Source: Adult Industry News
By: Rich Moreland
A film by B Skow starring Jessie Andrews and Kurt Lockwood with Alec Knight, AJ Applegate, Maddy O’Reilly, Karla Kush, Nadia Styles, Clover, Bruce Venture, and Darla Crane. Distributed by Girlfriends Films. — Rich Moreland Reviewer Rated: Power On!
Be prepared to follow a creepy and gripping story driven by intense sex when watching the Gardener, B Skow’s off beat story that leaves unresolved issues, making it ripe for a sequel.
The overgrown garden where Richard Goetz (Kurt Lockwood) cultivates his psychotic fantasies is a macabre setting of abductions and disappearances. Some years previous, an eight year old girl vanished and her mom (Darla Crane) never flags in her belief her daughter will return. All the while, little Amanda Trask (Jessie Andrews) will be emotionally transplanted as “Rose,” Richard’s personal flower.
In a film rife with images, Amanda’s pink backpack is the major motif while red and pink enliven the flowers and strings of party lights that hang in Richard’s obsessive-compulsive world. The narrative opens with a bizarre pregnancy ritual in which an unwilling “Rose,” very much the image of the Biblical Eve, orally satisfies her twisted captor and then saves his seed for a short piece of garden hose.
Richard’s brother, Neil (Alec Knight), and two female accomplices Sally (Karla Kush) and Piper (AJ Applegate) are the predators that secure the fertilizer for the garden. Betsy (Maddy O’Reilly) and Erica (Nadia Styles), along with two unsuspecting hayseeds (Clover and Bruce Venture), are lured into the garden for sexual entertainment and ultimate disposal.
There’s a chilling flashback of Amanda’s abduction and Richard’s admonition to Neil that he “can’t go snatching people up like the old days.” Betsy’s heart wrenching attempt to soothe a fearful Amanda with “they’re not going to hurt you, they need you to replace me” is superb cinematography, along with Richard’s first encounter with the child while plastic covering shields Neil’s dirty work.
Notice the five potted flowers (three female with foliage, two male with stems) in the final sex scene. They are Richard’s “family.” When the newcomer, Erica (Nadia Styles) gets her carnal initiation in a three-way with Richard and Neil, she fills the “vacancy” in the garden left by Rose. Erica is renamed “Magnolia,” the flower Southern history associates with lynchings and terror.
Of course, this tale is a porn film so here’s a quick review of its salable qualities. Jessie Andrews’ oral skills are smoking hot and Skow effectively blends gonzo shots with bodies fully framed on screen. Jessie’s three-way with Clover and Bruce is raw. Later, her anal scene with Alec Knight is a rare treat for porn fans.
A celebration of Nadia Styles’ return to porn shows up with her eager carnality. She’s rough and willing. Welcome back, Nadia!
Finally the Maddy O’Reilly, AJ, and Karla trio is solid with the usual formulaic girl/girl fare of finger banging, oral, and lots of kissing. This is a Girlfriends Films production, don’t forget, so girls having fun is always quality viewing.
By the way, Maddy is sultry and slutty, every inch a porn superstar. Unfortunately, her time in the film is short by virtue of the character she portrays.
Terrific acting is everywhere in the Gardener. Kurt Lockwood is best actor material for his role as the daft and obsessed Richard; Jessie Andrews shines, particularly early on when she must bring Amanda’s traumatized character to life without the help of dialogue. The support of AJ Applegate and especially Karla Kush, as a tramp whose self-caressing keeps her occupied, lends support to Alec Knight’s role as the scorned brother. In fact, it is Karla’s who adds an unsung dynamic to the story.
As mentioned earlier, Skow deliberately leaves loose ends in the Gardener. What happens with the baby? Are the serial killers ever discovered? Will Richard and Neil self-destruct? What are the fates of Amanda and Erica?
This reviewer is waiting for the sequel if the genius of B Skow and David Stanley deem it to be possible.
Rating: Power On!
