Heartland of Darkness

A diabolical cult is lurking in a village in central Ohio

A single man with a teen daughter (Dino Tripodis & Sharon Klopfenstein) moves into a small town outside Columbus where he purchases a newspaper and hires a reporter (Shanna Thomas). Unfortunately, macabre slayings are occurring and they trace them to the town’s dubious pastor (Nick Baldasare) and his goons. Queen of the Bs, Linnea Quigley, is on hand as one of the minister’s disciples.

"Heartland of Darkness” was shot in 1989 and originally titled “Blood Church,” but only a 35-minute workprint was available for promotion. It sat on the shelf (or was lost) for over three decades before post-production was completed with the addition of a few digital effects. It was finally released in late 2022. A similar thing happened to “Grizzly II: The Mutation,” although that flick wasn’t an Indie like this one.

The story was birthed from the American satanic panic of the 80s, which continued to spread around the globe in the 90s. Movies like "Bay Coven" (1987), “Spellbinder” (1988) and “Race With the Devil” (1975) come to mind, although those had way more funds with which to work.

Yet “Heartland of Darkness” is just as entertaining if you can forgive some lame acting here and there, e.g. the Sheriff. Dino Tripodis (Paul Henson) and Shanna Thomas (Shannon) are actually quite good for a B production while Baldasare (the “reverend”) and Quigley tend to ham it up.

Redhead Shanna Thomas stands out on the feminine front. Speaking of which, all three of the women are shown top nude in brief flashes, except for Quigley who, to be expected, basks in showing off her wares.

The gore is quite good for such an old flick, even shocking. There’s also some decent action, but Shanna Thomas isn’t convincing as a martial arts practitioner in the climax.

At the end of the day this is colorful Indie horror from the late 80s with some questionable acting and predictableness, yet the filmmaking is certainly adequate and there are enough staples of the genre to make it worthwhile for those interested.

The film runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and, was shot in Granville, Ohio, which is a 20-minute drive east of Columbus, with one sequence filmed in Columbus and other stuff done in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-/C+