My Bloody Valentine (1981)



Movie Title: My Bloody Valentine

Year Released: 1981

Rated: R

Runtime: 1h 30min

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Director: George Mihalka

Writer: John Beaird

Starring: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck, Keith Knight, Alf Humphreys, Cynthia Dale, Helene Udy, Rob Stein, Thomas Kovacs, Terry Waterland, Carl Marotte, Jim Murchison, Gina Dick, Peter Cowper, Don Francks, Patricia Hamilton, Larry Reynolds, Jack Van Evera

Review: Two decades after a Valentine's Day tragedy, a small town prepares for its annual holiday dance. When a mysterious box of candy arrives, along with an eerie warning...and a human heart, the townspeople of Valentine Bluffs find themselves in the grip of a murderous madman. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Beware of Harry Warden, he's out to get...YOU!!!

As '80s slasher go, My Bloody Valentine is a cut above. What it really has going for it is a creepy and claustrophobic setting thanks to the smart production move of shooting in an actual working mine. And the mysterious, maniacal, and murderous villain, Harry Warden, is actually scary and menacing.

Holiday horror, especially slasher movies, in the wake of the success of John Carpenter's Halloween, were all the rage in the early 1980s. My Bloody Valentine is definitely one of the most entertaining and memorable of the genre. Another of its charms is that it's also one of the Canadian Tax Shelter movies of that time, which features Canadian actors trying to pass themselves off as American 20-somethings, but attempting to avoid saying "A-boot" instead of "About", but with not much success.

The drama among the potential victims isn't particularly interesting or well written or acted, but the mood is spooky and suspenseful, the kills are shocking, and once you get a frightful glimpse of Harry Warden, and his trusty pick-axe, you won't be able to get that image out of your mind.

My Bloody Valentine is a scary good-time and a horror film favorite of mine. (You see what I did there?) Fright fans will enjoy it for its '80s cheese factor, the murdering miner mayhem, and the non-stop Moosehead Beer product placement. My Bloody Valentine is rated R - Not For Minors. (Okay, I'll stop.)

Stars (out of 4):
       

Fun Fact: The film was shot in authentic mines which were often as much as 900 feet underground. Only certain lighting devices could be used in the mines because of the potential danger of methane explosions.


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