As to the material: Editor's Choice, eight AVN Award Nominations, including wins for Best Video and Barry Wood for Best Videography. Point made, let's move on.

To the DVD: The "Director's Commentary" is actually a dialogue between Vicca and technical director D3, but the insights are quite good if not a first-person how-I-did-it monologue from director Michael Ninn. A 10-minute behind-the-scenes documentary. Second angles on sex scenes. An autopilot slide show with about 20 pictures with a music track, and three trailers for other Michael Ninn features. Image quality is good, perhaps not perfect, but a bit of distortion creeps into any film-look video and so what. This is not a reality-based gonzo, after all.

Ever like to play, "What if..."?  What if, in 1972, instead of Deep Throat, Michael Ninn's Dark Garden had been the first nationally-recognized porn film?  A feature that we're pre-nominating for Best Video, Best All-Girl Sex Scene -- Video (Nikita, Lisa Belle), Best Non-Sex Role (Jamie Gillis), Best Music, Best Art Direction, Best Editing and Best Videography?  A movie that, in its opening sequence, plunges the viewer through three layers of sexual flashback?  A movie where Gillis essays the role(s) of twin porn producers, one of them a wimp and the other... Satan, with Nikita as his daughter, á la Devil's Advocate?

What if?  Well, there would still be adult theaters (showing films) out there, Ed Meese would still be chasing ambulances, and porn would probably have the whole art world on its side by now.  And Michael Ninn would be receiving his share of Oscars®.

Admittedly, the storyline here is none too clear; but then, what does one expect of Michael Ninn?  As the film opens, detectives discover the dead body of the mayor's son, two strange burn marks on his temples, and an 8mm porn reel still on his projector.  As Julian inspects the film, we're suddenly flashed back to Vicca's delivery of mysterious metal discs that, when placed against the sides of the head, seem to sink in and disappear.  These cause a flashback (or could the discs be receivers for a devilish transmission?) of Vicca masturbating to the porn reel, which shows Nikita dancing and pleasuring herself. That, in turn, leads to the remembering (?) of some horsie and reverse cowgirl action between Vicca and the soon-to-be-dead guy (Jack Garfield). And then things start to get really weird... like when that projector reveals tiny claws that reach out from within its lens.

Before the film's over, all of the city's police (two of whom are given prime portrayals by VCA salesmen Marty Turkel and Ed Kali) have been corrupted by sex or money (or both) and it looks like Gillis is well on his way to world conquest via porn.  Or is he?

Much of the action centers around Detective Julian, who's assigned, with Juli Ashton, to investigate the mayor's son's death.  Trouble is, Julian's got a set of discs himself, and uses them to fantasize some cowgirl and anal doggie action with Juli.

In fact, Julian is addicted to using the discs and, when they seem to be working less efficiently than when he started, he pleads with Gillis for a greater turn-on.  That turns out to be a scorching girl/girler between Nikita and newcomer Lisa Belle, which starts with Belle stripping out of her business suit, sharing a smoky kiss with the Russian, some vertical labia-lapping against a frosted glass wall and ends up with the huge-mamm'd blonde licking Nikita's pussy.  No toys -- and no need for them.

Then Nikita confronts the distraught Julian and delivers the best lines we've ever head her give: "Let's look at the options in front of you.  One, you won't be here tomorrow no matter what you do, so relax all the way, and let me finish what I was made to do: to be your first, last and only thought... You're finished.  You can come with me, or you can let your friends at the precinct take you out.  You know that's what their next move is.  Can you feel me raging inside of you?  All you have to do is let go."

And then she fucks him to death.  

With eight blistering scenes, performed by exquisite women in cavernous, even palatial settings; with beautifully-edited sequences such as Julian's "dead man's walk" toward his destiny; with little touches of artistry such as the alienation inherent in focusing on Gillis' camcorder screen as he tapes Nikita delivering blowjobs to Michael J. Cox and Kyle Stone before the d.p., Michael Ninn proves once again that he's the master or artistic porn.

"I am a priest in the new digital order," scroll Ninn's words as the movie fades to black.  Amen, brother.