Cross your heart...and hope to die.
Released by: Lionsgate
Release Date: November 24, 2009
Production Year: 1981
Region Code: All
Running Time: 1:33:00
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 / English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Video: 1080p (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio)
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
THE FILM
Twenty years after a Valentine's Day tragedy, a small town prepares for its annual holiday dance. When a box of candy arrives containing an eerie warning and a blood-soaked heart, the townsfolk realize that this Valentine's Day romance is as good as dead... and so are they! "My Bloody Valentine" tells the tale of miner, Harry Warden and how two decades later, the town still remains in his grip of fear.
I first saw this film many years ago on VHS and I was not a fan. It was similar to many slashers of the time except that it was fairly tame. We had plenty of other slashers where the killer was carving up victim after victim, sometimes in gruesome detail. But here, not so much. Many cutaways deprived the depraved of what they were so rightfully owed, the money shot, the blood, the gore. Here we had a gas mask wearing killer wielding a pickaxe as his weapon of choice, so you would expect some wicked carnage. I was largely let down and never watched the film again. Then in late 2009 when this Blu-ray was released, a friend suggested I watch it. After hearing how a lot of gore that had been previously cut from the film was restored, I said I would give it another chance. I never knew the film was cut, or rather gutted by the MPAA so many years ago. I bought this Blu-ray and after watching it, I was amazed. It was like watching the film for the first time. It was terrific. It quickly became one of my most watched Blu-rays and one of my favorite slashers. Yes, the restored footage made that much of a difference. Granted, had I watched it again once I was older, I may have had more of an appreciation for the film. But I didn't, so we'll never know. Some may not like the added footage due to its quality, but I'll cover that in the Video section.
AUDIO:
This Blu-ray includes two English audio tracks, Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track does a fairly good job. It has a nice overall balance of dialogue, sound effects and score. It is my track of choice. The DTS-HD MA track is okay but I found the sound level of the dialog to be too low and overwhelmed at times. You find yourself asking, what they did say, a few times throughout the film. Most of the sound comes from the center and front speakers with the surrounds not adding much to the overall ambiance of the film.
VIDEO:
"My Bloody Valentine" made its high definition debut thanks to Lionsgate. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. Viewers have two options of how they would like to view the film, the theatrical version or the extended version, which has the deleted bits added back in. If you opt for the extended version, which you should, the quality of the reinstated footage is not HD. It is more like VHS quality. However I did not mind the quality one bit. Some people have complained how terrible it looks next to the rest of the film. I can only guess that maybe they hadn't seen the film before, because I would hope that fans would be happy and thankful to see the film the way it was intended. Like I said earlier, it is like watching a new film. For the bulk of the film that is in high definition, the picture quality is terrific. Colors look great as do skin tones. Black levels look very good as well. There is a very fine layer of grain and I did not notice any issues with it or any other problems. There is a significant amount of fine detail to be found in this release. I doubt many thought this film could look so good. But it does. I have no complaints about the video quality in this release. The only negative thing is that the added footage is of inferior quality. But it's not fair to hold that against the Blu-ray or Lionsgate.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Along with the following extras, this release features a Chapter Selection Screen, English, English SDH and Spanish Subtitles as well as a Bookmarks feature.
Bloodlust: My Bloody Valentine and the Rise of the Slasher Film (20:36) - This featurette starts off with Adam Rockoff, Author of "Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film." He gives a rundown of several slasher films. Next we hear from the Director of "My Bloody Valentine", George Mihalka who discusses how the film came to be. Some members of the cast and crew talk about the film as well. Then we hear from members of the cast and crew from the "My Bloody Valentine" remake as they talk about their film and how it looks in 3D.
Deleted Scenes - This is the other option of seeing the footage that was reinserted back into the film. This is still of some value if you prefer the extended version as these deleted scenes can be played with director, cast and crew introductions.
Bloodlines: An Interactive Horror Film History - This extra is in a text format. You are given many options of different horror sub-genres and categories such as sequels, where you have a few screens of text with information on the different subjects. It is something interesting to look at and you might learn about a film you would like to see.
Theatrical Trailer (2:10)
Also From Lionsgate (1:06)
IN CONCLUSION:
I absolutely love this Blu-ray release just for the film itself with what they did by giving us the option to see it in all of its glory. If there was one thing I could have as an extra it would be a commentary track with the cast or crew of the film that could give some insight in to the process of making the film or stories pertaining to the scenes. I know this Blu-ray release can be hard to find for some but if you can locate a copy for a reasonable price and you're a slasher fan, I'd buy it. This is the sort of release many fans wish for when it comes to other films that were cut to attain an R rating. Oh and I also like the end credits song. It's kinda catchy and can get stuck in your head.
OVERALL: 4 / 5