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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Restore the Cuts!, September 3, 2003
Remember those heady days in the late 1970s and early 1980s when films like "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" attained stellar success at the box office, resulting in a slew of holiday themed copycats? Movies like "April Fool's Day," "My Bloody Valentine," and "Graduation Day" arrived on the scene and dropped off the radar just as rapidly. Thanks to the appearance of DVD players, these films are reappearing with a disturbing rapidity. Unfortunately, the movies aren't much better than they were when they first came out. This is especially true for Paramount's release of the 1981 slasher film "My Bloody Valentine." At the time, Paramount demanded a mountain of cuts from director George Mihalka in order to avoid a dreaded 'X' rating for graphic violence. That's acceptable for a theatrical release, but a DVD version should reinsert all of the gory footage. Well, this release is the boring old 'R' rated version, and to make matters worse Paramount technicians included nothing else with the movie: no stills, no commentaries, no behind the scenes stuff, and no trailers. Get with the program, Paramount! The customer who will buy this movie on DVD is a genre fan; they want to see all of those gory killings you lopped off with indifference."My Bloody Valentine" takes place in a little mining town called Valentine Bluffs. We don't really know the location of the town, but the accents of the some of the characters hint at a Canadian setting somewhere near Quebec. Some years before a terrible mining accident resulting in the deaths of several miners caused Harry Warden to snap. Warden went on a killing spree through the town on the night of the Valentine's Day dance. Ever since then, the authorities in Valentine Bluffs banned parties on Valentine's Day, ever mindful of Harry Warden's threat to wreak bloody havoc on the town if they held another dance. Harry Warden, for the record, was one of the survivors of the mining accident, an accident caused by negligence on the part of two of the supervisors. After his murderous spree, Warden ended up in an insane asylum and the town slowly forgot his grim threats. Now it's the present (or at least 1981), and the mineworkers want to have another holiday party. The authorities, which include a neurotic mayor and a police chief who looks like Steve McQueen from a distance, are willing to go along with the idea of a celebration. Then the valentines start showing up, one of which contains a bloody human heart. The mayor and police chief initially try to keep the threat hush-hush, but a few more murders persuade them to cancel the dance. The young people in town throw a fit, deciding that they will still have a party but hold it at the mine instead. You can guess what happens from this point on: bodies drop like flies as a madman in mining gear (gas mask, helmet, black clothing, and pickax) works his way through the group of bubbleheads. As the chief desperately attempts to track down the whereabouts of Harry Warden, a group of especially idiotic partygoers head down into the mine for a few yucks. The last twenty minutes of the film take place in the darkly atmospheric mine, as the killer picks off several of the kids in the quarry. There's a twist ending that achieves only a moderate level of interest, and then the whole thing ends. "My Bloody Valentine" is a major rip off of other slasher films. This movie even has its own version of "Crazy Ralph" from "Friday the 13th" in the form of a testy bar owner who continually spouts stories about Harry Warden and the foolishness of throwing another party. You just know this guy is going to get his, and he does, but I kept wondering how he got any business. Who wants to go to a place where the proprietor keeps talking about gruesome murders? The other characters fall into typical slasher movie typecasting as well: the two guys fighting over the girl, the ineffective police chief and mayor who try to ignore the warning signs until it's too late, and the omnipresent killer. When it comes to original and engaging characters, "My Bloody Valentine" doesn't offer much except stereotypes with bad haircuts. Horror movie buffs should take note of Ray Sager's name (as first assistant director) in the credits: Sager played Montag the Magnificent in H.G. Lewis's "The Wizard of Gore." At first, the gore seems to promise that "My Bloody Valentine" is a step above your typical slasher film. The heart in the box is gruesome, but after that initial shocker the movie steps back into rather banal exercises in the sauce department. The heavy handed editing is to blame here, as nearly every murder that takes place either happens completely off camera (the idea of it!), or cuts away before the serious bloodletting starts. There are places where you can discover what Paramount removed to get that all-important 'R' rating, and it's obvious that this film would have been much better if we could have seen the full effect of the killer's actions. A boiled face, a hook through the head, and a body in a laundromat dryer sound great on paper, but the execution suffers horribly because we never get the full, grotesque effect. It's the equivalent of watching a Richard Pryor concert with all of the profanity bleeped out. I pray Paramount comes to their senses and finally releases this film, along with the first eight "Friday the 13th" movies, in uncut formats. "My Bloody Valentine," as it stands now, falls squarely into the "rent, not buy" category: an interesting film with great promise, but an ultimate failure due to circumstances beyond the control of the cast and crew.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better HALLOWEEN Clones, February 21, 2002
I recently compiled an Amazon list of the Top 10 Slasher Films Before the 90's. I placed MY BLOODY VALENTINE in the #7 slot. Upon watching it again, I realize that I should've placed it higher. Several other titles were ahead of it, including TERROR TRAIN, PROM NIGHT, and APRIL FOOL'S DAY. Those were all very good examples of the slasher genre, but I don't think any of them rival MY BLOOD VALENTINE for sheer fright, excitement, and novelty. Start with an interesting setting. Rather than a college campus or high school, we have a bleak, blue-collar mining town. Instead of free-wheeling students or teenagers we have working class twentysomethings pushing thirty. Then add a creepy backstory: a mining accident that entombed and killed all but one of a handful of miners. That survivor, Harry Warden, had to resort to cannibalism until he was rescued, messing him up for eternity and a day. The next year, on Valentine's Day, he returned (in full miner's garb with pick-axe) and brutally murdered the two supervisors who inadverdently caused the accident. He then cut their hearts out and sent it to the dance with a warning never to have another Valentine's dance. Flash forward to the present. The townspeople are contemplating the first dance in twenty years. Naturally, a series of murders begin, with the victim's hearts cut out. Alarmed, the police decide to cancel the dance. Undeterred, the young folk decide to have a secret party (at the mine's cafeteria). And that's when the real fun begins. Some highlights: a dude's face scalded in a huge pot of boiling water, and his cut-out heart being thrown in with the franks (yum), a girl getting her head impaled on a shower head (no repetition intended), and the local drunk becoming the victim of his own practical joke. Of course, no film (slasher or otherwise) would be set around Valentine's day without having a romantic supplot, and MY BLOODY VALENTINE is no exception. We're introduced to Axel and T.J., two former friends now duking it out for the affections of Sarah (Lori Hallier, in the film's best performance). This triangle could've been more fully developed, but it was sufficient enought to keep the audience interested. Who will get Sarah? Axel or T.J.? And as the murders multiply (and intensify) the question becomes "What does Harry Warden want?" Is it even him? Or someone else? Watch this flick and find out. There's a great final act set in the darkened mine, with an extended cat and mouse chase scene between the killer and T.J. and Sarah. This last half-hour rivals anything in HALLOWEEN. Scary last scene, too. Bottom line? Craftsmanship-wise, MY BLOODY VALENTINE is no HALLOWEEN, but in some ways, it's scarier.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Canadian horror film set on Valentine's Day? I'm sold!, August 7, 2000
Well, we have Friday the 13th, Halloween, April Fool's Day, Silent Night Bloody Night.... and now... My Bloody Valentine. Director George Mihalka seems to have his tongue planted firmly in his cheek during most of the movie. It's gimmicky, slow paced, with some truly horrible dialogue. While most films would suffer greatly because of those things, My Bloody Valentine actually benefits from them. After watching an hour or so of goofy set-ups, false scares, and amateur acting, this baby really kicks it into high gear. In fact, it's final half-an-hour is comparable with most of the best films of the genre. The film is often too gory for it's own good but manages a level of restraint that most casual horror fans will appreciate. The only real acting presented here comes from the two male leads, Paul Kelman and Neil Affleck, who manage to play two ex-friends embroiled in a battle for the same woman and seem believeable even though they have to mutter some of the dumbest dialogue I've ever heard in a horror film. I could complain about this film for hours but then I'd be missing the point. Any filmed called My Bloody Valentine obviously shouldn't be taken seriously. It's a cheap, Saturday night thrillfest. And at that level it succeeds. Just don't expect anything on a cerebral level.
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