GARDEN
OF THE DEAD (1972)Director: John Hayes
Retromedia Entertainment
GARDEN
OF THE DEAD (1972)While running a little under an
hour, John Hayes' GARDEN OF THE DEAD played as a co-feature for a double bill
package with his superior GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE. 
Strictly
"second feature" material, GARDEN is no CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH
DEAD THINGS or I DRINK YOUR BLOOD, but it's a satisfactory time-waster if you're
in the mood for cheap, late-night thrills.
The thin plot concerns a group of prisoners at a camp that looks more like a abandoned construction site, held together by wood planks and chicken wire. During their lunch break, a group of the convicts sniff formaldehyde for a quick high. Later, the same group of men try to escape the prison grounds, but are all gunned down by the guards. The remaining prisoners are chained together and forced to stand up as punishment.
The dead, formaldehyde-filled
bodies are then buried, but they immediately rise as green-faced zombies, courtesy
of ace make-up man Joe Blasco (ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE S.S., SHIVERS, RABID).
Blasco's makeups aren't bad, but it was most likely a real rush job (most of
them just have the standard black rings around the eyes), and he didn't have
much to do as far as special effects are concerned (unless you count a zombie
foaming aqua toothpaste from the mouth). These zombies are fast, and use handy
farm tools (to butcher the other prison workers and their car engines), and
they also talk ("We will destroy the living!"), but they don't eat
flesh (sorry).
The cast has a lot of familiar faces, at least as far as these types of films go. The most recognizable is John Dennis, a chubby actor who by this point in his career could be seen mostly as rednecks and racists, but he's also had small parts in FRANKENSTEIN 1970, CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, SOYLENT GREEN and BLACKENSTEIN. In GARDEN OF THE DEAD, he actually plays a sympathetic prison guard. Also in the cast are Marland Proctor (recently seen on DVD in CURSE OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN), Duncan McLeod (BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) and Lee Frost. Frost was one of the most active exploitation directors of the period and occasionally acted in other people's films. Frost often used actor William Smith, star of GARDEN's co-feature GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE, so there's a connection if you want to play "The Six Degrees of Lee Frost" or whatever.
Retromedia's
DVD of GARDEN OF THE DEAD has a disclaimer that reads "This presentation
has been mastered from the best available surviving elements -- Some of which
may be less than desired due to the fragile nature of film and the passage of
time," but such a statement is unnecessary since the film looks perfectly
acceptable. GARDEN OF THE DEAD is an ultra cheap film, so dimly lit photography
and grain are apparent, but this DVD presentation is still very enjoyable. The
transfer is slightly letterboxed, colors look correct, and the source print
was in pretty good condition, with only minor blotches. The mono sound plays
fine with no noticeable defects.
This disc is hosted by TV horror
host Son of Ghoul, who gives the film a brief introduction with the help of
Fred Olen Ray, who is coaxed into smashing a television set with a bowling ball
(something I've wanted to do on several occasions). There's also a trailer for
GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE, as a trailer was given to Retromedia labeled "Garden
of the Dead," but it turned out to be for Hayes' bloodsucking baby instead.
This rare trailer exposes some great highlights from the film, and has one of
the most bizarre taglines of all time: "WARNING: If the sight of an infant
child nursing on human blood will make you sick, don't see this gruesomely explicit
horror film." (George
R. Reis)