It seems like whenever “German splatter” is discussed you hear the name Olaf Ittenbach (Beyond the Limits). Admittedly, I’m only familiar with his work on Bloodrayne. However, with Unearthed Films’ new Blu ray presentation of Garden of Love (aka The Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine; 2003), I was excited to take a look at some of his more gonzo stuff.
Synopsis
“A woman whose family was brutally murdered when she was little is instructed by her family’s ghosts to bring the killers to them so their souls can rest in peace.”
After a truly brutal X-Mas eve massacre at a hippy commune led by musician Gabriel Verlaine (Bela Felsenheimer, aka Bela B of punk band Die Arzte), Verlaine’s young daughter Rebecca (Natacza S. Boon; Aeon Flux), the only survivor, spends two years in a “shock induced coma” before being adopted by a caring couple (Donald Steward, & Alexandra Thorn-Heinrich; The Fest). Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) young Rebecca has amnesia, and remembers nothing about her past.
Now an adult, Rebecca is dating her college professor David (Daryl Jackson; Gorky Zero) and working through the disturbing visions and flashbacks she is having with Dr. Munster (James Matthews-Pyecka; Legend of Hell) while slowly piecing together the details of her past, and the true goal of the murderous apparitions inhabiting the old family homestead. Can she trust the ghostly murdered family of her past? Or the people protecting her from them??
The first five minutes of Garden of Love will absolutely convince you that Ittenbach is deserving of the title of “The King of German Splatter”. The massacre at the commune is perfectly filmed in quasi-darkness, and is just sheer, gory ultra-violence (Ittenbach did effects with Tommy Opatz; Bloodrayne)! Unfortunately, the story gets bogged down in inept script points and some acting that veers from completely wooden, to downright daytime soap melodrama. But for fans of gore, Garden of Love is a flat out banger! With a Fulci-esque emphasis on gallons of gore and atmospheric set pieces—there are some truly gross-out and creepy moments to be found here! Despite the flawed script and the haphazard performances, Garden of Love is a veritable masterclass in how to do practical effects beautifully supported by superb editing (by Eckhard Zerzawy; Beyond the Limits), for maximum impact—this film just punches you in the nether regions with sanguinary mayhem!
The film proper seems to have benefitted from a high def transfer, but there’s some static and grain to be found, likely due to the quality and/or presentation of the source print, but it kind of adds to the “grindhouse” (dammit, I loathe that word…) feel this nasty little VHS era throwback. Nicely presented cover art, duplicated on a slick slipcase (for my fellow collector nerds) round out the basic packaging. Extras include: a “making of” piece, BTS footage, outtakes, a photo gallery and the trailer. Bare bones, but interesting nonetheless if you’re curious at how this crew put this all together.
With a title like Garden of Love, one doesn’t really expect a knee deep in gore, gutbucket of a film, but this flick delivers that in spades! Definitely worth dropping the list price down for the demographic that loves to get knee deep in the red stuff, or people that are curious as to what a titan of Teutonic terror like Ittenbach can do with 90 or so minutes and a truckload of blood.
Unearthed Films’ Blu ray of Garden of Love is available now from fine retailers.
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