Heartland of Darkness (1992) Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter - Uphill Both Ways Podcast)
Shot in 1989 but not released until this month — a puzzle as to why it took so long, because it is a pretty fun and well-made shocker — Heartland of Darkness (AKA Blood Church) nicely captures the direct-to-video aspect of that era. Take a healthy dose of satanic panic and add a dash of scream queen Linnea Quigley and you have a film that should pique the interest of horror aficionados of eighties and early nineties fear-fare cinema.
Reporter Paul (Dino Tripodis), once an investigative reporter with a big newspaper, has moved from the big city to the small town of Copperton, Ohio with his teenage daughter Christine (Sharon Klopfenstein) to avoid the rat race. He is the new editor-in-chief of the local newspaper, and the optimistic sort who hires a new office manager and reporter without so much as a formal interview for either of them. Interestingly, investigative reporter Shannon (Shanna Thomas) has fled the high life for small-town life, also.
The metropolitan transplants soon find out that small-town life isn’t as quiet as they imagined it would be when mutilated bodies of local residents start turning up. Sheriff (Lee Page) puts it down to illegal drug trade, but Paul and Shannon’s nose for news gives them hunches otherwise. Reverend Donavan (Nick Baldasare) gave them a weird welcoming reception, and his behavior only gets stranger. It’s clear to the intrepid reporting duo that something is afoot, and high school teacher Julia Francine (Quigley) — whose hilariously inappropriate teaching attire is the stuff that many students from the 1980s wish their teachers would have dressed in — seems to be in on whatever is happening. Naturally, Paul and Shannon’s insistence on getting to the truth leads them further into diabolical danger, putting Christine into the sights of the megalomaniacal reverend and his devil-cult lackeys.
Sacrifice, slaughter, and sexiness abound in Heartland of Darkness. Writer/director Eric Swelstad (Frankenstein Rising, 2010) mines the then-hot topic of satanic panic for a film that offers creepy set pieces and no shortage of practical effects gore. The story offers some original spins on the subgenre and boasts solid directing and technical aspects. The performances range from very good to acceptable, or at least somewhere near the latter. Baldasare (They Bite, 1996) chews up every bit of scenery in his vicinity as the evil reverend — a very good thing, in this case — and Quigley plays her video vixen charms to a tee, both with and without clothes. Tripodis and Thomas make for a highly likable pair of protagonists.
Plenty of films made in recent years pay homage to, or are pure pastiche of, films made in the eighties, when Heartland of Darkness was shot. Now, thanks to its late release, we have an actual new-to-wide-release film from that era. Swelstad’s feature is an amusing, consistently entertaining ride that presses the nostalgia buttons and serves up the kind of fare that many video store rental era fans will enjoy.
Heartland of Darkness is available on Blu-Ray from Visual Vengeance/Wild Eye Releasing.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/). He also writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), B&S About Movies (bandsaboutmovies.com), and Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
If you found this article interesting consider becoming a Patreon supporter. That is how When It Was Cool keeps our website and podcasts online, plus you get lots of bonus content including extra and extended podcasts, articles, digital comics, ebooks, and much more. Check out our Patreon Page to see what's up!
If you don't want to use Patreon but still want to support When It Was Cool then how about a one time $5 PayPal donation? Thank you!
