Red Garden Volume 1: Live To Kill (DVD)
2006
APPROX. 100 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2006 - MPA RATING: MA15
" This is a dark, bloody, series, with strange twists, turns, and spontaneous melancholic singing.
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Set on Roosevelt Island, New York, "Red Garden" is the story of four high school girls- Rose, Rachel, Kate, and Claire- who wake up one morning with no memory of the previous night. All four girls attend the same high school, but are very different in personality and social status. A string of mysterious suicides and murders has been baffling the local police recently, and these four girls find themselves caught up in the supernatural and violent mystery surrounding the deaths.
The whole school is hit with grief when one of their classmates, Lise, is found dead in Central Park. What happened that night? How did she die? Is it connected to the blurred memory the girls have of that evening? When each girl follows butterflies in the air that no one else can see, they end up meeting at a lonely car yard, where they are told the horrible truth: they all died last night.
Living "borrowed lives," Claire, Rose, Rachel, and Kate are unwillingly recruited to become brutal killers, fighting an invasion of horrifying beast-like humans that are terrorizing the area. Each girl must fight and kill, or they will somehow lose the second life they have been granted.
With this grim setup, "Red Garden" follows each girl as she adjusts to this horrifying situation, struggles to come to terms to what has happened, and tries to remember what really happened that one fateful night. This is a dark, bloody series, with strange twists, turns, and spontaneous melancholic singing. Each girl is different in personality and home-situation, and each reacts differently to their new reality. Rose wants to hide from it all. Kate calmly takes charge, yet hides her trembling hands. Claire acts tough, but the mystery of the situation bothers her. Rachel tries to hide her strange new activity from her wide social circle. Different reactions, yet their shared experience slowly brings them together to figure out the truth and to find a way to lead normal lives again.
"Red Garden" is an interesting production. The character designs are very exaggerated, stylish, and very different from other recent series. Noses and lips are pronounced, hair is fluffy and bright. Lula, the woman who informs the girls about their new "job," has a jarring, unpleasant design, with her strong facial features. This version of New York is creepy and mysterious, and, as far as I can tell, creatively different from reality, with buildings, schools, and bridges where none really exist. The opening animation is ridiculously bright and cheerful, considering the dark subject matter. It is a upbeat, psychedelic, girly fashion show of an opening. The ending credits are just as hilarious, given the mood of the series- a rock concert, where even Lula can rock out and party.
