The King of Tentacle Porn

An interview with Romero

Image courtesy of Romero/Hentaied

He goes by the moniker Romero, and he is the creator of The Hentaied Universe, a collection of X-rated websites that feature some of the most out there adult content being produced today. On eye-popping sites like Hentaied (tentacle and alien porn), Futanari (hermaphrodite porn), Parasited (parasite porn), Voodooed (voodoo porn), and Plants vs Cunts (vines bondage porn), the sexual outer limits are explored. The results are gooey, bizarre, and unforgettably odd. And this isn’t low-budget sex stuff, but high production value explicit content. Apparently, in the world of weird porn, if you build it, people will come. Curious to know more, I asked Romero about his award-winning work, crowdfunding porn, and what control has to do with it.

(Clicking on links in this article may take you to websites with adult themes.)

The Reverse Cowgirl: How and when did you come up with the idea for Hentaied?

Romero: Before 2019, I had the idea to make something high-quality, creative, and full of liquids. For some reason, I discovered through shooting my oil sex fights that I loved to throw oil at naked girls, so I needed to do something about it.

When I decided to take on a new project, I checked what was trending: lesbian, Asian, and hentai. I thought to myself, "I can do the first two, but I don't have resources for hentai … oh wait!" After a party with my friend Talia Mint, we shot the first scene, which became the massive thing it is today.

TRC: One thing that's really striking about Hentaied is that the production values are really high. The content is totally weird, but it's quite beautiful visually. Why did it matter to you that this content be of high quality?

Romero: I love to make movies, and we want to improve as a movie company. We put all our budget into our movies to make them prettier and the best we can. And yet, I'm not satisfied. When I compare my product with porn, I consider mine of the highest quality. But if I compare it to Netflix, it's not. I want to create the best and weirdest erotic and horror movies around. Give me time. We are getting there.

It’s always a test to see where we can get. And that’s all we care about.

TRC: Your suite of sites explore some pretty strange fetishes. Tentacle sex. Horny plants. Perverted parasites. Why do you think people are interested in watching this type of content?

Romero: Hey, my parasites are not perverted. They only want to reproduce their own species. They are fine guys. But that's a great question. In our videos, we always maintain a weird emotional and power dynamic that gives a specific feeling for each of the sites, which is what my customers are looking for. Most sexuality is about control, your own or your partner's. It's a space I always try to explore, pushing boundaries of what could be acceptable as I believe it is acceptable to adults.

TRC: There are some big stars in these scenes, as well, like Jia Lissa and Rae Lil Black. And you really get some compelling performances out of your female stars. Do you cast them based in part on their ability to emote, not just, you know, get naked?

Romero: Both Jia and Rae, as well as Kendra Sunderland, Melody Marks, and Blake Blossom, are stars because of their skills. They are amazing in what they do. “Getting naked” is just basic. Everyone can. Of course, that’s required and possibly the first thing I say after hello. An actress who doesn’t put her best in my movies won’t have a future with us at all! I come from a theater teaching background, so I can give the girls suggestions on techniques that might help them improve their acting. Some of them, like Kelly Collins, are absolute naturals at it, though.

TRC: In an interview with AVN, you talk about being influenced by directors like Sam Raimi and Park Chan-wook. What kind of movies did you watch that you think shaped your style, and did those movies influence the sex horror porn you're creating now?

Romero: Sam Raimi is the master of over-the-top, ridiculous ideas! Evil Dead is still a masterpiece; clearly, Plants Vs Cunts came from there. Park's The Handmaiden is probably my favorite, arguably the best erotic movie ever made. He's genius at dealing with tension, both emotional and sexual—the bath scene, especially.

But my influences are bigger than that. I love Takashi Miike's work. Audition is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. Also, our video intro is brutally influenced by him. Probably my biggest influence in the way of operations comes from Robert Rodriguez: Find your niche. If no one wants it, then make a channel to sell it. This was like what happened with our distribution. I have many other influences, but they still did not come out as I wanted them to in our movies. However, you'll clearly see them when we make our first mainstream feature.

TRC: How popular is this sort of content, like Hentaied, Parasited, Futanari, and Plants vs Cunts? Can you give me a sense of how many views you get on the sites and on the platforms that distribute it?

Romero: The numbers are incredible. We have had over 12 billion views in the last four years. When someone asks me if they have ever seen my products, I say statistically yes.

TRC: Do you have mainstream VFX people doing the CGI for some of this content?

Romero: Of course, all our people worked in the mainstream. We even have Oscar winners on the team. In porn, unluckily, it's tough to find really skilled people. We're always looking for more! Contact my agent, please. Ha-ha.

TRC: One thing I noticed that's interesting is that you actually use story lines suggested by viewers and also crowdfund the cost of production. Why take that route?

Romero: Among the things I do is be really active in my community and get feedback on what we do. Some discussions sparked ideas, some people from the forum started to work for us, and some polls made us understand things. Crowdfunding is sometimes necessary if we want to spend more than we have. So, some users are happy to put in some dollars to fund a project that will only exist with them. Conversely, if I need clarification on a project, and the crowdfunding goes terribly, it saves me a lot of money on a project that won't be interesting to the public.

TRC: Where are you from, where do you live, and how old are you?

Romero: I'm from a small province in the north of Italy. I live in Budapest, moved 12 times between different countries, and am 34. I started working in the porn industry 16 years ago.

TRC: I have to ask: Are you into this sort of mind-control stuff personally?

Well, I'm not into porn myself, as is what I see in front of my life for 13 hours a day. If we're talking about sexuality, I promised myself never to film anything related to my sexuality, not to spoil it. I'd say that I personally understand very well some of the dynamics of what we produce, so I can put it down well when I write an idea. More details about my sexuality then are an interest of only Mrs. Romero.

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