris Ward, Ben Leon, and Tony Dimarco. They share directing chores yet the film never seems like it has three different hands working on it. The script by Tony Dimarco is well-paced and focused and the dialog never hits a false note. Cinematography by Dimarco & Leon makes full use of the natural light and scenery and makes every actor look great. Music in a porn movie can often be a distraction and slightly annoying but here the work of JD Slater & Nekked is very effective. It evokes the western film genre perfectly just as it helps to create the mood of the film as it grows darker and more violent. It's true that it borrows from other films but it seems more a homage than a "rip-off".

 In the end we have to commend Raging Stallion for taking on this project and making the porn movie genre viable and relevant. To put it simply, To The Last Man couldn't possibly be made as an online video and gives new life to studio-driven entertainment.