My Bloody Valentine 1981
It’s that time of year! Time to bring out the Valentine’s Day horror. And I always have to start with the classic 1981 My Bloody Valentine. The time of year where Hallmark and companies hype up this romantic holiday. Not me. Though, I do appreciate it when they put all that Valentine candy on sale.
PLOT
It’s almost Valentine’s day and a mining town is getting ready for the upcoming Valentine’s Day party. The first party in years. Unfortunately the killer from years back may have returned and started killing people.
Photo Credit: Secret Film
Released: Feb 11, 1981
Runtime: 90 mins
Director: George Mihalka
Writer: Stephen A. Miller, John Beaird
Actors: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck
MY THOUGHTS
There are a whopping 18 kills (though 6 are by Harry Warden, and not all are shown). Several pickaxe kills, beheadings, and hearts being ripped out. The killer just really doesn’t like Valentine’s Day. Not a ton of blood but with the kill’s and the Valentine Gifts (actual human hearts), it’s decent.
I’m not usually a fan of love triangles but I thought Axel (Neil Affleck) and TJ (Paul Kelman) and Sara (Lori Hallier) did a decent job. I think the rest of the actors who play the friends do a decent job of acting like a small town mining community.
The youth of the small town mining community are setting up for the first Valentine’s Day party in years. The town hasn’t celebrated Valentine’s Day in several years because of Harry Warden. A miner who was trapped in a mining accident who killed and ate several of his fellow miners before being rescued. He escapes and kills the foreman and others before being caught and sent to a mental hospital. Since then no Valentine’s Day party.
A few days leading up to the party people start dying and others receive gruesome valentines warning of upcoming death. The mayor cancels the party, but as the young do, they break into the mine and decide to party, not knowing the danger that awaits them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I haven’t liked Valentine’s Day in forever, but I’m not going to go on a killing spree because of it. No, I’ll get me some nice food and lot’s of chocolate. And I’ll binge watch Valentine’s Day horror movies. Granted, my better half isn't into these films, but he’ll get over it. LOL
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Overall decent kills for an 80’s slasher and a nice mystery to add to it to try and figure out if it’s Harry Warden or someone else. The film definitely has a feel of an old mining town, and how everybody knows everybody. I like the authenticity of it.
Did you know…
According to makeup effects artist Thomas R. Burman, one of his gory creations was realistic enough that director George Mihalka threw up at the sight of it.
Quentin Tarantino has named My Bloody Valentine as his all-time favorite slasher film.
The MPAA cut more than 5 minutes out of the film before it came out, mostly because the movie was released shortly after John Lennon died, and there was a major backlash against violent movies.
George Mihalka approached Paramount in 2001 with a synopsis for a sequel, but due to poor box office records with the original film, they declined.
According to director George Mihalka, the actors and extras playing miners in the group shower scene were genuinely naked, even though they were filmed from the chest up.
Rob Stein said that the sequences in the locker room showers were cumbersome because the water, which appears hot on film, was actually frigid cold. Fans blowing steam into the scene also contributed to the cold.
Star Neil Affleck said that the identity of the film's killer was kept a secret even from the cast because the filmmakers liked the idea of the mystery being real among the actors. However, Affleck figured out that he was the killer when, after being cast, he was sent to the make up effects department to be fitted for a fake arm that would be ripped off the killer in the film's finale.
Check out my other reviews here: Forever Final Girl
Let’s get into the rankings:
Kills/Blood/Gore: 4/5
Sex/Nudity: 1.5/5 Lots of making out and the male shower scene but no actual nudity.
Scare factor: 4.5/5
Enjoyment factor: 5/5
My Rank: 3.75/5
IMDB: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 5.8/10 audience: 5.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.3/5
