Just as the use of 3D lifted the status of the MBV remake from mediocre (6/10) to very entertaining (7.5/10), so the reinstatement of several very gruesome scenes of gore cut by the MPAA transform the original movie from what was just a reasonably fun effort into one of the most effective slashers of the 80s. Yes, the bloody effects really do make that much of a difference!
The setting for the film is the sleepy mining town of Valentine's Bluff, where twenty years before, demented miner Harry Warden murdered those responsible for the Valentine's Day cave-in that buried him alive for six weeks, with only the bodies of his dead co-workers for food.
With Harry safely locked away in an asylum for the past for two decades, the townsfolk have finally decided to ignore the killer's threat to return should they ever hold a Valentine's party, and begin to prepare for a lavish February 14th bash. But Harry appears to be a man who is true to his word, and soon the bodies start to pile up, their hearts removed and sent to the police inside boxes of candy (complete with bad poetry).
Chief Jake Newby (Don Francks) immediately recognises the grisly gifts as Harry's handiwork and cancels the Valentine celebrations; but the young folk of Valentine's Bluff aren't afraid of what they believe to be just a local legend, and hold their own soirée at the pit-head. A good time is being had by all until the mask-wearing killer crashes the party.
Despite this being only his second movie, director George Mihalka achieves impressive performances from his equally inexperienced cast, and displays remarkable flair with his visuals, making excellent use of his central mine setting, but it's his willingness to get nasty when it counts that make this one so much fun. He opens his film off in superb style with a credits sequence that sees a couple (clad head to foot in full mining gear) going underground for a spot of slap 'n' tickle; after walking through the gloomy tunnels, she strips off and suggestively caresses his breathing pipe, and he impales her on a sharp spike in return (the point emerging through the heart tattoo she has on her breast!). This impressively grisly scene sets the tone for what proves to be, in it's complete form, an extremely satisfying slasher.
In his creepy miner's get-up, the killer is one of the most imposing maniacs of the genre, and the methods he employs to bump off his victims are both inventive and messy: an old lady is roasted inside a tumble dryer; an old guy gets a pick-axe under his chin, which emerges out an eye socket (with the eyeball stuck on the end of the pick—a particularly nice touch!); a girl has her head rammed onto a shower head, the bloody water spraying from her open mouth; a guy in a noose has his head torn off when dropped from a height; boiling hot-dog water is used to drown a bloke; and another poor wretch is nail-gunned in the head! In their uncut state, these revolting moments, made possible by make-up maestro Tom Burman and his team, make MBV a completely unmissable treat for slasher fans.
Now if only they could somehow make this film 3D as well...