My Bloody Valentine: Special Edition

1981/2009
Of all the cash-in slashers that came in the wave of "Friday the 13 th"'s boffo box office in 1980,  "My Bloody Valentine" is one of the most well-regarded "? partly because it's more suspenseful than the other knockoffs, and partly because it was able to achieve that with almost no blood.

A skittish MPAA cut the film's gore scenes were cut by skittish producers before "MBV" ever saw screen time. As it turned out, it didn't need it to generate scares, but now that Lionsgate has finally sated fans by finding all nine minutes of the excised footage, gorehounds no longer need complain. This special edition knocks Paramount's previous barebones disc "¦ well, right through the skull.

A small town plans its first Valentine's Day party, 20 years after a tragic mine explosion that resulted in one survivor, who was forced to go cannibal and warned the town never to celebrate the holiday "¦ or else. Well, the town finally does, and "else " happens. Better check to see what that thump in the drier is all about.

The killer's unique miner's uniform "? complete with gas mask "? gives "MBV" a built-in creepiness. Scares are there, too, and now that we get to see the effects that went with them "? dated, but positively sick "? the flick's cult may propagate.

Extras include a slasher retrospective that segues into a promo for the current 3-D theatrical remake, plus a clickable family tree of all the slasher subgenres.

"?Rod Lott

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