Few studios ever make it to the hallowed halls of ubiquity. You can probably count on one hand the number of XXX production companies the average person on the street can name off. Fewer stay there long enough to be considered an institution. But what does it take to get there in the first place? Well, it’s a complex mathematical equation that I won’t bore you with… but the principles of it follow along the lines of consistent output plus time plus quality plus budget plus advertising and publicity-savvy times right-place-right-time luck. One of the best to have ever done it, and one that still sticks as an institution—even after undergoing a change of ownership and a change in business model—is Digital Playground.
Founded in 1993 as an interactive CD-ROM company, the studio made incredible strides towards the legitimizing of adult films in the mainstream in the 2000s. And while they are no longer signing contract stars like they were during their golden age, they are still a force to be reckoned with in adult storytelling. Over the years they’ve had several great series and gonzo titles like Jack’s POV, My First Porn, and Sexual Freak, but where they have made the biggest impact is in plot-based porn. So with that in mind, I kept my list to just ten (well, eleven) story-driven titles. Recently D.P. has adopted the episodic model of storytelling like many of its contemporaries, but for this list they’ll be considered features all the same.
1. Pirates (2005) & Pirates 2 – Stagnetti’s Revenge (2008)
No list of the greatest Digital Playground titles could be complete without mention of Pirates. If you were of age back in 2005, you would know what an absolute phenomenon this movie was. Its impact on popular culture cannot be overstated, as it probably had as much mainstream notoriety and cachet as any movie since Deep Throat. Shot with a ridiculously high budget and an even more impressive promotional campaign, Pirates cemented itself as an all-time adult epic. The film featured many of the popular Digital Playground contract performers of the time, including Carmen Luvana, Jesse Jane, and Teagan Presley. The movie also starred one-time Vivid Girl Janine, Jenaveve Jolie, and several other big names of the day. It is still the measuring stick by which high-priced adult epic films get measured.
So how does one follow that up? Well, by making the sequel even bigger and badder! Pirates 2 went all-out in order to give more of everything than the original did. CGI ran rampant throughout the film. R-rated cuts of the movie had mainstream distribution deals with video-rental chain Blockbuster and could be found sold alongside every other Hollywood film at your local retailer selling DVDs. And while the 2008 title didn’t bring back the female cast from the first, it nevertheless was stuffed to the gills with starpower—from AVN Hall-of-Famers Belladonna, Jenna Haze, and Sasha Grey to DPs roster of beauties like Katsuni, Stoya, Shay Jordan, and Gabriella Fox. It also featured one-time Wicked contract star Riley Steele. Riding the original’s coattails this was not!
2. Cheerleaders (2008)
Digital Playground, in the midst of its contract-stable days, hit upon a home run formula: create a well-crafted feature film around a simplistic theme, surround our contract stars with other top-name talent, and go with more bang-for-your-buck than the average studio film. Cheerleaders, in my eyes, is the best of the bunch. As with the other movies in this formula, I’m sure you can guess what it’s about! It starred contract performers Adrenalynn, Shay Jordan, Sophia Santi, and Stoya alongside luminaries of the time Priya Rai, Alexis Texas, Brianna Love, and Memphis Monroe. It won an AVN for its locker room lesbian orgy (rightfully), but I often find myself going back to the threesome scene that precedes it—starring Stoya and Brianna Love with Manuel Ferrara.
3. Survive The Night (2019)
Taking some inspiration from the contemporaneous Hollywood film Knives Out, Survive The Night follows the mishaps and murders surrounding those close to an ailing millionaire. Sabina Rouge and Xander Corvus play his children. Ivy Lebelle plays his mistress. Alexis Fawx and Stirling Cooper show up unexpectedly, and Giselle Palmer plays the maid who might know more than she lets on. It’s a fun whodunnit in the vein of Clue—but with fucking! It was nominated for multiple awards, including the AVN Grand Reel and Best Directing.
4. Kill Code 87 (2020)
While he has worked for other studios, Scott Nails is really only known as being Mr. Digital Playground. He’s got over 250 titles under his belt with the studio. In Kill Code 87, which was nominated for five major AVN awards, he plays a hitman for a mysterious organization. It begins when a seemingly coincidental bar pickup of Aidra Fox (followed by a glorious sex scene) turns into the most important night of Mason’s (Scott’s) life, as Aidra’s character reveals some hard truths. Intrigue, spycraft, assassinations, and gorgeously filmed sex make this one stand out among the hundreds of D.P. titles.
5. Top Guns (2011)
Robby D. was a really fun director who deserved a ton of the praise he got as the main man behind several of Digital Playground’s hits. He took on a team of military Fly Girls in the Top Gun sorta parody. As with many of the Digital titles of the time, Jesse Jane was essentially the lead. Her squad also consisted of Digital Playground girls Raven Alexis (RIP), Selena Rose, Kayden Kross (who was as fantastic a performer and actress as she is a director nowadays), Riley Steele, and Stoya. It’s a fun movie that proves that the only thing hotter than a woman in uniform is the one who steps out of it!
6. Bridesmaids (2013)
The top-rated Digital Playground title on HotMovies is like Top Guns and Survive The Night, in which they are movies inspired by Hollywood hits as opposed to being clear-cut parodies. This version of Bridesmaids is awfully funny (though not quite the laugh factory of the Kristen Wiig classic). Jesse Jane and Kayden Kross play frenemies who are both vying in the friend group for the role of bridesmaid for Alyssa Branch. Stoya and a wonderfully ditzy Brooklyn Lee round out the bridesmaids in a film that features antics like eating cum-covered cheeseburgers, tearing up clothes during a fitting session, and getting imprisoned when Kayden Kross grabs a cop’s dick and hilariously (and sexily) says “cop cock” over and over.
7. Nurses (2009)
Nurses, like the aforementioned Cheerleaders, creates a winning feature around a simple porn-y theme. Coos County General Hospital is awash in the most beautiful nurses and candy stripers ever seen. The film is stacked with talent and shot with trademark Digital Playground professionalism. It again stars Sasha Grey and Jenna Haze alongside the D.P. contract star stable (like Katsuni, Stoya, Jesse Jane, Riley Steele, Shay Jordan, and Gabriella Fox). And it also ends with an awesome orgy along the lines of Cheerleaders. I tell ya, I would break my own arm to get admitted to this hospital!
8. The Summoning (2020)
This is probably my favorite of the recent Digital Playground movies. Seth Gamble and Abigail Mac attempt a demonic sex ritual in the woods that winds up unleashing both an Incubus (Xander Corvus) and a Succubus (played by possible real-life Succubus Romi Rain). In addition to those four fucking in different iterations, there is a kick-ass lesbian scene between Romi and “good girl” Gina Valentina. The movie, which is equal parts spooky and sexy, won an AVN for Best Makeup.
9. You Will Regret This (2019)
Couple Kira Noir and Michael Vegas are headed to a music festival with Kira’s friend, Joanna Angel. Along the way Michael decides to pick up hitchhikers Abella Danger and Small Hands. When Michael’s car breaks down and they decide to set up camp for the night, things get out of hand quickly. The movie is grim, dramatic, and horrific—but also incredibly sexy. It’s some of the roughest sex I’ve ever seen out of Michael Vegas, and his scenes with Joanna and Abella are both great. Joanna and Kira get together, and I don’t think I’ll ever want to get the image of Kira eating out a standing Joanna Angel in the woods beside the truck out of my head. This one is about as twisted as they come for the studio!
10. Uninvited (2018)
Following the death of Ivy Lebelle, Kimmy Granger, and Ashley Lane‘s stepmother, they find themselves face-to-face with two shocking strangers: the estranged children of their own stepmom! While they hadn’t heard of the biological children before, they all get rather close rather quick, and a series of indiscretions that break apart the unity of the trio of sisters ingratiates the British couple of Danny D. and Ella Hughes even more. It’s another thrilling thriller from Digital Playground. It was nominated for Best Drama, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Dramatic Screenplay, and Best Director!