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Film: My Bloody Valentine
Year: 1981
Director: George Mihalka
Writer: John Beaird
Starring: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier and Neil Affleck
Review:
This film is one that I didn’t know much about until getting into podcasts. It is interesting is that I grew up on Friday the 13th films and I may have caught part of this on the movie channels, but it wouldn’t be until being an adult that I finally saw this all the way through. I did get a second watch at the Gateway Film Center for Valentine’s Day.
Synopsis: a decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine’s Day turns out to be turn true when a group defies the killer’s order and people start to die.
We start off in a mine tunnel. There are two people wearing jumpsuits as well as gas masks and helmets with a light on it. One of them is also carrying a pickax. They stop and one of them reveals themselves to be a woman. She unzips her jumpsuit to expose her bra with a little heart tattoo on her chest and the other puts his tool onto a cinderblock wall behind her. The woman is then killed by being pushed back on to ax.
It then shift to a group of men working in the mines. They are coming to the end of their shift. There is T.J. (Paul Kelman) who recently returned to the town. His father is the one owner of this mine. His supervisor is Axel (Neil Affleck). Along with them that work down here is Hollis (Keith Knight) and Howard (Alf Humphreys). They’re excited as Valentine’s Day is coming up and the town is having a party for it for the first time in twenty years. T.J. though is down because his ex-girlfriend is dating Axel. We also learn that T.J. disappeared to go out west, just leaving her for years. Everyone then moved on, but he hasn’t.
The party is being thrown by Mable (Patricia Hamilton). The young women in town are helping her. There is Sarah (Lori Hallier) is the one that is dating Axle and formerly dating T.J. Patty (Cynthia Dale) is seeing Hollis and Howard is constantly hitting on Sylvia (Helene Udy). The men get off work and show up while they are decorating. They are all drinking and just being a distraction. The mayor and T.J.’s father, Mayor Hanniger (Larry Reynolds), shows up with the chief of police, Newby (Don Francks). They are leery about the party as the history of the town. A Valentine’s Day gift is given to the mayor. On their drive he opens it to reveal a human heart, warning them about the party.
At the local bar later that night, the bartender Happy (Jack Van Evera), gives the history of the town of Valentine’s Bluff. Every year there was a party. One year a group of miners was working during it. The supervisors weren’t paying attention and left. An explosion happened in the mines, trapping them. When they finally got to them, there was only one left, a man named Harry Warden (Peter Cowper). He had eaten the others during his time trapped. The following year on Valentine’s Day, he killed the two supervisors and they haven’t had a party on the holiday since.
Our miner isn’t done yet. He next targets Mabel at her laundromat. When it is discovered by Newby, he contacts the mayor and they decide that they need to shut the party down. The warnings tell them that no one is allowed to party on Valentine’s Day. The younger folk in town don’t believe it and decide to throw something anyway. The miner isn’t happy and is out for their revenge.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Something I didn’t say in my opening was that I had seen the remake when I was in college in 3D. There was a good stretch between seeing that one and finally getting to this. One of the best parts here is the concept. I like the back-story as to why the killer hates Valentine’s Day. Even though this is Friday the 13th clone, I still think that this one is strong enough to stand on its own. That is something I appreciate.
Let’s then delve deeper into that. This is a slasher film, but I’d say that much like the original Friday the 13th, this plays like a giallo. We don’t know who the killer is. There is the worry from Mayor Hanniger and Chief Newby that Harry got out of the mental hospital. There are vibes there of Halloween as well. There is an interesting concept that the records aren’t great at the hospital, so it takes time to confirm whether Harry is still there or not. I’d even say that we get a vibe of Christmas Evil or Silent Night, Deadly Night with the backstory, but these were all being made/released close to each other. It is possible that all these influenced this movie, but I cannot confirm or deny.
I then want to talk about the setting and timeframe. We are in a town of Valentine’s Bluff which I love since this is a holiday slasher around that. This is a miner town so that allows our killer to be dressed in their outfits. I love that look. The pickax is a great weapon. Going down into the mines helps isolate our characters and makes this stand out. What is also interesting is that we aren’t following teenagers. These are grown adults who are working. They act like teens after their off work though, so that captures the vibe. This all worked for me and makes me a fan.
Now where I want to shift would be talking about the acting. For me, slashers need good kills or characters. I’ll talk about the latter first. There is an interesting love triangle here between T.J., Sarah and Axel. The former two were dating before he went west to make a new life. That failed. Kelman does well at someone who is putting on a brave face, but it becomes too much at times. I like that Hallier is torn on what she should do. It doesn’t help that both guys are acting childish. Affleck is good as well as this guy who is now dating Sarah, but things are complicated. I love how things progress; we don’t know if we trust these two guys. I also thought that Knight, Humphreys, Dale, Udy and the rest of that crew were great. I’m a big fan of Knight and Dale, I did want to say that. They all feel like real characters to me. I also thought that Francks, Reynolds, Hamilton and Van Evera are good as the older generation who know the truth. Last, I’ll say that Cowper is great in the miner outfit. It is so creepy and his size worked.
All that is left then is filmmaking. Now I believe both times that I’ve seen this one has been the cut version. I’ve heard that it adds so much to seeing that one so my score is going to be lower since the kills are all but removed from being on screen. I still thought that the cinematography was good. I like how they frame things and being down in the mine feels claustrophobic. That is great. The limited effects we get are good. They went practical and the blood looked solid. I will still give credit for the kills that we see and the items used. The soundtrack for the most part is good. It fits what was needed. There is a great theme though, The Ballad of Harry Warden, this is amazing.
In conclusion, this is up there as one of my favorite slashers from not only the 1980s, but in general. I love the concept. We have a good reason why there’s a killer stalking on Valentine’s Day. Being set in this small mining town adds something, especially since we see the mine as a location and what the killer is wearing. I love the characters. They feel like a real group of friends who know each other and I care about what happens. The cinematography is good. I still need to see the extended kill scenes so until then, it hurts my rating. I do also love the theme song we get there. It adds charm. I’d recommend this to slasher fans for sure.
My Rating: 8.5 out of 10