DVD Reviews

My Bloody Valentine

• Rating:
• Director: Patrick Lussier
• Starring: Betsy Rue
• Details: USA / 101mins / (16)

My Bloody Valentine brings the impressive, newer, 3D digital format full circle by taking it back to its horror roots. The film itself is fairly standard fare, but its director Lussier's innovative use of gore within the format that genuinely makes this slashathon worthwhile. Elements of the 1981's original plot are rejigged for 2009, as a psychopathic miner goes on a rampage, killing anyone unlucky enough to step in his way. Ten years after his apparent demise, local youngsters caught up in the previous bloodshed find themselves back in harm's way when the perennially pissed off miner appears to have come home for seconds. There have been major issues with the horror genre lately, with the likes of Saw and Hostel dumbing the once mighty genre down to within an inch of its life. Occasionally, we'd get a creepy addition like The Mist, but more often than not it's highly derivate, torture porn shite, and films so mind numbingly repetitive, you may find yourself picturing the directors suffering at the hands of a murdering mastermind. This film will undoubtedly not win any awards - lord knows its silliness knows no boundaries - but it is very much aware of the material that it's dealing with and has a lot of fun with it. Put it this way, in one scene a naked woman hides under a bed after being chased by our psychopath, only for a midget to stroll into the room and meet the business end of a pick axe - in 3-D! No explanation, no nothing; midget, naked woman, pick-axe, gory death. That's it. Lussier isn't exactly a director who will inspire you with confidence while looking at his directorial CV (White Noise 2, Dracula 2000), but he has worked as an editor with the legendary Wes Craven throughout his career, and appears to have finally picked up a thing or two from his mentor. That's not to say this is a hair on the scrotum of the likes of Scream or A Nightmare on Elm Street, but it embraces the genre with open arms, and utilises in 3-D setup well enough to warrant a ticket purchase.

Review by Mike Sheridan