Ultimate Guide To Passionflix: Is It Worth It?

If you’ve ever found yourself caught in the allure of smutty movies, you’ve likely stumbled upon Passionflix.

In a world filled with streaming options, the question looms: Is it truly the cinematic heaven for fans seeking their favorite romance novels brought to life? Or is it money wasted?

Is Passionflix worth the monthly subscription?

For those looking for a brief answer:

Passionflix offers a limited portfolio of movies and shows of varied quality. The restrictive budget impacts the production quality, but the content may appeal to those already familiar with the adapted novels. Subscription for a few months provides enough time to view the entire offer.

For those looking for more information about the platform or content, here is a comprehensive guide to help you decide.

What Is Passionflix?

Passionflix is a streaming service specializing in adapting romance novels to the screen. Founded by filmmaker Tosca Musk (Elon Musk’s sister), the platform aspires to distinguish itself from the competition through its content offer. While other channels, e.g. Hallmark, permeate the idea of chaste love stories, Passionflix focuses on more explicit content.

Passionflix Platform

The platform is easy to use but lacks some perks we are used to. For example, it should automatically play the next installment of the series. This is so that the nitwits like me don’t accidentally click on watch the first 20 minutes of an unrelated part…

….before realizing I have just learned all the spoilers…

You need to check you follow the chronological order. This is mainly important for Gabriel’s Inferno movies, which are not labeled by numbers, and rely on you being familiar with the books.

Genre Overview

You can find the content to watch based on the genre:

The categories are mostly self-explanatory (except for the “CHUTZPAH & HOOHAH”?).

For all Austen fans, the category MR. DARCY AND COMPANY will warm your heart. Within, you’ll discover BBC adaptations of timeless classics, such as Colin Firth’s Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Wuthering Heights, and not one, but two Jane Eyres.

However, these are NOT available in all countries. Passionflix holds licenses only for the US at the moment.

It seems that these categories are not updated as the new content is added. When you look into the category for a specific subgenre, you will not find all movies. For example, you can’t find Tangled, a recent Passionflix comedy, under “LOVE & LAUGHTER“. For this reason, it’s best to check just all “originals” to find what you are in the mood for. There are not that many 🙂

Passionflix does not yet have enough content to merit a long-term subscription. They are trying to hide this fact with short movies, bloopers, and behind-the-scenes clips tucked away under WINE & CHEESE LOUNGE.

Smuttiness Overview

The main selling point for Passionflix is that it does not shy away from erotica.

The level of smuttiness varies. It depends on whether the movie is meant to be licensed to other platforms, like Amazon Prime or Netflix. To determine how explicit the content is, you can check the handy fire levels next to each title. They range from innocent ‘vanilla’ through ‘toe-curling’, to spicy ‘NSFW’.

Passionflix App

The app encompasses standard features one would expect. Like the option to download movies for later or last viewing position synchronized with the platform. Similarly, the automatic feature for the next installment is also absent. Other than that, the interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Content Quality

The production quality varies.

The better-budgeted originals (The Will, Gabriel’s Inferno Series, and perhaps even Tangled) offer impressive visuals, but also cringe-worthy acting. Adapting romance novels to the screen can be tricky since much of the plot unfolds in the protagonist’s head. Without a solid plot, scenes get stuck in sappy dialogue, where the characters re-analyze the same problems across several installments.

There is a distinction between a slow burn and just slow. The directors (primarily Tosca herself) don’t always grasp this difference. Unfortunately, this includes the Passionflix flagship series – Gabriel’s Inferno.

Watching Gabriel’s Inferno provided a different kind of inferno with its lengthy ponderings about love and god. These sound differently in the book than acted out loud. Especially on the part of the female protagonist, played by Melanie Zanetti, with an annoying pious look on her face. This, unfortunately, leaves us with only one piece worth watching this series – the tall, sexy, hooded-eye MMC played by Giulio Berruti.

Interestingly, the sex scenes work better in movies/series with more elaborate plots, such as the adaptations of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Wicked, and Torn. When there is more going on in terms of story, the spiciness of the scenes works better. These two fantasy pieces are plagued by inferior visual effects, but if you liked the books, you’ll get over it.

You will likely not get over the terrible wigs though. In Torn, there is a scene where the female protagonist, Ivy, goes in the shower with beautiful red hair. Then she comes out with a terrible wig. And I mean T E R R I B L E, Aliexpress-kind-bad wig. This continuity leap is so distracting, that it might ruin the rest of the movie for you.

You can try to ignore it… be above the petty issues…

…until the main villain appears with an even worse wig!

I mean, if you liked the books, you likely won’t turn the movie off, but just a fair warning – it WILL irritate you.

The comedies on Passionflix follow the latest trend. Characters break the fourth wall in Fleabag-style to speak directly to the camera, with zany zingers and meaningful winks at the audience. The difference here is that this honor was given to the male characters (Tangled, The Matchmaker’s Playbook). Surprisingly, it isn’t overly disturbing, and instead, it contributes to the overall escapist, feel-good vibe of the movies.

Passionflix & Diversity

Unless you couldn’t guess from the movie posters, the content is not diverse. This can be linked to the not-so-diverse source material. If the source novels lack diversity in characters and storylines, it will inevitably be mirrored in the on-screen adaptations.

To their credit, the creators seem to have noticed this. They tried to make up for it with a more diverse casting of supporting roles, and one (!) movie – A Brother’s Honor, based on the eponymous book by Brenda Jackson.

Passionflix On Amazon Prime Video

Members of Amazon Prime Video in the US can add the channel, but Passionflix is not free with Amazon Prime. There is a free one-week trial, but after that, it’s $5.99 a month. This is the same as a standalone subscription directly from Passionflix.com.

Conclusion

So is Passionflix worth the monthly subscription?

The streaming platform offers a small offer of movies but has a unique selling point. Often described as ‘smutty Hallmark’, Passionflix provides a spicy take on romantic movies. The romance genre, particularly the smutty kind, is on the rise, and it’s refreshing to see that the market has finally started to reflect it. Passionflix is a new startup and the production has room for finesse, but quality improves with each new addition.

The business concept is great and worth supporting for at least several months for the future of all smutty fans out there.

See Also

Best Movies and Series on Passionflix