Heartland of Darkness

How deep a dive do you want to take into the horror genre?  Seen all the slashers, torture-porn and creature features?  Slogged your way through the regional roughies and black-and-white classics?  Then maybe you’re ready for Heartland of Darkness, a student-shot project from a team of Ohio State filmmakers who managed to cast ‘80s horror icon Linnea Quigley in a small role…but never managed to complete the film itself.   An unreleased rarity that rises above most of the shot on video fan films of the day (director Eric Swelstad insisted on 16mm), the project is nevertheless rife with all of the decades’ video store cliches:  bare breasts, bad acting and a dash of satanic panic for good measure.

Newly appointed as the editor of a midwestern newspaper, Paul Henson uncovers a dangerous cult lurking beneath the innocuous surface of his adopted small town.  The nefarious figure behind it all is Reverend Donovan who commands his warped followers to dispose of any citizen that threatens his power.  The further Paul digs, the more dangerous things become, eventually putting his daughter’s life at risk as a satanic sacrifice to the forces of evil!

 

Satanic cults were still a go-to source of inspiration for Hollywood at the time Swelstad and company put together their feature film thesis project (The Believers had been a moderate hit just two years before).  And, as supernatural menaces go, it’s a pretty budget friendly choice.  Heartland of Darkness is not something your average horror fan would enjoy, despite ticking several exploitation boxes.  It’s a movie with all the working parts still visible, a test ground for filmmaking skill sets that were still in progress.  That means amateur actors (pulled from the OSU theater dept), cut-rate effects and dialogue that slaps you across the face like a wet noodle.

 

But…horror fans are very forgiving.  And despite its flaws, there’s an entire fanbase that simply enjoys films made with more heart than professionalism.  Then, of course, there is the presence of Linnea Quigley, whose pin-up status in the genre all-but assures some interested parties will want to take a look at what Heartland of Darkness has to offer.  And Swelstad makes sure they won’t be disappointed when the credits roll.

 

The Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance and Wild Eye Releasing is the culmination of 30 years of financing dead ends and false starts, sporting a new SD master that bounces between tape and film elements.  The supplements enhance an equally compelling behind-the-scenes story, starting with a great 40-minute featurette – Deeper into the Darkness – that lays out the entire production from start to aborted-finish.  Add in two commentary tracks, the complete workprint (under the original title Fallen Angels), promotional video, linter notes, archival and updated interview with Linnea Quigley, fold-out poster and included “prayer cloth” and you’ve got a fascinating time capsule of thwarted ambition that finally gets to be seen by the audience it deserved.