Visual Vengeance has been doing an incredible job bringing SOV (shot-on-video) and micro-budgeted films to Blu-ray. They’ve been digging deep into the archives of obscurity to get these underseen films to the forefront with fantastic stacked special editions. Films like Slaughter Day, L.A. Aids Jabber, and Suburban Sasquatch could have disappeared entirely from the conscious, but they’ve been resurrected for a whole new generation to see and enjoy.
With their latest release, they go the extra mile to find a film that has never been released in any format. It’s the 1989 feature Heartland of Darkness, aka Blood Church, starring legendary scream queen Linnea Quigley. More Linnea Quigley can only be a good thing, right?
Copperton is a small town in Ohio where Paul (Dino Tripodis) buys the local newspaper. Having moved there from the big city, it’s quite different from the journalism he’s accustomed to. He soon finds himself drawn into a conspiracy where there’s murder and mind control, all secretly being orchestrated by what can only be described as a cult.
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The evil reverend of this cult is controlling all those around him as the bodies continue to fall outside the circle. Paul soon finds himself and his family fighting for their lives as the reverend’s reign continues to grow.
I’ll never understand why the film wasn’t able to secure the funding to finish this far sooner. Heartland of Darkness is a pretty solid film. It was shot with style, an intriguing story, and even a fair amount of practical gore effects. The acting is pretty average for a movie of this ilk, but I’ve seen far worse released, and this film is a cut above.
Linnea Quigley is always a blast to watch. Seeing her again in an ’80s film we’ve never watched before is a dream come true. Heartland of Darkness is most widely known as what’s being referred to as Linnea Quigley’s lost film. Director Eric Swelstad shot the film on 16mm in 1989. As all the false starts and distribution deals fell through, it seemed as if it was lost forever.
Visual Vengeance has once again compiled a ton of bonus features that chronicle Heartland of Darkness’ long and winding road trying to make its way to an audience. There’s plenty of “making of” material, interviews, trailers, two commentary tracks, a new interview with Quigley, and much more.
The packaging includes reversible artwork, a Limited Edition Slipcase, a mini-poster, a booklet, a VHS sticker set, and a Heartland of Darkness prayer cloth. Whether you like the film or not, Visual Vengeance discs are worth every cent you may pay. Please keep them coming!
