The first two scenes in Obscene Desire starting with Dustin Pazer as Greg Miller and Annie Unger as Emma Reed are exceptional.. We are introduced to “Greg” as a narcissistic, insecure abuser and we are misled by Unger’s “Emma” to think of her as the brilliant, innocent and abused subservient girlfriend. The darkness is heavy and absorbing.

Prazer, though, determines rather quickly to bring some light to the darkness as “Emma” goes to meet her best friend “Scarlett” (Samantha Seiff) over Greg’s objections. With Scarlett it becomes apparent that Greg is just a placeholder for Emma and she is somehow receiving a “reward” by dating the younger boy despite the abuse. She plans to leave him before she leaves for her Freshman year at Yale the next day. Right or wrong her fear of Greg is not paralyzing.

Greg, in the meantime, goes on to meet his best friend, “Adam” (Johnathan Beebe), who is the psychopath to Greg’s schizophrenic. While Greg is a bundle of uncontrolled emotions which he tries to neutralize with alcohol, Adam plots every move he makes to benefit himself.

Then we learn that Emma has been peeping on the neighbors, her high school Math teacher Henry Johnson (Travis Bergman) and his doctor wife, Jennifer Johnson (Jean-Marie Stodoleski). Emma gets sexually excited by her voyeurisms, until she witnesses a BDSM scene between the husband and wife that her 18 year old mind determines is abuse.

Emma decides to play “savior” and rescue Dr. Johnson from her “abusive” husband. Only Dr. Johnson is not being abused. She is suffering from severe depression after the manslaughter of her son in the home and also has had a psychotic break. She drugs and captures Emma while Scarlett waits in the car. Scarlett is then captured with the help of Henry and both girls are brought tied to the Johnson living room where Henry loses some of his submissiveness and advocates for the girls’ survival.

In the meantime, Greg and Adam have found Emma’s car outside the Johnsons’. Greg confesses to Adam that he was responsible for the Johnsons’ son’s death and borrows Adam’s gun to “rescue” Emma and Scarlett.

This is where Prasso loses his nerve and refuses to go for the extraordinarily dark comedic ending and instead foolishly opts for the soft landing. Not exactly a happy landing but everyone walks away physically, if not mentally, healthy. It is the type of mistake that we often saw writers make prior to the pandemic.

Prasso, as he did in Angels in the Heat, shows that he is one of the few directors capable of directing his own work with a minimalist set. Hopefully, he’ll get the confidence to go for the jugular in his dark comedies.