Today, My Bloody Valentine. The slasher film craze as we know it got its start in the late 1970’s with the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). Following that success, seemingly every major Hollywood studio and independent film company looked to cash in on the wave; Paramount Pictures, in particular, found the next big thing in the burgeoning subgenre with Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th (1980), which spawned a franchise like its predecessor Halloween. Following that smash box office success, the studio looked north to Canada – which had some past experience in the subgenre with Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (1974) – with My Bloody Valentine. Previously released on DVD by Paramount, on DVD and Blu-ray by Lionsgate and on Blu-ray in a collector’s edition by Scream Factory, the latter has given the movie its UHD Blu-ray debut.
The Production: 4/5
“From the heart comes a warning filled with bloody good cheer, remember what happened as the 14th draws near.”
In the small town of Valentine Bluffs on Valentine’s Day in 1960, four miners died in a mine explosion and cave-in – due to the supervisors leaving to attend the dance – while a fifth, Harry Warden (Peter Cowper), survived and was hospitalized; a year later, Harry returned to town and killed the supervisors, cutting out their hearts and stuffing them in the heart shaped candy boxes with a warning to never hold a Valentine’s Day Dance ever again. Twenty years later – as the town tries to restart the tradition – a love triangle between Jesse “T.J.” Hanniger (Paul Kelman), his ex-girlfriend Sarah Mercer (Lori Hallier) and his best friend (and Sarah’s new boyfriend) Axel Palmer (Neil Affleck) forms after T.J. returns to town after failing to make it out on his own out West. When a Valentine’s candy box containing a human heart is delivered to the union hall and one of the dance’s organizers is killed, fear spreads that Harry Warden has returned to continue his bloody killing spree; however, when T.J. and his friends decide to hold their own personal Valentine’s Day party at the mines where the tragedy occurred, it will bring them face to face with a far more shocking revelation behind this recent wave of killings.
Though one of the many imitations spawned from the wave of Halloween‘s success, My Bloody Valentine stands out as one of the best examples from the Golden Age of the slasher film. Director George Mihalka – on his sophomoric outing as a director – takes on the holiday themed premise and turns one of the notable slasher film clichés on its head: instead of the usual teenagers in trouble, this story instead takes on the classic love triangle with a blue-collar twist. The film’s major asset here is that the bulk of the production was actually filmed in a real mine – the Princess Colliery Mine in Nova Scotia to be exact – giving the climactic scenes in the fictional Hanniger Mine an intense claustrophobic feel to the tension; cinematographer Rodney Gibbons’ work here should also be commended for giving a stark look to the mines and the story. Also, the makeup work of Tom Burman is another major highlight as some of the death scenes here are among some of the most gruesome in the slasher genre (which is better viewed than talked about here); this work was cut down in order to avoid an X rating from the MPAA upon initial release, but much of it was restored years later for home video. Finally, Mihalka gets solid performances (and screams) from his cast – and even a dash of humor as well – making My Bloody Valentine one of the more notable slashers of the Golden Era (1978-1982) to have gone on to cult status; a remake in 3D in 2009 hasn’t dulled the edge of this gritty favorite from our friends in the Great White North.
Though top billed here, Paul Kelman received his most notable role of his brief career as T.J.; he had only a handful of later appearances on TV and film before walking away from acting. Making her film debut her right out of acting school, Lori Hallier has a solid performance as Sarah, caught in the middle between her new boyfriend and her ex; she would return to the horror genre four years later with her second film appearance as a TV reporter in screenwriter Hal Barwood’s directorial debut Warning Sign (1985). As Axel, Neil Affleck has the most notable role of his acting career; following this movie, Affleck went to Hollywood to study film and TV and later worked as an animator on TV shows Rocko’s Modern Life, The Critic, Family Guy and – most prominently – The Simpsons. Completing the cast here are Don Francks as the town’s chief of police, Cynthia Dale as Sarah’s best friend Patty, Keith Knight as her boyfriend Hollis, Alf Humphreys as the goofy Howard, Helene Udy as Sylvia, Rob Stein as John, Thomas Kovacs and Terry Waterland as the virginal couple Mike and Harriet, Gina Dick as Gretchen (whom Howard tires to court, and fails often), Carl Marotte as Dave, Jim Murchison as Tommy Whitcomb, Larry Reynolds as the town’s nervous mayor (and T.J.’s father), Jack Van Evera as the town’s bartender “Happy” and Peter Cowper in a dual role as Harry Warden and “The Miner” (the latter’s true identity – in regards to the deaths occurring outside of the flashback – in will not be revealed in this review).
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Both the 90-minute theatrical cut, and the 93-minute unrated director’s cut are both presented in their original 1:85:1 aspect ratios for this release; the uncut version has brand new 4k Dolby Vision master created for this release, while the theatrical version uses the same master created from a 4k scan of the original camera negative for the 2020 Scream Factory Blu-ray release. The UHD Blu-ray presents the uncut version in HDR, while the Blu-ray presents the uncut version – using the brand new master created for this release – in SDR. Film grain, fine details and color palette are faithfully presented with minimal cases of scratches, dirt and tears present; this release also greatly improves on the quality of the reinstated gore footage in the unrated cut compared to the previous Scream Factory Blu-ray and Lionsgate Blu-ray. Overall, this UHD release is by far the best the movie will ever look on home video.
Audio: 5/5
The film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track for this release, while there’s an alternate 5. 1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio track included as well. Dialogue, sound mix and Paul Zaza’s atonal and tense music score are all presented faithfully with only minor cases of distortion, crackling, popping, clicking or hissing present on both tracks. This release is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video.
Special Features: 5/5
On both UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray discs (Unrated Cut)
Commentary by director George Mihalka – Carried over from the previous Scream Factory Blu-ray, Mihalka recounts his memories on making the film and his stylistic choices for some scenes; however, I can’t figure out who’s asking Mihalka the questions in the background during the track.
Blu-ray Disc Only (Unrated Cut)
35th Anniversary Cast Reunion Panel at the 2016 Bay of Blood Horror Convention in Tampa (46:54) – Brian Singleton hosts the panel, featuring director Mihalka and surviving cast members (at the time) Lori Hallier, Helene Udy, Rob Stein, Peter Cowper, Thomas Kovacs, Jim Murchison and Alf Humphreys.
The Ballad of Harry Warden (5:03) – Thomas Kovacs performs the film’s end title song, with Peter Cowper and Jim Murchison assisting him, during the 2016 Bay of Blood Horror Convention.
Blu-ray Disc Only (Theatrical Cut)
An Anemic Valentine (24:09) – Director George Mihalka talks about the film and why he chose to take it on after having some trouble in the middle of his first film Pick-Up Summer (1980) in this 2019 interview.
From the Heart (14:15) – Paul Kelman reflects on his time on the movie and finally reveals why T.J. didn’t make it out West (one the big unsolved questions from the movie) in this 2019 interview.
Axel, Be My Valentine (14:48) – Neil Affleck (no relation to Ben or Casey) talks about playing the third wheel in the love triangle and why his character was crucial in the end in this 2019 interview.
Friends of Mine (19:20) – Lori Hallier reflects on her film debut here and why she had arrived on the set later than her co-stars in this 2019 interview.
Becoming Sylvia (17:17) – Helene Udy talks about portraying Sylvia and her experience in Tom Burman’s makeup studio getting casts made for her death scene in this 2019 interview.
The Secret Keeper (27:25) – Rob Stein (also known as “Sam Roberts” in film and TV productions here in the U.S.) talks about his career, his time on the set and playing one of the lucky survivors of The Miner’s rampage (although seriously shaken up) in this 2019 interview.
Broken Hearts and Broken Bones (10:36) – Makeup artist Tom Burman reflects on creating the gruesome effects for the film and why he didn’t work on another slasher film like this in this 2019 interview.
Holes in the Heart (12:29) – A comparison between the theatrical cut and the unrated version in the scenes where the deleted gore footage was restored.
Theatrical Trailer (2:11)
TV Spots (3) (1:32)
Radio Spots (2) (1:01)
Still Gallery (140) (11:41)
The special features from the Lionsgate DVD and Blu-ray that didn’t make it over here were a brief featurette with a tie-in to the 2009 remake, an interactive timeline on the history of the slasher film and introductions to the deleted footage by the director, cast and Burman.
Overall: 4.5/5
Though nowhere near the success of Friday the 13th, My Bloody Valentine has gone on to have a long afterlife as a cult favorite and sterling example of the slasher craze of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Scream Factory has bested their previous Blu-ray release her and has likely delivered the definitive edition of the movie, carrying over all the previous special features while greatly improving on the quality of the reintegrated gore footage on the unrated cut of the movie in this terrific new HDR transfer. Very highly recommended and absolutely worth upgrading from previous home video releases.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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