My Bloody Valentine
| release date | February 11 1981 |
| studio | Paramount Pictures |
| director | George Mihalka |
| writer | John Beaird |
| starring | Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck, Keith Knight (II), Alf Humphreys |
| rating | R |
| tagline | Harry's out to steal your heart. |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
2 Comments
One of the best of the 80s slashers, if not THE best. The killer and the atmosphere are great, and the abandoned mine provides for an incredibly suspenseful climax. With the gore effects cut to shit by the MPAA, the movie would have to be outstanding in order to still leave a lasting impression, and it definitely left one on me.
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This is one of those movies that is loved by the horror community, but if you’re just an average fan of the genre, you might not have even heard of this classic, much like another gem “The Burning”. But with the 2009 remake “My Bloody Valentine 3D” starring Jensen Ackles and Jamie King, hopefully this movie gains some more recognition.
The movie starts out with a former local T.J.(Kelman) returning to his town, a few days before the 20th anniversary of some Valentines Day murders that happened in the town. The legend of the town goes like this, 5 men were down in the mines working late on Valentines day and the 2 supervisors wanted to leave early so they could get to the town’s annual Valentine’s day dance and celebration. So they left without checking some gases and there was an explosion trapping the workers down in the mines, there was one survivor who was found down there 6 weeks after, having to eat the others to survive and he was taken to an institution once being saved. Come Valentines day, he escapes and kills the supervisors and threatens the town never to hold another Valentines day celebration or he’ll kill more. Now not the greatest reasoning for going on a killing spree against a town but hey, it works.
Now the acting isn’t the greatest but is that really what you’re looking for in a Valentines Day Slasher film from the early ’80′s? If you can look past that, they do somehow manage to build the characters up and they let you get to know them. Mixed in with the Killer on the loose main story, there’s also a love triangle that plays a dominant role in the end. Normally I would be totally against something like that in a movie like this, but it actually manages to make the movie better overall.
Now for the killer himself, he dresses up in a miners uniform also with the gas mask which adds a Darth Vader breathing like quality to the character. Now, it’s not exactly the greatest slasher movie get-up, but when you don’t want your identity revealed, it definitely does the trick. What really makes it work is that the last half of the movie takes place down in the mines, so it really seems like it would make perfect sense for the killer to have the miner outfit, and it really does.
I’m not gonna completely spoil the ending, as there are a couple twists involved, and thats where the love triangle comes into play involving our killers identity. One thing I find surprising about this movie is why wasn’t there any sequels? It clearly set-up for another one, and although you have an out there premise, it could still work for many entries and be used as a repeatable formula such as Michael Myers coming back every Halloween. This is quite an enjoyable film, with some little errors along the way, but they don’t ruin the overall viewing experience at all, and thats why I’m giving this film 9/10.
Fantastic movie. No sequels because the movie tanked at the box office. Instead, we get a retread nearly 30 years later. Surprisingly, I’m looking forward to the redux, and I generally HATE remakes.
Awesome movie is all I can say nice cast with lots of hot guys in the shower LOL too bad they wouldn’t show more than their chest’s.
Classic. One of the best slasher films of all time. I loved how dark and disturbing it was. Not to mention the slasher is so badass. Hope the remake will be just as good.
My Bloody Valentine is a great, original slasher film.
Yesterday I received my copy of My Bloody Valentine special edition a week before it’s release.
Lets me just say, I saw My Bloody Valentine when I was about 6 or 7 and over the past 24 years or so it still stands up as one of my favourite 80′s slashers. It was fun, creepy and kinda camp.
Now when you choose on the special edition to watch the movie with the deleted gore footage it has become a dark, violent, scary and did I say violent already!!!!!!!!!
I cannot believe that over the years I heard and even saw pictures of the missing gore of MBV and always got excited about it……..What you may have seen and read does not do it justice. It is now right up there with The Burning in it’s brutality and gore effects.
Harry Warden is now a seriously nasty villian. And if this had been released in it’s uncut form in the 80′s I think he would had been right up there with Jason, Michael and Freddy.
“SPOILERS”
All the deaths are now uncut each as nasty as each other. The ones that shocked me is the mining supervisor in the flashback sequence. Not only does he get a pick axe to the chest, he now has his entire torso ripped open and his heart pulled out by Harry.
We get to see Harry Warden eat one of the trapped miners arms instead of just cradling it.
Mabel now flies out of the dryer in full view of her charred corpse then rotates in the drier in slow mo for a good 30 seconds.
The bartender gets a pick axe to the jaw proceeding to push his eyeball out.
Dave has a face boiling scene that rivals the one in Halloween II.
Sylvia….oooohhh poor Sylvia. Gets the back of her skull rammed and I mean rammed through with a pipe, proceeding to come out of her open screaming mouth.
Hollis death is quite nasty with a nail gun to the side and front of his head.
Howard decapitation/hanging is there with a nasty shot of his head just hanging on a wire.
Patty’s death is a tad longer with more of an impact shot in her gut.
And what Axel does to his arm has to been seen to be believed.
The deleted footage itself is a tiny bit rawer than the almost perfect transfer of the movie (better than the paramount edition by far) so you always know when your watching a cut scene. The 5.1 audio is amazing adding extra creepiness to the mine scenes.
The suppliments are okay. MBV and the rise of the slasher movie is good and it has interviews with 3 of the cast and the director and producers and writers, but it doesn’t go into any detail and at 20 mins in length 10 mins of it is interviewing the cast and crew of My Bloody Valentine 3D.
The dvd has a cool interactive Horror movie history, by clicking on sub-genres of horror it gives a cool history and recommendations pf movies to watch.
If you watch the deleted scenes seperatly then they are all introduced by the cast and crew giving some insight.
I cannot recommend this dvd enough. The movie itself has now such an extra depth to it now and it now almost feels like a new movie. It would be amazing if Paramount took notice at Lionsgate and pulled out the deleted footage for Friday the 13th part 2……..wishful thinking huh!!!!!!!
Great slasher flick
I think this would have to be be second favourite slasher film of all time. My Bloody Valentine is pure gold. Yet its so simple but at the same time extreamly effective. Brilliant story, its a lot like Halloween in ways, but in my mind its even better then that. The Miner well, its just so effective every time I see a gas mask the first thing I think of is Harry Warden. What makes it better is that it was actually filmed in mines, and not some cheap arse studio. I feel this film is highly underrated and should be more respected. I’m really looking forward to the un-cut version of this. Its going to be good to see it how it was meant to be. Also who can forget the awsome song during the credits. I think it really gives you a feeling for the movie.
very good slasher film. while not the best, it is one of the better of the 80s slasher boom. even better in the special edition of it, where you can watch the film with its deleated scenes put back in. much more gorier.
One of the best 80′s slasher horror flicks ever in my opinion! Can’t get much better than this…A TRUE 80′S CLASSIC! It will make you sqirm and be on the edge of your seat and have you guessing til’ the end. LOVE IT!
Fun And Entertaining Horror Movie From What I Consider The Greatest Era Of Horror Films The 1980s and This Film Stands Above Alot Of Other Similar themed slashers, which at the time would be hard to do, but I enjoyed the theme, the characters the story and the killer was really original looking which was great to see. Im looking forward to seeing the remake soon!
7/10
It was original. Well, to me it was. I found the characters silly. Ha,renecks! As for scares, not many. I was to busy laughin’ before I got scared. Still good. Those guys were fighting over that moderately-attractive girl. Patty was hotter than her. Best of the ’80s horror genre.
A scary horror film with truly believable characters, My Bloody Valentine features one of the scariest slashers ever, who I feel can easily kickthe likes of Jason and Freddy’s ass. A very atmospheric horror film that is now available uncut, and in my opinion, the gore effects still hold up today as creepy, gritty, and realistic, while balancing it’s truly scary small town atmosphere filled with believable characters.
I must say that this a well made movie with a pretty damn good story as well as some pretty creepy moments. The miner is probably one of the meanest and nastiest villians in a slasher movie, which of course is awesome!! As for a slasher film it is pretty original and is way up there with the greats, another thing is that it works with or without the gore it is a true treat and is a damn good horror film, however the uncut version has one of the most brutal killings i have seen in a slasher flick, Kick ass!!!!!
This movie was very good! The story was perfect, the actors were brilliant and, the kills were really good. Glad this movie came out unrated before the remake came out. This movie was excellent, if you are a slasher fan this is a must have…
Just got My Bloody Valentine (Special Edition) via import….Before I watched it I did have my sceptical thoughts about it….was it going to be over hyped and end up like “Driller Killer” (Banned Video Nasty..but by god it was sooo boring).
Well My Bloody Valentine was a breath of fresh air…You had Characters that you really liked..in fact all of them….even the annoying Axle. Acting is excellent. The gore was good and inventive death scenes….and the “Killer” miner was not over used….Loved it… The downside of the film….in the special edition if you watch the film with the deleted footage in you can tell where the deleted footage is cos of the colour and quality. It’s a shame that they didn’t re-master it so that it flowed better..but that’s only a little disappointment…. My main problem is I didn’t like the ending it builds up and then it falls flat….Apart from that It was a excellent film from the golden age of Slasher era…(I hope the remake is just as good…and has a better ending).
Once again, the 1980′s shows why it is the king of the decades in slasher films. And My Bloody Valentine is a perfect example. And, THANK YOU LIONSGATE for releasing the movie with some of the deleted footage. It isn’t all of the deleted footage, but, when do you another edition will be released with all of the missing footage? Not for quite some time. So buy the new special edition. Back to the movie, it is, in my mind, one of the best slasher films of all time. First, the iconic character, Harry Warden. Sure, he’s not the killer (spoiler alert), but his character and his backstory are so iconic and memorable that those things are all he needs to be legendary. I’d put him up in the top ten slashers of all time. Second, the story. Other than the kills and gore, it really keeps the audience entertained and wanting more. Especially the love triangle between T.J., Sarah, and Axel. And the characters are very believable and relatable. When I watch this movie, it’s hard for me to not be able to relate to a character. Hopefully, the people who have seen My Bloody Valentine 3D, have not seen the original, and liked the remake, will be interested in checking this movie out. This is an awesome movie with one of the all time greatest slashers. Harry Warden, you have stolen my heart.
pretty good i guess. the acting was a little cheezy but i can deal with it. it actually was pretty creative.
Its such a shame that the MPAA ripped the heart and soul out of this fantastic film. If they hadn’t there is no doubt that this would have been a more popular film and sequels would have been spawned, its left wide wide open for one, and The Miner would now be as popular and iconic as Freddy,Jason and Michael. Seeing that all the gore effects were cut out there was really nothing to talk about so this gem died a lonely death while its nastier and uncut cousins basked in all the glory back in the early 80′s. Shame on the MPAA and Paramount but Thank God for Lionsgate. Now, with all the uncut footage reinserted it really is like watching a different movie. What sets MBV apart from other slashers is the setting and the characters. By having the action centre around a group of regular ordinary people in a small blue collar mining town, as opposed to a bunch of WASPY teenagers being stalked in their WASPY suburban neighbourhoods it all adds to the atmosphere and realism of the story. The mine setting is dark, gritty and claustrophobic and the film makers here have done a good job of utilising the setting to full effect. The gore now seen for the first time is great and adds the missing punch to all of the death sequences. This movie is just as good , if not better than Black Christmas, Halloween and Friday The 13th. Fans of 80′s Horror will love this new improved version, defintely the way it was meant to be seen.
AWESOME movie, watch the new extended release, it shows the good stuff. PRACTICAL EFFECTS NEED TO MAKE A COMEBACK!!!
I wasn’t expecting much from this film, but when I saw it, I was very surprised. This was one of the best slasher movies I’ve seen in a while. I would even say its better than the remake, the only thing though is that 3D effect in the remake is great. In my opinion this is the best non-franchise slasher film ever.
good slasher movie, it took me a bit to get into it but i did and im glad ,decent gore in the uncut version(eventhough you can tell it was placed back in)all in all the more you watch it the better it becomes im a fan now!
The very best to come out of the often dreadful cycle of 80′s slashers.
A very well-done slasher with some great kills.
CHECK OUT THE NEW UNCUT DVD!
A really good 80′s slasher film. Very original and very scary at times. I thought the characters and the acting were both spot on. The music was well done, and the locations were outstanding. The ending did disappoint me somewhat, but what I loved about this film was the originality of it and the story behind Harry Warden. Fantastic movie, I would recommend this to any 80′s slasher horror movie fan.
awsome
Good movie! I never woild have guessed it was Axel killing everyone!
Pretty good
In terms of a film pulling off exactly what it sets out to do, the original “My Bloody Valentine” is a success. It is a bad film, but in defense of the idea it doesn’t ever mean to take itself too seriously. The story is cliche, and very typical of most slashers. Basically you have the Friday The 13th plot, set in a mining community. Instead of a mentally handicapped boy turned man in a hockey mask, you have a quiet type in a coal miner’s full gear. Instead of a machete, you have a pick.
One of the more memorable scenes for me based on my first experience with it in my youth is the heart shaped candy box with the human heart in it. Years later it looks extremely fake to me. As a young boy, it stuck out in my head the way the ketchup face kissing scene does in “The Terror”.
For a very independent film, the makers really do an excellent job. It isn’t overly gorey, the nudity is not constant, and there isn’t too much story to override the slasher fun.
The original “My Bloody Valentine” ranks right up there with the best independent slashers of it’s time.
Three and a half skulls!
Definitely one of the best slashers in history!
great horror classic
The greatest bloody Canadian slasher I’ve ever seen!
I’m watching this right now
.
CLASSIC
a solid horror flick
this is an okay slasher.
i really did not care for this movie at all.
a little too cheesy for my taste.
The killer was a little cool but really, this movie is way to overrated.
give it a rental first. i do not recommend this film to anyone. If your looking for a solid slasher flick, skip this one and go to Halloween.
great movie love the uncut great deasths mainly happys and ya know why does evry cool invetive killer gets left in the dust look at the prowler
great killer and movie world war 2 getup weapon bayonet and pitchfork and great deaths
maniac cop
the second one was the best
now every time they call 911 hell probably show up instead of the real athoraties gret primary weapon a blade desguised as a nightstick and and the uzi great
the fisherman
bad ass look great weapon ( hook ) and a death where a guy gets the hook in the mouth ouch
This is a great movie. Great killer, story was good, good atmosphere. All around good Slasher film. Love the switch of valentines day becoming scary and fearful of this pic ax killer.
fair at best.
Loved it! It’s a fun slasher flick with a cool killer, and a great story! The acting can be cheesy at times, but in this movie it just adds to the charm!
Another 80′s Halloween rip-off of course. But very good as a matter of fact. Harry Warden could have gone as far as jason but he only got 2 movies. I also think the ending line is very memorable.
”Sarah my bloody valentine”
I know it was to me.
After reading people’s reviews of the remake, I kept seeing people say how awesome/better the original is so I decided to check it out instead…and it was HORRIBLE! I love horror movies (and cheesy movies and cheesy horror movies) but it wasn’t even awesomely bad it was just bad-bad. I’ve seen better movies riffed on MST3K!
just a great 80′s slasher. Harry Warden is kick ass.
I watched this classic on a whim, and ended up tracking it down and buying it. It pulls you in and holds you to the end.
This is terrible, eh? A not so scary, generic slasher movie. However, I’m glad it was made because one of my favorite bands took their name from this.
I can’t believe this piece of crap was re-made. In 3D.
I saw the remake about a year ago and wasn’t too crazy about it, but I thought the core story and the villain had potential. When the original showed up on Netflix instant play, I had to check it out.
This move is FUN! Definitely cheesy, and definitely capitalizes on the “holiday” fad of the 80′s, but it’s better than your average slasher. I always say that a good story is the most important part of any horror movie, and this one definitely has that. Today’s audience can spot the twist end a mile away, but I’m sure it was a big surprise in its day. And even though I was expecting it, I was still enjoyed seeing it unfold.
It also carried some fairly original gore. I LOVED the bloody human heart in the candy box…classic. And there’s a dryer scene that’s wonderfully grusome as well.
Overall, I really like this movie and would absolutely watch it again. I may have to add this one along side “Valentine” as something to sweeten my Feb 14th every year!
enjoyed this one more then the remake. the remake had the best 3d effect then other movies today.
Great 80s style horror film. The remake to this is a good guilty pleasure.
This flick will literally steal your heart, a great 80′s slasher not to be missed!
After all these years, this movie is still pure terror, and I am absolutely in LOVE with it. The claustrophobia, the insane laughter, the cut out hearts (oh god, YES)… It’s amazing how terrifying a mask, a pick axe, and a little dark can do to keep your heart racing. Bonus points for a leading lady who kept her head under pressure, even if you wanted to punch the indecisiveness out of her for the rest of the movie. This was great.
If my idea of fun consisted of corny dialogue, choppy plotting, and mediocre editing; then “My Bloody Valentine” would be a personal favorite in the field of simple-minded, guilty entertainment. Too bad my idea of fun almost never includes any of those three things; I can let all logic go and have a good time with certain films if there is enough craft, but like most 80′s slasher flicks that use their axes and machetes rather than their brains; the intent is not exactly to give the educated or morally respectable an engaging flick. The aim was without-a-doubt to provide something brainless, witless, and completely unoriginal. Well, look at that; they succeeded.
Since it’s a slasher picture, it must have a villain in the form of a serial killer or some such psychopath. In this case, he/she is Harry Warden; infamous in the mining town of Valentine Bluffs (located somewhere in Canada). Warden found himself trapped underground in a mine on the job when two of his co-workers weren’t. He was stuck there for a few good days without food and without much good air to breath; he survived by eating his co-workers, an act which eventually lead to madness.
He spent a year in a mental institution and then escaped; murdering and eventually ripping out the hearts of victims who were not on his “good side”, thus creating his legend. Some years later, the town is holding a Valentine’s Day Party; something that, by legend, they are apparently forbidden to do. But the local young men and women are not so aware of the consequences that the said morbid tale might have on them; especially when Warden is still on the loose and hungry for blood.
And so he starts the killing; and leaves nothing to suspense. “My Bloody Valentine” begins and ends with an on-going string of murders, some of which include: death by laundry machine, death by boiling pan of hot water, and countless deaths by pick-axe, which happens to be our friend Harry Warden’s weapon of choice. The film follows the slasher flick formula rather strictly; with Warden serving his purpose of being a rampart killing machine, as appropriately promised – and his victims providing the bloodshed and primal rage of the villain. If you’re a fan of the genre and don’t mind some major flaws; you might just enjoy this one. A lot of genre fans certainly appear to.
My problem with “My Bloody Valentine” is not that it’s generic (which it is); it’s that there is no room left for surprises. The film lives off its own formula; from the predictable characters to the cheesy acting, all the way to the desolation that is felt when a horror film lacks genuine horror. Provided, the predictability of the story and just about everything else could certainly mean a wild, fun-filled ride for some; but I’m just not feeling it, at all. I wanted to enjoy myself, but the problems were, to say the least, excessively unavoidable.
I’ve certainly seen worse slasher films; and I’ve seen better ones. My favorites include “Halloween” and “Black Christmas”; the first one which I love for its protagonist (who is not as dumb as most women in slasher pictures) and its scare factor, and the other which I admire for its ability to embrace the corny, stereotypical characters (“Black Christmas” was about a sorority house filled with “sisters” who were being hunted down one-by-one by a discreet madman who made obscene phone-calls). This one might have made my list if it had been, oh you know, interesting. But is there really anything interesting about a movie when all its got going for it as high points are a good cinematographer, a good setting, and some pretty whacky kill scenes? Not to me there isn’t.
It’s not so terrible but very boring.
Such a good movie, a classic, the remake doesn’t even compare to this one. When you watch the movie with the deleted scenes it’s even better.