Treasure Island Media Raw Underground Paris Today

This is where the review gets complicated. The audio is a mess. At times, you can hear the traffic above ground bleeding through the mic. The dialogue is often inaudible beneath the industrial hum of a water heater. The editing, credited to Morris himself, is choppy—not in an avant-garde sense, but in a "we lost the B-roll" sense. Some scenes end abruptly; others linger on a sweaty back for far too long. However, to call these "flaws" is to misunderstand TIM’s aesthetic. This is punk rock filmmaking. The wobbly camera and blown-out highlights are not mistakes; they are proof of authenticity. This is what underground sex actually looks like when you aren't staging it for a French Vogue spread.

Treasure Island Media: RAW Underground Paris is not for everyone. It is not for most people. If your idea of hot is a curated Instagram thot with a ring light, run away. But if you are a student of queer history, a connoisseur of the abject, or someone who believes that pornography’s last frontier is not sex but authentic squalor , then this film is a masterpiece of sorts.

In an era where gay adult media has been largely sanitized by the glossy, steroid-pumped aesthetics of mainstream studios and the algorithmic blandness of OnlyFans, Treasure Island Media (TIM) remains a septic outlier. For over two decades, TIM has built a brand on a specific, unyielding promise: no condoms, no prep talk, no safe words, and certainly no soft lighting. Their 2014 release, RAW Underground Paris , is not merely a film; it is a document of controlled chaos. Directed by the infamous Paul Morris, this feature attempts to transplant the signature TIM "dirty, dark, and dangerous" ethos from the basements of San Francisco to the arrondissements of France. Does it succeed? Unequivocally, but with caveats that will make even seasoned viewers reach for a shower. treasure island media raw underground paris

It earns 4 out of 5 stars—not for polish, but for purity of vision. One star is deducted for the genuinely unwatchable first ten minutes of shaky establishing shots of the Paris Metro. We get it, Paul. It’s underground.

The "RAW" in the title is literal. There is no pretense of seduction. Within the first seven minutes, dialogue is reduced to grunts, commands in broken Franglais ("Lèche ça, salope"), and the wet percussive sound of skin. The standout scene involves a three-way on a stained mattress where the bottom (Sebastien) takes what can only be described as a punitive fist before being anally reamed by two tops simultaneously. TIM’s signature "cum inflation" fetish is in full display—multiple internal creampies are followed by prolonged, graphic gaping shots. The film does not cut away. Ever. You will watch the semen drip onto the concrete. You will watch the top wipe his dick on a discarded shirt. It is relentless. This is where the review gets complicated

There are no "models" here. You will not find the chiseled, hairless torsos of Bel Ami or the oiled giants of Falcon. The cast of RAW Underground Paris —featuring European regulars like Yves B., Franck M., and a notably feral cameo by TIM stalwart Matt C.—are chosen for one attribute: apparent desperation. These men look like they just stepped out of a Le Marais backroom at 4 AM. They have scars, unshowered body hair, crooked teeth, and the thousand-yard stare of men who have been fucking for six hours straight. The authenticity is almost uncomfortable. When Tim, a bearish American expat, throat-fucks a skinny French twink named Nico against a fuse box, you believe the sweat is real because the lens is fogging up.

Watch it alone. On a laptop. With a can of beer. And have bleach wipes ready for your screen afterward. RAW Underground Paris doesn't just break the fourth wall; it cums on it and leaves it for the rats. The dialogue is often inaudible beneath the industrial

No review of RAW Underground Paris can ignore the ongoing debate about TIM’s safety protocols (or lack thereof). Released in 2014, pre-PrEP ubiquity, the film is a time capsule of barebacking as transgression. Watching it today, with modern harm reduction in mind, is jarring. There is no visible discussion of status, no testing cards on screen. The film exists in a moral vacuum. As a piece of historical documentation of a specific subculture (the chem-sex-fueled, serosorting underground of early 2010s Europe), it is invaluable. As a public health advertisement, it is a nightmare. The viewer must compartmentalize aggressively.

Forget the Eiffel Tower. Forget croissants and café culture. The Paris of RAW Underground Paris is a subterranean labyrinth of stripped wires, crumbling plaster, and air thick enough to taste. The production utilizes a genuine地下 (underground) location—likely an abandoned warehouse or boiler room near the Périphérique—and the cinematography leans into this aggressively. Shot almost entirely with natural grime and what appears to be a single, jaundiced LED light, the film looks like a snuff film recovered from a hard drive. Every brick sweats moisture; every surface is sticky. This is not a criticism. For the TIM fan, this verisimilitude is the entire point. The location is a character in itself: hostile, cold, and utterly indifferent to the men who fuck within it.

Where RAW Underground Paris distinguishes itself from its American predecessors is in its uniquely French ennui . There are moments where a top will stop mid-thrust to light a cigarette, staring blankly at the wall before resuming with renewed aggression. This nihilistic pacing is brilliant. It suggests not passion, but compulsion. These men aren't having sex because they're horny; they're having sex because they've run out of other ways to feel something.

The Fetishization of Filth: A Critical Review of Treasure Island Media’s RAW Underground Paris