My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Ah Valentines Day, a holiday that owes its existence more to capitalism then to compassion- let's be honest folks, this is a day tailored made to be a marketing machine. You think Christmas is consumer driven, it has nothing on V-Day. See at least with Christmas there is this all encompassing idea of goodwill towards one another- it's a day where we give to family and friends to show how much we care. Valentine's is a day where people in relationships are expected to spend money to show the person they are with that they have disposable income and are willing to use it on them one day a year to show that they can. It's a day to show one's love through cards or candy or flowers- ya know, things that don't require much thought and can easily be disposed of.
Know what else is easily disposable and tailored made to be marketed to a specific group of people? Slasher flicks.
Slashers are a staple of the horror genre and have been for decades. While people debate which film started the trend- the general consensus is John Carpenter's 1978 film Halloween, what can be agreed upon is that the genre and it's conventions are not going anywhere anytime soon. Even as the landscape of horror and films in general change, there is always room for a simple story of a masked killer stalking teenagers and dispatching them in increasingly violent ways. While not my favorite subgenre of horror, even I admit there are some good slasher flicks out there- A Nightmare on Elm Street is in my top five horror films. What usually bugs me with them is either their predictability in the case of a slasher where we need to guess who the killer is, or the lack of originality- horror is a derivative genre to begin with, and slashers are the best example.
Yet sometimes one finds one that does not hit these hurdles, and while it may still be derivative it's still entertaining. This is where today's movie comes in- and as Halloween also started the slasher trend it also gave us the idea of the holiday themed killer- it's many sequels, the Silent Night Deadly Night series and other Christmas themed killers, April Fools Day, and so on. Cross your heart and hope to survive, because in honor of Singles Awareness- I mean Valentine's Day, this is the 1981 Canadian slasher My Bloody Valentine.
Plot
Now I am aware this film was recently remade, in fact, I have seen the remake and as I had no real knowledge of the original I enjoyed it as there was nothing in my mind to compare it to. The remake was a decent little slasher flick, however it suffered from one of the aforementioned hurdles- it was very predictable. Yes it tried to throw us some red herrings but anyone with half a brain knew who the killer was about halfway through the film. That said I still enjoy it, and it was thinking of that movie that got me to look for the original.
For the first time in twenty years, the small Nova Scotia mining town of Valentine Bluffs is having a Valentine's Ball. For close to a hundred years this had been a tradition for the townspeople, until a mining accident caused by two careless foreman leaving the mine early for the dance led to a cave in and the death of a number of miners. The sole survivor, Harry Warden, went mad and ate his fellow miners, and was sent away. The following year he returned and took revenge on the two foremen, and told the town if they ever had another Valentine's Dance he would return. However as in all such movies, after a certain amount of time people forget or try to forget, and old stories, whether they are true or not, start to be considered legends. Despite warnings, most of the town's young people are dismissive of the story and are excited for the dance. There is tension however, as Jessie 'T.J' Hanniger, son of mine owner and Mayor Hanniger, has returned to town recently and is having trouble fitting back in, especially since his ex girlfriend Sarah has moved on with his former friend Axel. The two men are at odds both in the mine and out over their love for Sarah. Likewise, two days before the dance Mayor Hanniger and Police Chief Newby receive a human heart in a candy box- Harry Warden's calling card from twenty years ago. Though at first not looking to cause a panic, as the body count rises they decide to cancel the dance- not that those foolish young people care, as they decide to have a party of their own to celebrate the holiday- at the mine. Much violence ensues, as does the question of who the killer is- has Harry Warden really returned, or is it the withdrawn Jessie? Or is someone else in the quiet little town a complete lunatic dressed in a miner's uniform? The answer may surprise you, because it sure as hell surprised me.
Thoughts
Let's continue with the surprise I will not spoil it, but as I mentioned earlier the biggest problem with the remake in my opinion was that it was way too obvious who the killer was. In the original, not as much. Up until the last ten or so minutes, you are not sure who is really under that gas mask and mining helmet, and that is a plus in my book. Far too often with mystery slashers either the killer's identity is overtly obvious or a twist that make little sense occurs and the killer is someone who doesn't fit the character. In this movie, you are unsure until the end, and when the reveal occurs, you are satisfied because not only do you not see it coming but the identity makes sense.
Onto the characters- as with most slasher flicks, the majority of the cast exist simply to be part of the total body count. Still, most of the teens are developed enough that you like them- a good example being the character of Hollis, who was my favorite and whose death seriously bummed me out- he was a very likeable guy and the more you see of him in the film the more you want him to survive. The leads are pretty cut and dry, Jessie as the withdrawn prodigal son trying to make sense of the town he left, Axel as the badass trying to hold onto his girl, Sarah as the sweet young woman torn between two men, Chief Newby the determined lawman trying to keep his town safe, and Harry Warden is an intimidating masked killer. They are simple archetypes yes but they work because slashers are a genre built on a foundation of archetypes.
Now on to the kills- if there is one thing I love in a slasher movie is a good kill, and this movie has plenty. They are bloody and quite creative, even by today's standards. I especially like the film's opening kill because it is probably the simplest of the film and yet is done so perfectly that it can stand with the more imaginative ones found later in the film. While the film is not super gory, you have to remember it's from the 1980s and you didn't need extreme amounts of blood and gore to make a good movie then.
With all of this said the film still has it's flaws. Most importantly in my view is the pacing- the majority of the films action and kills happen in the final half hour or so, and while the preceding hour is good, it seems like they had a good conclusion in mind and just needed to find stuff to fill the time between the opening and the ending. However, this is not a big flaw- whereas a film like the original Halloween took forever for anything to happen, there are moments that break this films monotony and keep the plot rolling. Besides that, the only thing I can say is not mine to say. Researching the film I found that it was edited prior to it's original release, and while the version I watched, the "uncut version", has some of these edits put back in, a number of others have been lost. This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine when it comes to older movies- footage that is edited out nowadays will almost always end up on the DVD release either in a new cut or deleted/extended footage, but this was not always the case. Movies made prior to the early to mid 90s, unless they were important films (i.e block busters), tended to have that edited out footage destroyed or locked away. A good example being The Breakfast Club- that movie was originally over an hour longer, but the only remaining print of the full movie was in the possession of director John Hughes, as the studio had no use for it. While I don't know what these edits were I would like to see this movie as it was originally intended, but it seems that is not possible. This is not a flaw of the film itself but rather that of the industry as a whole.
Conclusion
My Bloody Valentine is a decent slasher flick. It is well filmed, acted and written, and has a great set of kills that should satisfy the twisted among you. While the remake is good I'd say this one is the better of the two, and well worth a watch. If you are a slasher fan and you have never looked at this little gem I say give it a shot, though unless your significant other is a fan as well I wouldn't put this on your Valentine's Day watch list. However if you are single and looking for a way to kill time and/or watch people in love get slaughtered, give it a watch. Or get help. Whatever works for ya.
3.5 Freshly Removed Hearts out of 5
That's all out of me, enjoy your Valentine's/Single's Awareness/Tuesday. Until next time I'm the Drew and I Be Awesome.
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