Worth seeing for the unique, catatonic performance of Joe Dallesandro, the strange Warhol poster boy whose fascinating credits include "Black Moon", "Trash", "Heat", "Blood for Dracula" and "Flesh for Frankenstein". Joe, well cast, is The Gardener, a peculiar, often shirtless, infantile fellow who comes to work in Katherine Houghton's garden, a garden so large Joe is able to hang out in it without being seen. Although the trailers suggest a horror film, the actual horror is that there really is none. Aside from one scene of a limb being hacked, nothing horrific happens. The lighting is flat, the performances are forgettable, and the direction is awkward. A plus, however, is the film's wonderful poster art, faithfully reproduced on the new DVD cover and all old VHS's. The film's conclusion confirms The Gardener's supernatural credentials, so it is all the more disappointing that the filmmakers were too chicken to exploit the premise's potential and make a real horror film. The 'Lost in Space' episode 'Attack of the Monster Plants' is a much more memorable attempt to demonize the creatures at the bottom of our gardens.
Review of Garden of Death
