New kid on the block, SpankingEpics.com has come up with a winner their first time at bat with their first feature film, "The Schoolmaster's Revenge". Written, directed, and produced by Bethany Burke of Bethany's Woodshed (www.herwoodshed.com), the story stays true to her themes... old-fashioned discipline spankings of red-bottomed sobbing girls. Bethany was after a historic-themed, real discipline story line that could be told with minimal dialogue and a lot of spanking and that is exactly what her team produced.

A period piece set in 1912, Charlottesville, Virginia, the film opens in the beautifully appointed classroom of a normal teaching school, where students Susan Samuels (Lamia De Lion ) and Julia Brunswick (played by Eslynne Weaver) have been caught cheating on a math final. Handsome headmaster Paul Johnson, played by hard-spanking Keith Jones, presents the 2 girls with the classic dilemma of choosing a spanking and re-taking the exam versus being expelled. The girls want their teaching certificates, so they choose the spanking.

Math-challenged Susan Samuels is played by fresh-faced spanking novice Lamia De Lion, a gorgeous 19 year old girl, who takes an impressively stern first spanking on her bloomers and then on her bare beautiful bottom. She then is given instructions on corner time and ordered to the wall, evoking whining pleas from her. Mr. Johnson lets her know that he will not tolerate that behavior and reminds her that when he spanks, he spanks hard and on the bare... from the looks of her reddened rear, that's something Susan certainly didn't need him to tell her. The equally beautiful Julia Brunswick orchestrated the cheating, and pays extra for her mischief by both being made to watch Susan while waiting for her spanking, and also through extra severity and duration. She receives a long, hard hand spanking that has her kicking up her heels and fussing before Mr. Johnson even gets to her bare butt. Mr. Johnson is not distracted from his mission and spanks her briskly on every square inch of her well rounded rump, lecturing her thoroughly the whole time. After a half hour corner time, the girls are bent, bare, over a desk for an extended wooden ruler spanking. The girls are quite vocal and their distress is evident. On the walk home, they compare and inspect their spanked bums outside in the woods... an interesting touch that is well acted by both girls.

Upon arriving at home, Julia is confronted by her brother in law John (played by Eslynne's real-life husband), who demands to know why she has been crying. Julia confesses to getting in trouble at school, and her brother in law lets her know that he doesn't know what to say, but he knows what to do... if you get it at school, you get it again at home. He takes Julia into the woodshed, where he bends her firmly over the workbench and takes a razor strap down from the wall. John proceeds to give her a hard strapping. He straps not just her butt but also her thighs... both are bright red when he is finished. The thigh strapping is particularly impressive and clearly hurt.

When Susan gets home, her widow mother Victoria is surprised to learn she got another chance to take her math exam until she hears the full story of the cheating. She is indignant that the teacher would spank her daughter, but that doesn't stop her from taking a wooden paddle to the already-spanked girl's bare behind. She gives her a bent over, hair-brush style kitchen spanking, leaving Susan red and sore.

Victoria then marches off to confront Paul for spanking her daughter. Paul, on the hand, has other ideas about what he would like to discuss with his former fiancée. He dredges up old history that includes how he spanked Victoria for her bad behavior years ago. She then proceeds to give him total wildcat attitude. Paul bends her over his lap and gives her a hard spanking, but she still fights him. Uh, oh... then she slaps him! He bends her over a table for a bare bottom paddling that is absolutely spectacular. He paddles her hard... she screams and kicks and yells and lips off and he reciprocates by paddling her harder and faster. Her reactions are great... she is really vocal and fights him all the way. Also great are the red spots of anger in Paul's face as he clenches his jaw and paddles her even harder. The interplay between these two as she challenges him and he responds back is really exciting to watch. She gets about 100 swats with the paddle but stupidly breaks her position, earning her a caning. She receives 6 tremble-inducing strikes that break her out of position again, earning her 6 additional strokes that make her eyes pop and leave her gasping for breath. He stands her up... giving us an enticing last peek of her reddened rear as her skirts slowly fall into place. She invites him home for dinner... and he quietly returns to collect the paddle, citing softly "You never know... you just never know...", leaving us to wonder what else he cooked for dinner that night.

You won't need the fast-forward button at all to watch "The Schoolmaster's Revenge". First-time film stars Eslynne Weaver and Lamia De Lion are amazingly excellent both as actresses and as spankees. They both portray an unusually perfect touch of fresh innocence for their roles as punished students. This was also Lamia's first real spanking... a rarity in feature length films. Miklos Toldi, also a new-comer to film, has a stern spanking style that works well and will please fans of harder discipline. Keith's dialogue is masterfully stern, well-paced, and appropriate to the misdeeds. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing Erica Scott in any other films, but she was wonderful in this role, both as the dominant, paddle-wielding mother and as the reactive and vocal recipient of a really impressive thrashing... spanked to submission. Selected to coordinate with the historic theme, the costuming also suits the characters' roles perfectly. The girls' period dresses coordinate beautifully with their coloring, while their white drawstring bloomers frame their red butt cheeks prettily. The somberness of Victoria Samuel's high color blouse, black skirt costume compliments her role of widowed mother perfectly. Mr. Johnson's serious white shirt, black suit, and suspenders suit the gravity of his role well (despite depriving him of a belt as an extra implement). Camera and sound work in this film also deserves kudos... the camera angles are perfect and the editing put it all together, cleanly. The credits were even interesting to watch. I loved "Stunts: Keith Jones". This film is entirely enjoyable and of the highest quality in every respect.

After the film concludes, there are a couple of special features definitely worth watching. There's a "what happened after he went home with her..." alternate ending continuation of the original story line. He scolds his now-wife for her about-town gossiping while she laughs and says it isn't gossip because it's true... He then belts her, but good, while she eggs him on with her mouthy comments and protests. The surprise ending of this clip is absolutely hilarious. There are also a couple of entertaining blooper clips featuring Erica and Lamia (Mrs. Samuels and daughter).

A great first time effort, Bethany and SpankingEpics have put themselves firmly on the spanking video map with a well-acted, well-spanked beautifully done, artistic video. I can't wait to see what they do next!

* Editor's Note: Erica Scott is well known to fans of Shadow Lane videos. She first appeared in Shadow Lane's 'Naughty Secretary's Week Part II". She then wrote and starred in 'Spank Thy Neighbor'. Most recently, Miss Scott was featured in Shadow Lane's 'Spanking Professor. - David Pierson

SECOND REVIEW- Posted 5/8/04
By Katrina

The first thing that struck me was the period setting. To be honest, I like period pieces. They have a special meaning for me. They represent a time when life was simpler and discipline was carried out not by grounding but by the hand or "rod" well placed on the errant lady's behind. The rules and customs of those times were easier to understand. The community was smaller and people knew each other. The chastisement of young men, or women of any age, was common and given only a wink or a nod. Ladies were expected to be ladies, and when they forgot it they were painfully reminded of their role. The time is the turn of the centenary; the last centenary. The place is represented as Charlottesville, Virginia. However, it could be any predominately rural town of that era. The film opens to an authentic one-room schoolhouse of this period. The pupils' desks were very simple at that time. Each pair of pupils had a small table. You did not have your own desk, and perhaps that is part of the problem which leads to the plot line of this story. The headmaster's desk had storage beneath the hinged table for his books. There are no computers, no electric lights, no air-conditioners, and no central heating. Instead there is a chalk board, lamps, and a brick fireplace. And hung on the mantle, in plain sight, were reminders to all present what would happen if you incurred the teacher's wrath; the paddle, cane, and, in some schools, the strop. They would be put to good use here. (The only two things out of place are the electric clock above the fireplace and the full color map along side of it. Well, you can't have everything.) Following the sets, which I loved, the costumes struck me with pause. The costumes are absolutely accurate. The ladies all wore full length dresses. A lady of that period would not dream of showing an ankle, let alone a calf. To do so would have immediately classified her as a harlot. So, the dresses went to below the ankle. Of course, petty coats and bloomers were used for undergarments. Thong panties have not even been imagined at this time.

Producers typically will say that casting is 90 percent of the movie. If you assemble the correct cast, then the film is bound to be good. If you choose the wrong cast, then no matter how good the script is, the film will reflect the poor casting. They could not have chosen a better cast for this film. Keith Jones, a very distinguished gentleman with that "tint of grey" in his hair and the hand of steel makes an excellent schoolmaster, Mr. Johnson, for this period. He is what I would have expected for a schoolmaster of the early 1900s in Virginia. His voice and mannerisms exude the authority of his position. And, I have it on good authority; he is a very "hard" spanker as well. Erica Scott played the role of a mother to perfection. Her character added the air of dignity and respect and wholesomeness that is the typical mother of the period. Yet, she could play the scorned lover when it was required. Miklos Toldi played the brother-in-law to Eslynne Weaver's character, Julia. They are both approximately the same age, young in their mid to late 20s, and are in real-life husband and wife. As a result, he does not spare her the strapping that her character deserved. By the time that the leather stop had finished, her and the backs of her thighs where severely inflamed, flushed, and without doubt, tender and sore. He could not have played a "father" figure, but as a brother-in-law, he was the proper age. The two ladies involved with the cheating were studying to be school teachers. Therefore, they should not be married and that requirement made a "husband" figure inappropriate. The choice of a brother-in-law, a male figure of suitable age, was excellent.

Susan, played by the neophyte Lamia DeLion, is exquisite. Apparently this is the first time that she has been spanked in her life. The first time that she received a bare-bottom spanking at the hands of Keith Jones she broke down in tears. Receiving such a spanking, the first time out, is like jumping into the deep end of the pool when you wish to learn to swim. After the ruler, her bottom resembles a rare steak, complete with "grill" lines. Julia, played by Eslynne Weaver, is Susan's cohort in crime. She is the one who permitted Susan to copy her examination paper. She is the one who is held to a higher standard and is punished more severely for her part in this sorted affair. Her bottom's temperature surpasses that of Susan's earlier. Both ladies are lovely. Their reactions to being caught cheating and shown the proof of the identical tests is, to use an overused word, real. The looks that they exhibit are what I would imagine would happen. The sorrow that the show over a mistake, I have shown before (but never for this offense). Then to see the two pink bottoms, on display, side by side, with the bloomers opened and bent over the desk being spanked with a ruler.... Well, be still my heart! The filming must have been during the early spring months. The trees along the path home were in full bloom, but not lacking any sign of cold weather. But the ladies had woolen shawls so it must have been early spring. Along the way, the two pause to examine each other's damaged bottom. The discussion leads to a sense of fear that the two ladies have waiting for them when they arrive home to obtain the "proof" demanded by their teacher. Later we are treated to a real, honest, period woodshed. It is the type that any lady of the period dreaded to enter since it was the domain of the master of the house. When she was escorted into the woodshed, it was not to do her nails. It was to be punished. Punishment in the woodshed meant only one thing, a bottom warming experience, sometimes with a rod or switch but usually with a belt or strap, as Julia would discover bent over the workbench.

We are treated to an old fashion "woodshed whuppin." Julia is escorted in by the arm to the woodshed, draped over the bench with her "drawers" down receiving a leather strop "whuppin." By the time that her brother-in-law has finished, not only is her bottom inflamed and red, but so are her thighs. I do not know how much more "real" you need to get. The third set for the film is the interior of a Quaker style kitchen, complete with a wood burning cast iron stove, plain chests, chairs, and kitchen table. The cooking utensils were also of plain wood at this time. Much to the regret of Susan, she would feel the wooden spoon on the most inappropriate places, her naked nates. Erica Scott plays Susan's mother, an apparently "knows" Mr. Johnson, the schoolmaster. After demonstrating a wooden spoon on Susan's naked bottom, she decides that Mr. Johnson had the nerve to spank her daughter. As a result, we have a reprise of the school scene. Ever wonder how someone gets only eleven and not twelve of the best? It is simple. Just watch Erica's reaction to the switch at the hands of Mr. Johnson. The film uses a "school" cane rather than a hickory tree switch. A switch would have been a better choice, if only for authenticity. This is applied over her already sore, paddled bottom. The defiant Erica feels every paddle stroke since she has a great deal of trouble keeping position. As they leave, he pockets the paddle and laments "You never know; you just never know" to escort Erica home. The production of this film, at least for the DVD copy, is exceptional. I can not go into all of the features, the clarity, and the brilliance. Those are well worth mentioning, but since this is a DVD, it is almost to be expected. If the film was not enough, the DVD has the "extras" that you would expect. In addition to the simple items such as a chapter breakdown and a trailer, it also includes a blooper reel that shows "Yes, these are real people making this film. Real people sometimes make mistakes." Then there is a short subject film, a "one-reeler", detailing the discovery of the woodshed and an impromptu stropping of Erica Scott by Keith Jones. In spite of her objections, she too ended up over the workbench and the recipient of the leather strap.

Finally, there is the item which caused me to spill my coffee with laughter, the alternate ending sequence. I won't go into all of the detail because you must see it for yourself. I can only say that seeing Lamia DeLion demand to know why Erica Scott was sporting a red, freshly belted fanny, in the corner, on public display was expected. Erica's response to Lamia dressed in black leather with orange, punked, hair was not. Let me state that you won't be disappointed in your purchase. It is a very modern epic of the erotic arts, in every sense of the word. Lupus and Real Spankings, I am sorry, but you have serious competition here. You never know. You just never know.