Garden Of Love Blu Ray Review (Unearthed Films)

Garden of Love (aKa The Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine and Born Undead) is a 2003 extreme horror film co-written, executive produced, special fx, and directed by Olaf Ittenbach (Premutos: The Fallen Angel, No Reason, The Burning Moon, Black Past, Beyond the Limits, and Legion of the Dead). It was composed, 2nd unit directed, and co-written by Thomas Reitmair (Alter Ego, Riverplay, Chain Reaction, Black Past, BloodRayne, Legion of the Dead, and Beyond the Limits). It was produced by Yazid Benfeghoul (Inbred, Sky Sharks, No Reason, Legend of Hell, Savage Love, Beyond the Limits, and Seed 2). A young woman Rebecca Verlaine (played by: Natacza Boon from Æon Flux, School of Silence, Lake of Soldiers, and Beyond the Limits) is tormented with bloody visions of a past she can’t remember at all. She only knows that her entire family was slaughtered when she was younger. Now the evil spirits of the dead lusts for vengeance and they want Rebecca to guide those responsible to them when goes back to where it took place. Rebecca is forced to do whatever it takes to survive, can she make it out alive???? It has a excellent insane opening that puts the madness in motion. Director Olaf Ittenbach is one of the kings of German Horror. He delivers another bloodbath with Garden of Love. He’s responsible for a variety of jobs here including the wild gory special fx. This takes place on Christmas Eve where a devasting massacre takes place and Rebecca is the only survivor from it. She awakes from a coma after a few years and she is tortured by what happened. She investigate into finding the actual truth about her trauma. It comes back to pay her a visit and she’s put to the ultimate test. Lead actress Natacza Boon is Rebecca Verlaine. She is actually decent here, this is honestly more about the brutality than the acting but she’s one of the better performances here. The rest of the cast includes Bela B. Felsenheimer (Der Todesking), James Matthews-Pyecka (Legend of Hell), Daryl Jackson (Beyond the Limits), Jean-Luc Julien (Letters from Felix), Anika Julien (The Fest), Barrett Jones (Dard Divorce), Jeff Motherhead (Legion of the Dead), Christoph Baumann (Shadow Force), Heiko Dietz (Marienhof), Martina Kundinger (Die Boten Des Todes), and Salvatore Pascale (Chain Reaction). Garden of Love pushes it past the limits when it comes to violence. It has flesh ripping, eyes getting popped out, head explosions, zombies, ghosts, skulls smashed, dismemberment, and endless gore. Olaf Ittenbach proves that he can do a feature that can relate to a bigger audience. Besides the early slaughter, this has around 30 minutes after that dedicated to the overall plot. This murder mystery takes a darker approach. Don’t worry, it’s still extremely gruesome and nasty but it’s more than your typical non stop killing visuals that you would expect from something like this. It has a legit plot and it stays with it for Garden of Love. It doesn’t have much of a budget but it’s backed by a skilled behind the scenes team especially for the impressive graphic kills. The awful dubbing adds to some of the unintentional humor in this. It has a dreamlike atmosphere to it that reminded me of the old school Italian Horror productions from back in the day. It feels like it was heavily influenced by Lucio Fulci. Garden of Love is one of Olaf Ittenbach’s best when it comes to everything. It’s a slower burn besides the crazy beginning for a little bit but it pays for the patience of the viewers because it’s something else with it’s gorefest and pure death. The replay value is really strong, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Unearthed Films! This 1080p (1.78:1) uncensored unedited uncut transfer from a newer restoration. Garden of Love is stylish and it looks great for an independent feature. It’s all about the special fx, gore, murder, and madness when it comes to it’s sharper nightmarish visuals. It’s a major upgrade compared to the older MTI DVD from 2008, Mill Creek DVD set from 2010, and the Blu Ray under Born Undead from Lightyear in 2012. It has multiple audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English: LPCM 2.0 tracks on the disc. The audio shines more when the violence hits and the soundtrack comes in. All of the dialogue is very clean, the massacre is elevated, and the music has a massive boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has the almost 7 minute “Original Introduction” opening credits. It has the almost 23 minute “The Making of Garden of Love”. It mixes interviews with behind the scenes footage. They mention that it had to be made. They wrote and prepped it fast, only took 6 weeks to do it. They point out how they pulled off some difficult scenes. It showcases the top notch bloodshed and fx in this. It has the little over 18 minute “A Look Behind Garden of Love”. This has additional conversations with the cast and crew. It has clips and on set footage from the splatterfest. They chat about the origins and concept of Garden of Love. They said it was a miracle it was actually made. They talk about putting everything together for this smaller film. They go over their working relationship. Olaf had no clue who Bela B. Felsenheimer was when approached about being a part of this. They had to let him know that he was a big pop star and it would help with the movie. They bring their experiences with director Olaf Ittenbach. It has a little over 32 minutes of unreleased “Outtakes”. It has a brand new exclusive almost 4 minute “Still Gallery”. It has a “Trailer” for Garden of Love. Unearthed Films continues to be the kings of extreme horror and this is proof on why they always dominate that sub-genre. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!