HEART OF THE STAG dvd
(1984)
DIRECTOR: Michael Firth
STARS: Bruno Lawrence (Quiet Earth, Bridge to Nowhere), Terence Cooper, Mary Regan (Fever)
SYNOPSIS: A newly hired farmhand (Lawrence) discovers a dark incestuous secret in this neglected contemporary New Zealand drama. Along with his low key, intense, performances in The Quiet Earth and Smash Palace, Bruno Lawrence added another memorable role to his short career with Heart of the Stag. He plays "Peter" a free roaming handyman. He's laid back, kind hearted and doesn't get rattled easily. A local farmer, "Robert", hires him for the season as he needs an extra worker. Robert is mean, short tempered and secretive. Lastly, there's "Cathy" the farmer's daughter. She's hardworking, withdrawn and afraid of men but she finds herself drawn to Peter. The bond between Peter and Cathy is very believable and the core of the film. It's revealed very early in the film that the farmer has been having sex with his daughter for many years since she was a pre-teen. The mother is wheelchair bound from a stroke and has few means to communicate. When Peter finds out the true nature of their relationship a violent ending awaits. The description sounds heavy, and it is at times, with the sex scenes between father and daughter being pretty explicit, but there's a gothic horror feel to the story that makes it less depressing. The basic plot is reminiscent of those old films from the 60's and 70's based on Edgar Allan Poe stories where a wandering hero stumbles upon an old castle and uncovers dark family secrets hidden from the world.
*For more see: Love Strange Love, The Young One, Shattered and Malicious
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free NTSC dvd-R
BLACK dvd case (above image is the front cover art)
Buy "Heart of the Stag" : $20.00
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