This 1980 horror favorite has gained a cult following over
the years and most people don't even realize that it was filmed in Quebec and Nova Scotia.
All is peaceful in Valentine Bluff until the little city throws its first Valentine's
Day dance in 20 years. Five miners lost their life in a tragic mining accident when their
supervisors attended the annual dance two decades earlier and the only survivor was Harry
Warden, who has been confined to mental institutions since that fateful day.
All of a sudden bloody hearts start to arrive, murders occur and the townsfolk start
thinking that old Harry is back for revenge.
There are a couple of nice twists on the slasher genre here. The bad guy carries a
pickaxe instead of a knife and he wears an oxygen mask instead of a hockey mask. Most of
the action takes place in a mine, which is a nice spooky setting for the movie. There is
never a dull moment and most of the gore is off screen. It's unfortunate that the cliché
ending was a bit of a disappointment.
Paramount has done an excellent job remastering their classic horror movies for DVD and
this one is no exception. The widescreen transfer is superb. Colors are bright and the
image is sharp. Flesh tones are realistic and the quality of the print is top notch. If
there was any age damage to the film it wasn't noticeable.
The original mono soundtrack is intact and sounds good. Voices are nicely placed in the
center channel and the subwoofer absorbs some low-end sounds when needed. A French mono
track is also included.
As far as special features are concerned, there are none. Not even a trailer has been
included.
The eighties were definitely the time of the slasher movie and this one was better then
most. I was surprised I enjoyed the movie as much as I did and I recommend it to all
old school horror fans.
Review By Harley Solomon (05-14-03)
Home
