'Valentine' has always been one of my favorite slasher films and for years and now thanks to Scream Factory, we have the cult classic on Blu-Ray for the first time. The story is about a group of young women who begin to receive sinister Valentine's Day gifts seemingly from a young boy they once tormented at a school dance 20 years before. Is it the long forgotten boy longing for revenge? Or is it someone else? Firstly, the idea of introducing red herrings in the movie is one of its biggest flaws. We know it has to be this boy because of the film's opening prologue so these other suspicious or terrible people feel far too obvious and ultimately unnecessary. Surprisingly when looking back on this film for this review, I was surprised that I had little issue with the film outside that element. It's hard to believe that critics were so vicious to the film back in 2001, obtaining a abysmal 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but director Jamie Blanks was never intending to. He simply wanted to make a throwback slasher film, without relying on the 'Scream' formula which in itself had become stale by then. 'Valentine' set out to be a fun and well made movie with a cool killer and a cast of likeable and funny characters and I feel it does just that.
The Blu-Ray comes with a 2K remaster of the original film negative which was shot by Rick Bota and both he and director Jamie Blanks supervised the transfer. Once again, Scream Factory delivers a solid video presentation giving 'Valentine' new life with a picture quality that all by itself blows the old DVD out of the water. The film was shot with blue and red color schemes and here they pop brilliantly. But the film also keeps the blacks and dimmer scenery intact to keep the more sinister scenes effective. Audio is presented in Dolby 5.1 and sounds clear and as well as you're going to get. Ultimately the audio is standard fare, which is by no means bad but nothing noteworthy here really.
Special Features are packed in comparison to the rather bare bones DVD release. You of course have those original features transferred over such as the original Audio Commentary with the director but we also have a brand new Commentary with Jamie Blanks, director Don Coscarelli, and author Peter Bracke. Both are very informative and go into many elements of the film, including the infamously deleted scenes, the cast, the filmmaking, and Don and Jamie's friendship. These are both very good listens for fans of the film and even goes into some tips for independent filmmakers if you're so inclined. Speaking of deleted scenes, we do finally get the majority of them intact although one frequently talked about death scene is sadly missing. Still, it's rare to see slashers get their cut scenes rediscovered and I appreciate Scream Factory's efforts. You also get some new interviews with the lovely ladies of 'Valentine' as well as an interview with composer Don Davis along with some classic press kits and documentaries from the original film's release. It's nice to see such a packed Blu-Ray after nearly twenty years of that crappy Warner Bros. DVD.
Any fans of slasher films have likely already seen 'Valentine'. It's one of the better entries in the post-Scream era and one that any horror enthusiast should at least check out. Scream Factory once again knocks it out of the park and delivers their very best in both audio/visual presentation and tons of great special features. I highly recommend this new release.
The Movie: 8/10
The Blu-Ray: 9/10
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