Heartland Of Darkness is oft considered to have been a “lost” film. Shot in 1989, yet unreleased until 2022, it was part of a wave of “Satanic Panic” films from the 1980s. Featuring legendary Scream Queen Linnea Quigley, and shot on a meagre budget, does it meet it’s mythical status? Or is it just another low budget quickie? Well, read on to find out…
Synopsis:
In the small town of Copperton, Ohio, Paul Henson, a former big-city journalist, buys a small local newspaper. He quickly falls into a wide-reaching conspiracy of ritualistic murder and cult mind control when he discovers that the entire town may be under the spell of a Satanic reverend and his flock. As the clues and corpses pile up, Henson and his family are thrust into a life-or-death struggle to expose the truth and stop the demonic cabal’s reign of evil.
(Synopsis taken from the Visual vengeance Blu Ray release)
So, the story is a fairly straightforward “evil in a small town” one. An outsider comes to town and disturbs the evil powers that be, and must fight to save himself and his family from succumbing to the darkness therein. Now, being set in the American Mid West really helps here, as even us Brits, have an understanding of the small town, Middle America mentality. And it’s all too easy to believe that a satanic cult could form and grow comfortably out there, away from the big cities.
Yes, it isn’t going to win any prizes for originality, but the plot is more than adequate for a film of this type.
Analysis:
As I already noted, the plot is fairly straightforward. This works in the films favour as it keeps things moving forward nicely. Despite being the “name” attraction, Linnea Quigley isn’t the films lead role here. In a change to the usual casting of a recognised Scream Queen, she is used relatively sparingly as a major secondary character. And yes, she gets her clothes off (I mean, it was practically expected of her at this point in her career). The other cast are all pretty good as well, considering the films budget. Paul Baldasre chews just about the right amount of scenery as the Reverend/Cult Leader, managing to stay just on the right side of hamming it up. Dino Tripodis is pretty wooden as our here, but manages to hit all the right notes. And Shanna Thomas acquits herself well as his growing love interest. Sharon Klopfenstein doesn’t have much to do as our heroes daughter, but what she does have she does well.
The film does progress at a reasonable pace, but could do with a bit more trimming. The ending/false ending does seem a tad uncalled for. It’s as if the makers felt they needed a twist before the real ending and added one for the sake of it.
One thing that does stand out nicely is the infrequent but well executed gore effects. Wisely used sparingly, they add a bit off bite to the film when they do crop up. The film is reasonably well shot, although you can tell that it wasn’t made by seasoned professionals. The film is presented in full frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Some shots are under lit, especially the night work, but the film has a generally pleasing tone to its cinematography. The audio is a fairly basic stereo mix, which does what it needs to do.
The Disc:
Once again, Visual Vengeance have done an incredible job of presenting this film. The film is taken from an SD master, the film looks surprisingly good. Having originally being shot on 16mm film no doubt has helped.
Extras:
The extras on this set are as follows:
- All region Blu-ray.
- New director-supervised SD master from original tape and film elements.
- Deeper Into the Darkness: New 40-minute BTS documentary.
- Commentary with director Eric Swelstad, star Nick Baldasare, cinematographer Scott Spears and composer Jay Woelfel.
- Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop magazine.
- Linnea Quigley Remembers: new interview.
- Archival Linnea Quigley ‘Close Up’ TV interview.
- Original TV spots, trailers and behind-the-scenes footage.
- Complete original “Fallen Angels” 1990 workprint.
- “Fallen Angels” 1990 workprint commentary track with director Eric Swelstad.
- The Making of Fallen Angels – vintage cast & crew newscast interviews.
- Blood Church – original distributor promotional video.
- Behind-the-scenes image gallery.
- Six-page liner notes.
- Fantasm Magazine excerpt — Director spotlight.
- Limited Edition Heartland of Darkness “Prayer Cloth” – FIRST PRESSING ONLY.
- Limited Edition slipcase – FIRST PRESSING ONLY.
- Collectable Linnea Quigley folded mini-poster.
- ‘Stick your own’ VHS sticker set.
- Reversible sleeve featuring original Blood Church promotional art.
- Visual Vengeance trailers.
- Optional English subtitles.
No matter how you choose to slice it, this is a damn fine set. Visual Vengeance are developing a rightly earned reputation for outstanding physical releases, and this is truly no exception.
Heartland of Darkness, The Verdict:
If you are a fan of low budget shockers, Linnea Quigley, or both then this set is for you. Heartland Of Darkness is given a presentation many films of far superior provenance can only dream of. 5/5 Fiends. Essential.
Buy Heartland Of Darkness (UK): Film Treasures Website
Gallery:
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