Vinegar Syndrome partner boutique label Fun City Editions
have made it their mission to unearth and publish forgotten American classics
that exist “outside of their time” on blu-ray disc whether the materials
available are completely intact or not.
Such was the cast of their publication of the indelible crime drama Natural Enemies with Hal Holbrook which was transferred from the only surviving
deposit print left. Their release of Cutter’s Way however and their forthcoming disc release of the 1983 British-produced-and-directed
rape-revenge drama Deep in the Heart or Handgun depending on the
territory represents the boutique label working at their apex. Digitally restored in 4K from the original
35mm camera negative in its worldwide blu-ray premiere, the film is less Abel
Ferrara’s Ms. 45 than it is a blistering critique of American gun
culture in general and how intrinsic the firearm is to our still evolving
national landscape.
Young well-dressed schoolteacher Kathleen Sullivan (Karen
Young in her screen debut) recently left Boston having gotten out of a
relationship in the hopes of starting a new life with friends in the area of Dallas,
Texas, catching the eye of beloved local gun enthusiast and practitioner Larry Keeler
(Clayton Day) who quickly befriends her.
Eager to be just pals, Kathleen fends off his advances until the
sexually frustrated predator proceeds to brutally rape her twice at gunpoint,
leaving the woman traumatized and broken while he shrugs it off as another
conquest. Quickly her demeanor changes, ritualistically
trimming her long hair, donning a headband, plaid shirt and jeans and growing
increasingly negative toward her students.
Not long after she joins a local gun club attended by none other than
her rapist and purchases her own firearms to begin training on a secret mission
of vengeance and reclaiming her own agency.
--Andrew Kotwicki