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My Bloody Valentine

Movie Grade: B-

DVD Features Grade: C+

Overall Grade: C+

Being that I grew up watching slasher films, most of them hold a certain sentiment to me. The good ones I admire for being great films, the average ones have a novelty to them that helps me get past all of their many issues, and the terrible ones are just hilarious. I mean, I actually own a copy of Ice Cream Man staring Clint Howard and directed by Paul Norman. This was actually Paul Norman's only non-pornographic film as a director. I'm sure you all understand how hysterical this movie actually is.

Before slashers became a means of cheap laughs or endless sequels and remakes, there was the golden age. This took place in the early 80's and brought on an array of cult classics. My Bloody Valentine was released in 1981, at the heart of the golden age. Honestly, if this had been released five years later, I think that it would have missed its chance at being a cult classic. In the early 80's, almost any clasher could gain a fan base. I mean, even movies like Prom Night and Sleepaway Camp both have four sequels; not to mention a Prom Night remake. It's not that My Bloody Valentine, is a bad movie, but I was surprised when it wasn't a straight to DVD like the April Fool's Day remake.

One thing about My Bloody Valentine that does make it stand out is its location. The idea of having a horror film take place in a mine was a great idea. It adds claustrophobia to the list of things to be scared of; on top of a miner with a pickax. Twenty years before the events of the film, Harry Warden (Peter Cowper) and four other miners were caught in a methane explosion; Harry had to live off the flesh of the other miners for six days. A year later on Valentine's Day, Warden escaped from an institution (in true slasher fashion) cut out the hearts of the men who he thought were guilty. Now that both Valentine's Day and the murders have returned to the small town of Valentine's bluff and Chief Jake Newby (Don Francks) is out to stop it.

Honestly, if you aren't a horror fan, DON'T WATCH THIS! I really can't see anyone who doesn't love slashers enjoying this at all. The horror nerd in me does love the novelty of what is now an incredibly cliché slasher. The only problem is that the film critic part of me kind of wants to scream. This also carries over into the special features.

Bloodlust: My Blood Valentine and the Rise of the Slasher Film is first on our special features list. It is a documentary about the roots of slashers and how it got to the golden age

where films like My Bloody Valentine were made. Even as a die-hard horror fanatic, the documentary is mildly entertaining at best. Odds are if you're a horror fan you already know most of what they have to say and if you're not a horror fan you won't really care at all. It plays for about twenty minutes, and in my opinion didn't cover nearly all it leads to in the title.

The deleted scenes were a pleasant surprise though. Deleted scenes in most movies, but especially horror seem to be deleted for a reason. Sometimes there's something you wish made the theatrical cut but for the most part it just doesn't fit for whatever reason. The difference here is that the deleted scenes were all actually just extended versions of the death scenes along with one or two other extensions. This is extremely redeeming and makes the DVD purchase seem much more reasonable even though it only adds up to be a few more minutes of footage. Again, any horror nerds will understand where I'm coming from.

Bloodlines: An Interactive Horror Film History is a big improvement from the documentary. . It gives information on all the main sub-genres that relate to slashers. It goes through the categories of classic slashers, sequels galore, rubber reality, slasher remakes and a long list of others. Don't' expect this feature to keep you entertained for hours, but it does shed some light on some of the smaller slasher fields, and that is coming form a horror aficionado.

To my surprise, there is no theatrical trailer for the film itself. The feature, Also From Lionsgate is a set of trailers for other Lionsgate films, including the My Bloody Valentine 3D trailer. I don't know what it is but there is something fun about watching trailers to old horror movies. Ever since DVDs became the standard I loved seeing how they advertised the movies back then. I honestly felt very left down with the absence of one for the feature itself.

Like I mentioned before, as a horror nerd My Bloody Valentine is a great way to pass some time, catch a few laughs, and feel an odd sense of nostalgia. On the other hand as a critic, My Bloody Valentine is a great way to feel sick. This is a cult movie because outside of that target audience, it really doesn't have a leg to stand on. What some people fail to realize is that this DVD probably wasn't printed with high sale expectations and just wanted that same target audience to buy it again for the few minutes of extended scenes. As a fan of horror I can honestly say that is all we need in a DVD.

Movie Grade: B-

DVD Features Grade: C+

Overall Grade: C+