Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

My Bloody Valentine 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Does 'My Bloody Valentine' take viewers to another dimension of Blu-ray excellence?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 16, 2009

Be mine 4 ever.

With the release of My Bloody Valentine 3D, the Horror genre has now seen films with a killer in just about every get-up imaginable. There have been men in goalie masks, Captain Kirk masks, human flesh masks, clown masks, whatever-those-were-in Scream-masks, and the list goes on. Cowards. Afraid of letting their victims know who they really are. For shame. As long as it looks "scary," though, and as long as they wield some sharpened weapon (it's never a blunt instrument or a firearm), it's cool. They sell tickets. But they still haven't made a movie with a killer wearing a Martin Liebman mask. Now that would make for a blockbuster. Anyway, My Bloody Valentine 3D features its hero (all the killers in these sorts of movies are really the heroes) wearing a miner's outfit and sporting a mask that looks more like something an F-22 pilot might wear, but that's beside the point. He hacks, he stabs, he scores! er, he kills his victims with a pickax and he does it in 3D. Awesome!

Where does Loretta Lynn fit into all of this?

A small mining town goes into shock when several of its own are buried alive during a cave-in. When the lone survivor, Henry Warden, is pulled from the rubble, he is hailed as a miracle -- until it is discovered that he murdered his colleagues for a better chance at survival. Believed to be in a vegetative, comatose state, Warden becomes an afterthought -- until he awakens and murders everyone in the hospital and returns to the mines where several partying teenagers, too, are slaughtered. Ten years pass, the survivors of that massacre still dealing with the after-effects. Axel Palmer (Kerr Smith) is now the town sheriff. He's married to Sarah (Jaime King), former girlfriend of Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles), son of the mine's owner and missing since the bloody events that fateful night. Though long thought dead and buried, Henry Warden seems to have returned, wearing the same outfit and wielding the same deadly pickax, chipping away at everyone in sight. With the town on edge, the mine set to be sold by a suddenly-resurgent Tom, and its population dwindling rapidly, the only question that remains is, "who was that masked man?"

Save for the fact that My Bloody Valentine 3D was presented theatrically in 3D (and does a good job of it, more on that to come), it would have been nothing more than a snoozer of a recycled Horror picture. Sure, it's got a few things going for it, like retaining at least a semblance of a mystery as to the identity of the killer, but otherwise, the film makes for a completely generic Horror experience that never differentiates itself from its many hundreds of peers, save for the entire 3D thing, though even that is not entirely new to the genre. Although the movie does well in featuring copious amounts of gore (and to lesser effect in the 3D version that obscures plenty of detail and color in favor of the added depth), it also offers a rather uninteresting plot, but not one entirely devoid of meaning and structure. It plays with ideas such as post-traumatic stress syndrome and hallucinations, but never really explores the issues past a painfully superficial level of detail. No matter, though, because the movie is certainly not meant to make audiences think; it's a straight hack-and-slash picture with a plot that at least tries to keep things interesting but, ultimately, does nothing more than bridge the gap between one death scene and the next. It also features interchangeable and forgettable characters, and whether they live or die remains beside the point throughout the movie. Fodder in the classic Horror picture sense of the word, the film's three primaries distinguish themselves just well enough to set up the end of the film, but otherwise, the rest may as well just walk around with signs hanging around their necks that says "pick(ax) me."

As for the film's primary selling point, the 3D carnage, it delivers nicely enough, getting things off on the right foot with a pickax to the back of the head, resulting in an eyeball hurtling towards the audience. Not too shabby. Other notable entries include a hurled pickax that penetrates through the windshield of a pickup and, by extension, seemingly straight through the television/projector screen and into the living room/auditorium, and the barrel of a shotgun that covers the audience from one side to the other. Of course, the film features its fair share of throwaway 3D gimmicks, like a shot featuring a character seemingly spitting at those poor audience members down in the front row off to the left-hand side. The movie does a rather good job at creating a sense of depth, though the real gimmick -- the appearance of objects literally popping out of the screen -- doesn't work quite as well as some of the best ones as seen in another recent 3D picture, Journey to the Center of the Earth.

My Bloody Valentine 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lionsgate presents My Bloody Valentine 3D on Blu-ray with the option of viewing either the 3D or standard 2D versions of the film, each presented in 1080p high definition and framed at 1.85:1. The 3D version is given more weight towards the final score as it is representative of the true intent of the film and the option most audiences will select.

3D Version

Generally, the 3D works to fantastic effect, perhaps the best overall presentation yet on the Blu-ray format. Though it lacks slightly behind the aforementioned Journey to the Center of the Earth in terms of the number of "protruding" objects that seem to jump straight into the audience, the film's overall sense of depth and mostly clean lines make it a superior all-around performer. While this version features an obvious depth that looks marvelous, it does see a heavy pinkish tint about much of the imagery. Colors blend and appear generally dull, but the sacrifice of color and detail for the depth is a worthwhile trade-off in exchange for the novelty of the experience. Despite the mostly clean lines, several moderate-to-bad ghosting effects plague some shots, but much of the film appears seamless with only a slight bleed-over that most viewers will, and should, ignore. Confined only by the size of the screen, My Bloody Valentine 3D delivers the goods, and is sure to work even better with larger displays. While it lacks in traditional "good points" like color and detail, the film works incredibly well as-advertised and fans taking it in proper context should be thrilled with the 3D presentation.

2D Version

My Bloody Valentine 3D (the 2D experience) offers up a rather solid but visually uninteresting transfer. While it often features a fair level of detail in both the foreground and the background, it sometimes takes on a hazy appearance that slightly obscures the finest of details and color. Bright, very well-lit sequences look the best, the meeting between Sarah and Tom at the grocery store in chapter seven making for one of the better-looking scenes. The gore also works well here, the intricate detail of the wounds and the gallons of blood look far better in 2D than they do in the 3D version. Flesh tones appear somewhat ghastly, blacks sometimes take on a grayish tint, and a bit of banding is visible here and there. The many sequences inside the mineshaft generally fare the worst. The 2D transfer certainly suffices, but ranges between solid and mediocre HD material.

My Bloody Valentine 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lionsgate once again provides listeners with a 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that brings the film to sonic life. The audio is typical of Lionsgate's new releases in that it plays aggressively with plenty of deep bass and surround use the engulfs the entire soundstage to chilling effect. Dialogue occasionally sounds muffled, though it seems to mostly be a result of actors mumbling their lines rather than a problem with the soundtrack. A fair amount of ambience is also present. The mine's alarm klaxon, for instance, rings out with a splendid and all-encompassing effect that seems to surround listeners in a realistic circle of sound. Some good, discrete effects may be found scattered around the movie, for example some heard in the background during the set-up to a confrontation in a grocery store in chapter 11 that further enhance the scene's creepy atmosphere and pending violence. Music plays crisply, and higher-pitched sounds, such as screams, are delivered with pinpoint precision. My Bloody Valentine 3D doesn't match the finest lossless soundtracks out there, but it gives the sound system a good workout and satisfies the aural sense nicely.

My Bloody Valentine 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

My Bloody Valentine 3D offers up an assortment of short bonus features. First up is a commentary track with Director Patrick Lussier and Co-Writer Todd Farmer. The pair serve up a nice enough track, offering detailed comments on the support staff that worked on the film (and pointing them out in the film), shooting the 3D effects, shooting locations and how some of the scenes were reworked to take advantage of the locales, editing, and more. Deep Inside 'My Bloody Valentine (480p, 7:18) is a basic piece that looks at the nuts-and-bolts of shooting inside a mine and moving on to look at the quality of the screenplay, the performances of the cast and crew, and more. Sex, Blood, & Screams (480p, 5:47) examines the making of some of the film's death scenes. Concluding the supplements are a series of 14 deleted and extended scenes presented in 480p standard definition, an alternate ending (480p, 1:03), a gag reel (480p, 2:16), and the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 0:38). Disc two contains a digital copy of the 2D version of the film. Replayed on a second generation iPod Touch,the video sports a good overall presentation, though again the blacks suffer from a noticeable level of blocking. The audio, on the other hand, makes for a nice, robust presentation, with noticeable background information and ambience, clear music and dialogue, crisp sound effects, and some good echoing effects that, along with the clear background information, provide to the track a fine sense of space and depth.

My Bloody Valentine 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In an ode to the Saw films (By the way, the four pair of included 3D glasses even advertise Saw VI coming in October...where are those sleeping bags and folding chairs? Better get in line early.), My Bloody Valentine 3D features a montage showing a series of images that tie the background of the story together, revealing how the plot secret came to be. Seeing as how it follows in the footsteps of plenty of other Horror films before it, it should come as no surprise that My Bloody Valentine 3D sets itself up for the potential sequel, too. Perhaps My Bloodier Valentine 3D, My Bloody Valentine 3D: 3D Harder, My Bloody Valentine 3D: Electric Boogaloo, or Life is Like a Bloody Box of Valentine's Chocolates 3D will show up in theaters next February 14th. One can only hope. Lionsgate's Blu-ray release of their latest slasher proves itself a worthy disc. The 3D transfer delivers as expected, the lossless soundtrack doesn't disappoint, and the included supplements suffice. In all seriousness, My Bloody Valentine 3D isn't a very good movie, but the 3D experience is fun and well worth checking out. Recommended.