Garden of Love (2003)

AKA The Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine and Born Undead 

Although he'll likely never be given credit for it by detractors who see him as nothing more than a schlocky goremiester, Olaf Ittenbach is far from a one-note filmmaker. As one of the forefathers of German splatter, of course Ittenbach is going to be best known for his incredible special effects work and the man himself has even stated in interviews that his main purpose with his films is to entertain. Nevertheless, it's clear to anyone actually paying attention to his films that Ittenbach has more on his mind than just gore. One key thread that runs throughout a good chunk of Ittenbach's filmography is the concept of family, and especially families in conflict, going all the way back to Ittenbach's first feature Black Past (1989) where Ittenbach himself played an angsty teenager constantly at odds with his father and sisters. The Burning Moon (1992) also saw Ittenbach play the role of a mad at the world, junkie teen who comes to physical blows with his family. Ittenbach later took the family concept into grotesque comedic territory with Family Saga (2006), or Familienradgeber and its sequel Familienradgeber 2 (2009). Familial ties also play significant roles in the narratives of Chain Reaction (2006), Dard Divorce (2007) and No Reason (2010). One of Ittenbach's best films, 2003's Garden of Love saw Ittenbach put a supernatural spin on the theme along with a few other surprises.

In 1990, the inhabitants of the Verlaine compound, a commune of hippies led by rock star Gabriel Verlaine were brutally murdered by a masked madman, the lone survivor being Gabriel's young daughter Rebecca who slipped into a coma and was subsequently raised by her aunt and uncle with no memory of the murders. Years later, Rebecca (Natacza Boon), a well-adjusted student begins receiving strange messages from horribly disfigured ghostly figures who reveal themselves to be her father and the victims of the massacre, urging Rebecca to seek out those responsible for the killings, luring victims to the vengeful spirits at the compound, uncovering the truth about her past and the murders in the process.

Despite the rather bland re-titling the film “The Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine” for its DVD release, Garden of Love, named for a Gabriel Verlaine song in the film, is far from being a bland haunting film. The film may be a ghost story first and foremost, but in a wonderful display of cross-subgenre pollination, Ittenbach also delivers a revenge film from the vantage point of the ghosts, but what's at the heart of the film is the character study of Rebecca. Easily sympathetic, Ittenbach puts in extra effort to develop her character throughout, making the various narrative twists all the more potent. The twists are quite nasty and giallo-esque, which take the film into the realms of a “drive-the-woman-crazy” type of film such as Umberto Lenzi's Orgasmo/Paranoia (1969). And the film is, of course, a splatter film, through many will be surprised by the fact that the film really only contains three major gore set-pieces, the main highlight being the slaughter of an entire SWAT team by the hands of the ghosts, one of the most memorable scenes in all of Ittenbach's oeuvre. The effects work is, as always with Ittenbach, outstanding and innovative. The ghosts themselves look fantastic and Cenobite-esque with Ittenbach channeling his love of Hellraiser (1987) during their appearances which are all incredibly stylish and give moments of the film a thick atmosphere, Ittenbach also managing to avoid cheap jump-scare tactics. Ittenbach's warped sense of humor is also featured in a hilarious infomerical parody featuring the ghost of Rebecca's father.

All of the emotional weight of the film rests on the shoulders of lead actress Natacza Boon who, along with having an interesting Shelley Duvall-esque look to her, is also a more than capable actress who's performance really elevates the material. Garden of Love was Boon's second film with Ittenbach, having previously featured in the second segment of Ittenbach's anthology Beyond the Limits (2003) where her character also gave the story a bit of heart. While being interviewed for the Beyond the Limits DVD, Ittenbach praised Boon saying “I think with Natacza I had the most fun on the set, you know. She's totally funny, she's totally crazy and she's absolutely cool.” Strange since they had such a strong rapport that they only did two films together. Unlike so many Ittenbach titles, who still face draconian censorship for their home video releases, particularly in Ittenbach's homeland of Germany, Garden of Love also his the distinction of having an easily available uncut DVD release, albeit under the anonymous sounding re-title “The Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine”. The film was also released under the wildly misleading title of “Born Undead” with equally misleading cover art. Titles aside, Garden of Love is a gem of a post-2000 horror movie with Ittenbach not only finding new and clever ways to splash the screen with blood, but crafting an intriguing storyline to go along with his trademark splatter effects.