Garden of Death

Last night I saw this film, which missed the possibilities of developing an interesting story, with endless dialogs and bad performances. But I wouldn't put the blame on Joe Dallesandro. After all he plays a tree or something like that, so he delivers his line as plant-like as possible. He is a beautiful tree to look at, though, and I believe this is what this film is all about, including his legendary derrière. Poor Katharine Houghton tries to deliver a dramatic performance in the line of a giallo fatal heroine to no avail; James Congdon as her husband is rather boring (especially with Little Joe around), and Rita Gam is simply having a good time. I lived in Puerto Rico when this film was shot, but I did not hear anything about it being made. It was fun to watch a few theater people that were my friends, playing minor roles (Esther Mari, the cook; or Orlando Rodríguez and Janet Gómez as the couple Houghton visits).

this movie looks, sounds and plays like an industrial travelogue from the 70s. possibly as innocuous as a horror film could be. if that isn't recommendation enough, it also features joe dallesandro with a dazzling verbal prowess not seen since the warhol films (it's a little scary when he is just as zonked when out of a drug context). almost completely devoid of horror, it consists mainly of bored, rich people having stilted dialogue while they lounge about their tropical island homes. the score helps this along with swell cocktail themes running throughout, with the occasional diversion into cheesy horror. it's actually quite an enjoyable score. there is a great deal of suspense in place of horror, as you are kept on the edge of your seat wondering what the point to all this is. you needn't wonder, because there is none. the climax, while not elucidating, adds to the ridiculousness of the whole story. i mean, really adds. why does joe take jobs as a gardener just to ensure the randomly disconnected deaths of the ladies of the house? um...because he is a tree? i'm not spoiling anything here; this is detailed lovingly on the video box. if you rent horror movies to see women raped or brutalized, skip this (and skip your next 200 meals too). but if you enjoy old 70s horror films for their artifact quality, with their distinctive film stock and wide range of charms, go ahead and rent this. it will get a little boring by the end, but it's worth it.

SEEDS OF EVIL is one obscure film and the better for it. I love watching films that have been, for whatever reasons, forgotten or simply dismissed with time. Watching them always brings a special kind of feeling: that your watching something few people have seen. On rare occasions I "discovered" a couple of hidden gems by doing this. But most of the time there's a good reason why so many films are forgotten: they're just not good on any level.

SEEDS OF EVIL is one of those obscure films people have forgotten and though it's not a true hidden gem, it's a real find nonetheless. There's something unique about it which I've rarely seen in any film I've seen up to now: it basically creates a new genre, of the psychic connections between plants and humans and the potential for evil. It's forward thinking enough to be seen as contemporary and yet the film has a quaint charm to it which reminds me of movies of the past.

Though made in 1975, SEEDS OF EVIL is decidedly straddled between the films of sex and gore of the 1970s and the spooky, non-violent horror films made just a decade ago (like THE HAUNTING or THE INNOCENTS). The sex is provided in the form of Joe Dallesandro, who's shirtless and wearing barely there hip-huggers, or just plain naked throughout the movie. And the quaintness is mainly due to the fact that there's little violence in SOE and the soundtrack is very flowery and has that "whoo-hoo-hooo" kinda of feel to it, which is probably more suited for a horror film of the 1950s or 60s than one from the 1970s.

The direction is not bad. The camera glides around smoothly. The film is never boring even though nothing much really happens in the movie. The 1970s fashion and interiors are a sight to behold. The acting is surprisingly good for this kind of film, with Rita Gam stealing the show. The exception being Joe Dallesandro. Joe is one bad actor. So much so that the director consciously avoided having Dallesandro acting on screen for extended periods of time. Dallesandro, with his compact and sculptured body, was simply used as "special effects" for the film. And the genre (psychic attachment to plants, also explored in THE KIRLIAN WITNESS in 1978) is an interesting one and though not 100% successful here, it does bring a fresh outlook to where evil might lurk.

Anyone looking for gore or violence, or female nudity will be sorely disappointed with SOE. But for fans of obscure films, even though there's nothing earth-shattering about it, SEEDS OF EVIL is a nifty little find.

I picked this movie up in the USED section at my local Record shop and I have to say, by the cover artwork and synopsis on the back, I was excited to take it home and pop it in. The whole project is really well-done in that way. But that's about it. The film was very 70's, which for me, is a good thing. For most viewers though, this would prove to be a cheesy example of an era that might be better off forgotten. The music is pretty bad and so are the clothes. It's not stylish, its like the Brady Bunch.

There is no good gore in this movie. The acting is decent and the guy who plays "The Gardener" is semi-creepy, but the plot just fails. It's not scary in the least bit and the only good scene in the film is the very last one.

I had high hopes, I really did. I wanted to like it more, and I still do. I've watched it three times now and I still fail to see how this is a horror movie. It's more like an off-beat romantic drama with a twist. If I had to compare it to something else, I'd say a mix between "Rosemary's Baby," "Play Misty for Me," and "Alice in Wonderland" (the live one) but not as good as any of those films.

4 out of 10, kids.

My review was written in February 1981 after a screening at NY's Thalia theater.

Shot on location in Puerto Rico in 1972 under the title "The Gardener", "Seeds of Evil" is a failed indie horror film never widely distributed, and reviewed here for the record.

Uneventful story deals with Carl (Joe Dallesandro), a sinister but attractive young gardener whose wealthy His employers have a habit of suddenly dying. His current employer Ellen Bennett (Katherine Houghton) is stuck with an inattentive husband (James Congdon) and is attracted to Carl. Beautiful neighbor Helena (Rita Gam) also falls under the gardener's spell, leading ultimately to violenced and Carl's death. Writer-director Jim Kay unimpressively grafts onto this sexual attraction premise a ludicrous horror plot to which Carl's orchids and other flowers conspire to kill people. With no budget for special effects, film becomes camp in scenes of victims' terrified reaction shots to the innocent-looking (but supposedly lethal) flowers. At film's end the dying Carl turns into a human tree with makeup and design work that is laughable. Instead of being scary, film is simply pleasant, with endless scenes of the lead actresses chatting, going to a costume ball or just showing off their wardrobe.

Katherine Houghton (niece of Kate Hepburn and previously featured in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner") is a very engaging personality here, surviving the lame material by playing each scene with spirit and no condescension. Rita Gam provides humor as her arch best friend. In his first starring assignment away from the Andy Warhol factory, Joe Dallesandro merely nonacts with a disinterested monotone delivery, but helmer Jim Kay does exploit thesp's male sex symbol status well in tasteful nude shots and arresting closeups. Tech credits (other than effects work) are professsional but undistinguished.