GARDEN OF LOVE (2003)
aka THE HAUNTING OF REBECCA VERLAINE
Collectors Limited Edition Blu-ray
Label: Unearthed Films
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 89 Minutes 16 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.0 or DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Olaf Ittenbach
Cast: Natacza Boon, James Matthews-Pyecka, Bela B., Daryl Jackson
Garden of Love (2003), aka The Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine, is directed by German splatter-master Olaf Ittenbach (Nekromantik 2). It starts off pretty fantastically right out of the gate as a masked killer enters a communal compound and just starts hacking communitarians to shreds, the old school practical effects are super-gory, there is blood everywhere. The lone survivor of the massacre is young Rebecca (played as an adult by Natacza Boon, Aeon Flux), whom falls into a shock-induced coma after the attack, only remerging from her coma two years later, with retrograde amnesia, mercifully unable to remember nothing of the attack. She is adopted by couple Barbara (Alexandra Thom-Heinrich) and Don Creedonher (Donald Stewart), her aunt and uncle, and all seems well, all things considered. Ten years she begins experience grotesque visions of her dead father Gabriel (Bela B., Der Todesking) and the other dead commune members, as well as hearing strains of a song called "Garden of Love", which it turns out her former-rocker father composed years earlier. It seems the restless spirits are out for revenge and bloodthirsty, and I don't think I've ever seen ghosts portrayed as such violent, revenge starved specters, and the design of the spirits is pretty cool, too. Her father's spectral form tell her she needs to bring their killer to the compound, the only place they can assume a corporeal form, so they may take their bloody revenge on their killer, or killers. Confused by the visions and her re-emerging past memories, she seeks out the cop who handled the case initially, Det. Thomas Munster (James Matthews-Pyecka, Legend of Hell), who is haunted by his own nightmares, to make inquiries, but both he and her boyfriend Dr. David Riven (Daryl Jackson, Chain Reaction) try to dissuade her from following up or visiting the commune property, so she starts looking into her past on her own, discovering long-kept secrets that her aunt, uncle and boyfriend have chosen not to share with her.
The kills are completely over-the-top splat-stick, so much so that they are nearly comical in a Dead Alive sort of way, we get severed limbs, guts spilling out, heads exploding, faces stabbed, drilled and torn, and torrents upon torrents of deep blood, it's wild. What this film had working in its favor is German special effects maestro turned director Olaf Ittenbach knew how to deliver the maximum gore he could muster on a low-budget buck, and the old school practical FX look absolutely amazing. What doesn't work in my opinion is the ghost story/murder mystery aspect of this film, which was needlessly over convoluted, and it's somewhat derailed by uneven and spotty acting, with dialogue that doesn't always sound like that is what a human might say. That said, the over-the-top gore held a lot of sway for me, perhaps not a great film, but this supernatural gore-fest was a lot of fun and plenty entertaining. It's also one of the slickest looking production from Ittenbach I've seen, it's still visceral and gory, but the lighting and lensing by Holger Fleig (Chain Reaction) is pretty terrific.
Audio/Video: Garden of Love (2003) gets a region-free Blu-ray from Unearthed Films, presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. There are no notes about the transfer, but the film was originally shot on 16mm, film grain looks good throughout with plenty of pleasing detail and texture. Colors are also pleasing, the gory bits are wonderfully vibrant, mst of the film has a dour blue-ish tinting to it, while flashbacks to the commune's better days are bright with verdant green and crisp whites. The source is in good shape, there are some small scratches, digs, and white specks that appear, but they are few and far between. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. Both tracks are clean and well-balanced, the surround track does good work opening up the sound stage and spreading the A.G. Striedl (The Burning Moon) in the surrounds to great effect. I first saw this film as one of the films on the Mill Creek Entertainment Blood Bath 12 Movie Collection DVD set, which I reviewed back in 2010. So compared to that DVD presentation this was quite a stunning A/V upgrade compared to that, it should also be noted that this Blu-ray features a newly created opening credits title treatment compared to that release.
We get only archival extras for this release, but they are still pretty great. We start off with a pair of making of featurettes, the 22-min Making Of Garden of Love, the 18- in A Look Behind Garden of Love, featuring the director, cast and crew on set of the film. There are also 32-min of Outtakes, the original 7-min Original Intro, which is the original title sequence, plus a 4-min Photo Gallery with some terrific shots of the make-up effects that give you a good gory look at them without filtered lighting, plus the 2-min Trailer. The single-disc Blu-ray arrives with a standard keepcase with a single-sided wrap, featuring some terrific new artwork by artist Ilan Sheady/Uncle Frank Productions. That new artwork is also available on the first-pressing only Slipcover.
Special Features:
- Making Of Garden of Love (22:41)
- A Look Behind Garden of Love (18:15)
- A Look Behind Garden of Love (18:15)
- Outtakes (32:18)
- Original Intro (6:47)
- Photo Gallery (3:57)
- Trailer (2:02)
Screenshots from the Unearthed Films Blu-ray:
Extras:
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