To begin on a personal note: The first porn feature I ever watched, might well have been “Nightdreams” (1981). I was intrigued by the concept of surreal porn – and that was exactly what I got.

“Nightdreams” was co-written by Stephen Sayadian – also known as Rinse Dream – who carved a very special niche for himself in the X-rated feature film world of the 1980s.

His work explores sexual fantasies so far removed from reality that they appear as surreal, dreamlike hallucinations. In “Nightdreams”, we experience the erotic dreams induced in the female protagonist (Dorothy LeMay) by a pair of white-coated doctors.’ In the post-apocalyptic “Café Flesh” (1982), most of humanity has been left without sex drive – and flock to the eponymous cabaret to watch the remaining sexual beings perform bizarre sex scenarios. And the plot of the softcore erotic thriller “Dr. Caligari” (1989) almost defies description.

At times, the films collapse under the weight of their artistic aspirations. But more often than not, the surreal settings make for sex scenes that arouse you in new and strange ways.

Sayadian creates a vision of a world where lust transcends the boundaries of reality. Whether or not that touches a chord with you is of course a matter of taste.  But readers of my fiction will probably feel right at home.