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The Gardener (AKA The Seeds of Evil) [DVD]
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| Genre | Horror |
| Format | Color, NTSC, DVD |
| Contributor | Robert Yoh, Joe Dallesandro, Roberto Negron, Cass Fry, Anne Meacham, James H. Kay, Rita Gam, Katharine Houghton, Teodorina Bello, James Congdon, Hal Lasky, Ivan Rodriguez, Esther Mari See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 26 minutes |
Product Description
Starring Andy Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro in his first non- Warhol role and Katherine Houghton ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), the niece of superstar actress Katherine Hepburn, The Gardener is a flowery mix of 70s mod-art film, grindhouse horror and Italian giallo released theatrically in an abbreviated form as Seeds of Evil.
Ellen (Houghton) and her husband John (James Congdon) enjoy the good life in their lovely Costa Rica home-all that's missing is a nice garden. Enter the mysterious and dangerously handsome Carl (Dallesandro), who creates a botanical paradise while casting a spell on Ellen and her woman friends. Things take a turn for the worse when Ellen discovers that her Gardener may be planting his own "seeds of evil".
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.25 x 0.75 inches; 3.2 Ounces
- Director : James H. Kay
- Media Format : Color, NTSC, DVD
- Run time : 1 hour and 26 minutes
- Release date : February 28, 2006
- Actors : Katharine Houghton, Joe Dallesandro, Rita Gam, James Congdon, Anne Meacham
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
- Studio : Subversive Cinema
- ASIN : B000E6EK60
- Writers : James H. Kay
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #147,391 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #5,580 in Horror (Movies & TV)
- #8,287 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
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The film begins in a hospital as we see a middle aged brunette woman, who we later find out is named Dorothy, lying in a bed, soon visited by a nurse who brings in some flowers. After the nurse leaves Dorothy, upon awakening, spies the flowers and promptly freaks out, resulting in her untimely death. After the funeral we're now at Dorothy's home with a couple of her friends named Ellen (Houghton) and Helena (Gam), along with Dorothy's husband, who doesn't seem as disconsolate as one would think, especially given the fact he'd just buried his wife...anyway, Ellen and Helena are amazed with Dorothy's garden, so much so Ellen decides to hire Dorothy's gardener, a shirtless, shoeless, long-haired hunk named Carl (Dallesandro), to work for at her home, as her garden is the pits (Carl, as we'll soon discover is a master at cultivating things, like extreme tedium). Carl shows up at Ellen's house, has a falling out with the current yard man, an older Hispanic fellow named Ralph (one way or another I think Ralph's days are numbered), and sets the ethnic household staff on edge given his weird vibes (being ethnic and all they possess a greater sensitivity to things `unnatural', apparently). Anyway, Carl soon has things blooming as there's plants everywhere (he's got a real, almost mystical way with all things green), so much so it sets Ellen's husband John (Congdon) at unease, especially given the thorny foliage he finds in the bathroom. A whole bunch of stuff happens, none of it of much importance, but Ellen soon grows suspicious after her hippy niece arrives for a stay and then abruptly disappears (a note was left behind, but Ellen wasn't convinced it was actually written by her niece). Soon after some more weirdness Ellen decides it's time to let Carl go, but to her dismay Helena promptly hires him on to work in her garden (along with tilling her soil). Things eventually come to a head once Ellen discovers certain, frightening aspects of Carl's past through his previous employers, all leading up to a semi-surrealistic and pointless finale.
Normally I take pretty well to these obscure, oddball features from the 1970s but this one was difficult to sit through as it had so little going on throughout the entire length of the film. Given this was writer/director James H. Kay's first film he does deserve some credit as he did develop a certain amount of tension in a good deal of the scenes, but given the fact there was rarely any, real payoff to the build up, it seemed one, big exercise in futility. The performances were generally weak, but I think that was more due to poor material rather than inept actors, with the exception of Joe Dallesandro, who displays about as much personality as that of a cinder block. He's got all of about five lines in the film (thankfully), and he delivers them all with the same, blank expression (given the number of films he'd appeared in prior to this one you'd have thought he'd picked up some skills along the way). I suppose his saving grace here is the fact he's a somewhat attractive man, and spends nearly the entire film walking about with no shirt on...there are a couple shots with him sans his pants, if you dig on that kind of thing. I didn't mind this so much, but I would have appreciated a reciprocal amount of female flesh as a means to offset Dallesandro's bum cakes, but it never came about. As I said before the story goes on and on, but nothing much happens. I kept hoping for a bit of the visceral, perhaps a gruesome death or two, but I got nothing, squat, zilch, nada...the opportunities were there, but never capitalized upon (there are all of about three, on screen deaths). One example is when Ralph, the regular yard man, who doesn't get along with Carl at all (Carl tried to fire Ralph but Ellen interceded), suffers what I'm assuming to be an allergic reaction to some of Carl's strange, new plants while working in the yard. At this point I was expecting Ralph to die miserably from some bizarre, plant induced disease, but all he got was a bloody nose and a trip to the hospital...whoop de doo...and then there was that whole business with Ellen's hippy niece. The girl shows up and there's the inference that given her earthy, obviously hippy ways she might find interest in the half nekkid, Earth friendly Carl, who's got a ponytail down to his waist, as they appear kindred spirits (figuratively speaking) and such, but then poof! She's gone, never to be heard from again. What happened to her? It would seem Carl might have had something to do with her disappearance, but it's never detailed (I was hoping to see her incorporated into a tree or a shrub in some manner). And let's not forget the ridiculous ending...I won't give it away, but know it will probably leave you scratching your noodle and asking "What the f***?" All in all if you're planning on watching this film, keep your expectations low...better yet, get yourself some mind altering substances as I'm betting the material comes off with a lot more meaning for the viewer in a half-baked state.
This Subversive Cinema DVD release, which claims to be the uncut version, includes a widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1) picture, one that comes across relatively clean, but know the hues are a little harsh resulting in an annoying orange tone to nearly everyone's flesh. The audio, available in the original mono and the newly mastered Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, comes through very well. Extras include two audio commentary tracks (one with performer Joe Dallesandro and a second with writer/director James H. Kay), a newly created featurette titled `Planting the Seeds of Evil' (35:38), a second vintage featurette made by Kay in 1980 titled `The Distribution of Low Budget Films or The Gardener's Seeds of Evil Killed My Million Dollar Dream' (28:37), talent bios, a still gallery, three lobby cards, a poster insert, and a theatrical trailer for the film, along with previews for other Subversive Cinema DVD releases like Blood Bath (1976), Metal Skin (1994), Blue Murder (1995), The Candy Snatchers (1973), and The Freakmaker (1974).
Cookieman108
The film has the look and feel of television, not surprisingly considering the low budget under which it was made. Contributing to the daytime-serials ("soap opera") feeling is the presence of too much chatter and not enough action. Since the characters of the film, apart from the supernatural (demonic) gardener, are a bunch of self-pampering upper middle class "lounge-lizard" types, the cheesily vintage M.O.R. music befits them. The troop of actors perform competently, no more than that. The fright scenes are not vivid enough to be scary, but they are interesting and add the much-needed suspense and moments of action which a film like this one (otherwise so static most of the time), requires (and, indeed, needs more often).
The film gets really splendid "special features" treatment, enhancing the value of the DVD. The original producer`s little documentary on the film as specimen to illustrate the pitfalls that can beset any "B" film, especially regarding distribution, is especially pertinent from a film-studies angle. For admirers of Joe Dallesandro`s films and of his almost mythically beautiful body, "The Gardener" is worth having, for others, that might be more than a little doubtful as a potential purchase.
It's an enjoyable film with Dellasandro as a mysterious gardener who can grow plants better than the existing gardener, and can even grow things that aren't in season. The Mexican help for the house sense the evil and appropriately stay away. The other women are blinded by their sexual attraction to him.
If you're familiar with the Greek story of Persephone, this film shares some elements from that mythology.

