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‘My Bloody Valentine 2’? George Mihalka Reveals the Unmade Sequels [Phantom Limbs]

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The Miner in 'My Bloody Valentine' (1981)

With this installment of Phantom Limbs, we’ll be digging into The Return of the Miner, the long-planned sequel to director George Mihalka’s classic 1981 Canadian slasher film My Bloody Valentine, which sadly went unproduced after years of development. Mr. Mihalka has joined us to discuss not only this unmade My Bloody Valentine 2, but also his currently in the works follow-up Valentine Wakes, which would see the original film’s cast of characters returning to face off against a murderous miner once more in the present day.


Though the original My Bloody Valentine was initially met with lukewarm critical notices and minimal box office success during its release forty years ago, the film has since been embraced by genre fans and elevated to cult classic level, receiving numerous home video releases over the years as well as a successful 3D remake back in 2009. Given its iconic villain and ever-growing fan base, a sequel should have seemed a no-brainer over the years. Indeed, as Mr. Mihalka tells us, a sequel titled The Return of the Miner was developed back in the 90s and aughts, though it never came to pass.

“It was the [original MBV] producer, John Dunning,” Mr. Mihalka says, revealing the project’s originator. “[He] kept thinking about producing a sequel. This must have been about ten or so years after the original. He’d call me and say, ‘I want to do a sequel.’ I’d say, ‘Great, let’s talk about it.’ Then I’d get a screenplay, and … it wasn’t something that I really wanted to get behind.”

So what was the sticking point that kept Mr. Mihalka from eagerly returning to the director’s chair for this sequel? “One of the things about Bloody Valentine, it wasn’t about teenagers. It was about working class people, young adults, with no hope of a better future except working in that shithole. John wanted to make the sequel about teenagers, and follow more of the formula of the usual slasher films of the time. Sexy teenage girls being killed, good looking teenage boys being killed. Basically, what I didn’t particularly like was … when we made Bloody Valentine, one of my mandates was that it break molds. We jokingly called it The Deer Hunter of horror films. And then Tarantino, about ten years ago, said ‘It’s The Deer Hunter of horror films!’

“So it was basically a creative splitting of the minds. John wanted to create something that was very much the trend of the time, and I kept saying, ‘The reason My Bloody Valentine, after all these years, is still the iconic movie that it is, is that it didn’t follow any trends!’ It had nothing to do with the clichés, what Halloween and Friday the 13th set up. It wasn’t that. It was more of a whodunit, like Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians. It was about working class people and their problems in life, and then this shit happens at the same time. That was what excited me about it, and that’s what would excite me about doing a sequel, would be carrying on in that tradition.”

T.J. (Paul Kelman) and Axel (Neil Affleck) in ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981)

Mr. Mihalka also reveals that the original screenplay for The Return of the Miner had no returning characters from the previous film, and featured a completely different miner. “It was only in that the [story] would have happened in Valentine Bluffs,” discussing the mooted sequel’s tenuous connection to its predecessor. The filmmaker also points out that the finer details of the original take are lost on him, given the time that’s passed since it was originally written and presented to him.

Nevertheless, Mr. Dunning persisted in developing the project, ultimately bringing Mr. Mihalka two more entirely different takes in the hope of winning his interest and participation. Three entirely separate stories were ultimately pitched to the director over the years, with each take straying further and further from the simple slasher setup that had initially turned him off. “I believe one of them happened in some amusement park, where there was a miner ride or a Valentine’s Day ride.”

In a 2005 interview with Mr. Mihalka, the gentlemen at The Terror Trap revealed that they’d been able to glean some interesting plot details from the late Mr. Dunning in a prior interview they’d conducted with the producer: “The story picks up with Sarah now the sheriff of Valentine Bluffs. She and T.J. are married and they’ve had a few sons of their own, the latter around which the basic action will focus.

“Seems the little town has decided to turn the old mine into a carnival attraction complete with a Mine of Terror thrill ride. And surrounding the ride are theme concessions selling masks, miner helmets, toy pick axes, t-shirts, etc. Needless to say, with their experience from the past, an older and wiser Sarah and T.J. are not enthused!”

“Each time a new version came out,” Mr. Mihalka says, “it was closer to what [I wanted]. That’s why we kept in touch, and kept working together. I loved John, dearly. John was a mentor, John was a friend. We kept trying. John was busy with other projects, too. He had his own ideas, I had mine, and we would discuss it every now and then. Then I wouldn’t hear anything for a year, year and a half, and then I’d get another call. Then we’d discuss it again. We went through about two or three versions of it, before we found something we could work on. The last one was quite close. I still had my problems with it, but nothing that couldn’t have been fixed. But then the tragedy struck when John was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. His health kept going down, and nothing ever happened. Then the remake happened, and any talk of a sequel stopped. Then there was no chance of it ever being made.”

Sadly, Mr. Dunning passed away in 2011 at the age of 84.


While it’s undoubtedly a shame that this sequel went unproduced, Mr. Mihalka reveals a tantalizing bit of information regarding the future of everyone’s favorite murderous miner: “I started thinking of a sequel two years ago. It isn’t called The Return of the Miner – it’s called Valentine Wakes. “Wakes” being a pun on a wake, where the survivors would hold a wake every February 14th. Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day, they commemorate their comrades, their friends, who died on that tragic day.

It has some interesting aspects where Sarah is now married to T.J. She runs a hardware store, and T.J. is still suffering from PTSD. He’s become a bit of a drunk. They have a daughter, and the daughter finds out that T.J. is not her father. In reality, Sarah got pregnant with Axel before the events [of the first film] happened. She just didn’t know.”

Mr. Mihalka goes on to describe what sounds to be an atmospheric opening for the film: “The first scene, we find ourselves in a gloomy cemetery. Winter fog. There’s a rose being placed on every grave, with each reading ‘Died February 14th, 1981’. There’s a group of people, the survivors, who are holding a little ceremony, and there’s a one-armed man watching them in the distance.

“[So] Axel returns as well. He’s been in an insane asylum for some time. He’s finally considered rehabilitated. Then, let’s put it this way, the killings start again. Who is it? We eventually find out that Axel is trying to stop the killings.”

The Miner kills in ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981)

With Sarah’s daughter, Mr. Mihalka points out, the film would have a character who would allow for a younger cast to populate this sequel. “The introduction of the daughter allows us to spend a lot of time with the new generation, who was born after everything happened, who have no real memory of it. People born after 9/11 don’t think about it as such an incredibly traumatic experience as the people who were there, or the people who were adults when it happened. So there’s that conflict. That would be the subtext for much of the show, while developing the same kind of mystery that we had in the original film.”

Mr. Mihalka also teases that a riff on a lost sequence from the original My Bloody Valentine may find its way into this new film that could someday come to life. “My favorite scene [from the original] is totally lost, and will never be seen. As much as the film was reconstituted, there’s nothing they could do about … this tender love scene between Harriet and Mike before they die. It was shot like an old master’s painting, with one lantern lighting it, with these two virgins finally getting to know one another, shall we say. Then the act is when they die. Obviously, that got censored right away. Back in that day, adding sex, blood and violence in the same scene was a big no-no. It was a beautiful, five minute long, Romeo and Juliet kind of romantic scene, with that catastrophic ending. If I get to do the sequel that I would like to make, I will probably redo that scene with another couple, just for the hell of it.”


So what is the likelihood that Valentine Wakes will see the light of projectors and television screens in the near future? “Right now, I’m booked on this project that I’m doing for another two years. I can remotely develop the project and see if I can get in financed in three years’ time. If everything works out right, we’ll definitely have it out.

“But this project that I’m working on now is something very close and dear to my heart,” he says, describing the current project as a historical drama focused on the Hungarian general who held off 150,000 Ottoman troops during their attempted invasion of Europe. “I was born in Hungary, and I have the opportunity to create and direct the biggest miniseries ever shot in this country for a worldwide audience. It’s a little bit like Hungary’s Game of Thrones, but based in historical fact.” The miniseries should be out in 2023.

Once finished, how will Mr. Mihalka go about making Valentine Wakes? “We will always have to deal with rights. We have to negotiate with Paramount and Lionsgate. There are some hurdles that we have to do, coming up with the proper agreements. Everyone seems to be interested, but interest and actually making it happen are two different things.”

In closing out our talk, Mr. Mihalka offers his thoughts on the original film, and the sequel that might yet be. “I’m so grateful to the fans, for keeping this little film alive for all these years, and for continuing to find new things in it that even I didn’t know about. Hopefully, given the right circumstances, I want to repay their kindness and their love of this film by giving them the sequel that they deserve.”

Very special thanks to George Mihalka for his time and insights.


Works Cited:

Terror Trap, The. (2005, January). My Bloody Memories: An Interview with George Mihalka. Retrieved February 25th, 2021 from The Terror Trap website: http://www.terrortrap.com/interviews/georgemihalka/03/


This has been Phantom Limbs, a recurring feature which takes a look at intended yet unproduced horror sequels and remakes – extensions to genre films we love, appendages to horror franchises that we adore – that were sadly lopped off before making it beyond the planning stages. Here, we chat with the creators of these unmade extremities to gain their unique insight into these follow-ups that never were, with the discussions standing as hopefully illuminating but undoubtedly painful reminders of what might have been.

The original poster art for ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981)

Editorials

The 10 Scariest Moments in the ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Franchise

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scariest Ghostbusters

WARNING: The following contains mild spoilers for the Ghostbusters franchise. 

Yes, Ghostbusters is a horror movie – gateway horror to be exact. Setting aside the fact that the title literally contains the word “ghost,” a foundational element of the scariest genre, the franchise follows a group of paranormal researchers who battle entities attacking from beyond the grave. After countless rewatches, the classic films and newer sequels may not scare us much anymore, but how many times have we as genre fans asserted that a film does not have to be “scary” to be considered horror?

Genre classification is nebulous and any film that centers on ghosts has a place in the sprawling house of horror. Yes, it’s true that most viewers over the age of thirteen will find more to laugh about than scream while watching a Ghostbusters film, but each entry contains a handful of terrifying moments. With Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire uniting three generations of the parascientific warriors, perhaps it’s time to highlight the most frightening moments from each phase of this legendary franchise. 


Ghostbusters (1984)

A Haunted Library

scariest Ghostbusters movie

Ivan Reitman’s original film begins with a campfire tale come to life. We follow an unsuspecting librarian as she ventures deep into the stacks to reshelve a book. With her hair blowing from a spectral breeze, we watch a hardcover float across the aisle to the opposite shelf. A second book follows, but the librarian remains unaware. She finally notices the disturbance when card catalog drawers open on their own spewing cards into the air like literary geysers. She flees through the maze of narrow stacks only to come face to face with a mysterious force who blows her back with a powerful roar. We won’t see the Library Ghost (Ruth Oliver) until a later scene, but this introduction firmly positions the film that follows in the world of horror. On first watch, we can only speculate as to the ghost’s malevolence and whether or not the librarian has survived the encounter. It’s the perfect introduction to a world in which ghosts are not only real, they will pounce on unsuspecting humans at the drop of a … book. 

Shaky Ground

The original finale may not be the film’s most terrifying moment, but it has become the franchise’s most iconic image. When faced with choosing a form for Gozer (Slavitza Jovan), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) inadvertently conjures up an image from his childhood. Moments later, a set of once-cheery eyes peer through the skyscrapers. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man towers over the city, stomping and destroying everything in its path. While there’s definitely something terrifying about a jovial mascot turned deadly killer, what happens moments before is arguably scarier. 

The Ghostbusters arrive at the luxury apartment building to throngs of adoring fans. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) plays into this hero-worship and promises an easy solution to a supernatural problem. But before they can enter the building, lightning strikes the upper floors sending massive chunks of brick and cement raining down on the barricaded street. The ground begins to shake and a giant fissure swallows the entire team. It’s a destabilizing moment made all the more terrifying by its shocking reality. Speculation about the existence of ghosts may vary from person to person, but there’s no doubt that sinkholes are very real. It’s entirely possible that the ground we’re standing on right now could spontaneously begin to crumble, sucking us down into a seemingly bottomless void beneath the earth. 


Ghostbusters II (1989)

Runaway Baby

Ivan Reitman’s sequel begins with a sly update on the life of a beloved character as Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) pushes a baby carriage containing her infant son Oscar (Henry and William Deutschendorf). When last we saw the attractive cellist, she was kissing Venkman in the wreckage of Gozer’s demise and the thought of this loveable lady’s man becoming a father may be more nerve-wracking than anything contained in the first film. We never learn much about Oscar’s real father, but we do discover that fate has a sinister plan for the adorable child. While Dana chats with her landlord, Oscar’s carriage rolls a few feet away. Dana reaches for the handle, but the buggy begins speeding down the sidewalk careening through the busy crowds. As if guided by unseen hands, the carriage twists and turns, then abruptly swerves into oncoming traffic. Cars honk and veer out of the way, but the racing carriage marks a collision course with an approaching bus. The wheels screech to a halt moments before what would surely be a deadly crash and Dana rushes to embrace her vulnerable child. This harrowing scene is likely to terrorize any parent who’s experienced the fear of trying to protect a baby in an unpredictable world.  

Sewer Screams

scariest Ghostbusters scene

While investigating the second film’s primary villain, Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg), three of the Ghostbusters venture into the sewers hoping to find a growing river of slime. Ray, Winston (Ernie Hudson), and Egon (Harold Ramis) trek down an abandoned subway line while speculating about the hordes of cockroaches and rats they hear scurrying behind the walls. These vermin may be scary, but there are more malevolent monsters lurking in the dark. Ray and Egon both amuse themselves with the tunnel’s echo but Winston’s “hello” goes unanswered. Moments later, a demonic voice bellows his name from the dark end of the corridor. Waiting behind him is a severed head floating in the empty tunnel. As he tries to retreat, the team finds themselves surrounded by dozens of ghoulish heads that disappear faster than they materialized. Moments later, a ghostly train hurtles towards them, swallowing Winston in its spectral glow. Egon theorizes that something is trying to keep them from reaching their destination with effective scares designed to frighten the Ghostbusters and audience alike.  


Ghostbusters (2016)

Haunted Basement

Like its predecessor, Paul Feig’s remake opens with a spooky vignette. Garrett (Zach Woods) gives a tour of the Aldridge Mansion, a 19th century manor preserved in the middle of the busy city, and walks visitors through a troubling history of excess and cruelty. Hoping to inject a bit of excitement, he pauses near the basement door and tells the horrifying story of Gertrude Aldridge (Bess Rous), a wealthy heiress who murdered the house’s many servants. Hoping to avoid a public scandal, her family locked her in the basement and her restless spirit can still be heard trying to escape. Garrett triggers a trick candlestick to fly off the shelf, hinting at the spirit’s presence, but a late night incident shows that the deceased murderess may actually be lurking in her ancestral home. While closing up for the night, Garrett hears ominous noises from behind the barricaded door and watches the knob rattle against the heavy locks. An unseen attacker hurls him through the house and eventually drives him down the basement stairs to a sea of green slime pooling on the floor. The stairs crumble leaving the tour guide hanging on to the door frame for dear life as a spectral figure glides toward him with menacing hands outstretched. Once again, we won’t see the fully revealed ghost of Gertrude Aldridge until later in the film, but this terrifying opening sets the stage for a dangerous showdown with an army of the dead.

Mannequin On the Move

The scariest moment of the 2016 remake is arguably the vicious online hatred sparked well before the film’s release. In response to brutal comments posted to the first official trailer, the cast returned to film an additional scene in which they react to dehumanizing negativity. But another sequence may cut closer to the heart of this upsetting experience. The Ghostbusters respond to a call at a concert venue and split up to cover more ground. Patty (Leslie Jones) enters what she calls a “room full of nightmares” and immediately reverses course to avoid a multitude of mannequins stacked haphazardly in the dark. As she walks out the door, one of the faceless creatures turns its head her way. Walking on its own, this sentient prop follows her down the hall, pausing the moment she turns around. Eventually breaking cover, the mannequin chases Patty down the hall to the rest of the team. They unleash their proton packs and make quick work of the gargoyle-like ghost. Though this connection is surely unintentional, it’s a terrifying parallel to a faceless monster sneaking up to attack a woman simply trying to do her job. 


Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Smoke and Monsters

While Ghostbusters: Afterlife is nowhere near as scary as the horror films playing in the local summer school science class, Jason Reitman’s legacyquel does contain its share of frights. The film opens with a harrowing scene as we join Egon (Oliver Cooper) in the last moments of his life. Racing away from a sinister mountain, Egon’s truck collides with an unseen force and flips upside down in a field of corn. The elderly scientist races back to his crumbling farmhouse with a trap in hand, intent on ensnaring this invisible being. Unfortunately, the power fails and Egon has no choice but to hide the trap under the floorboards and wait. He sits in a comfortable old chair as a horrifying cloud of smoke drifts in behind him, momentarily forming the shape of a fanged beast. Demonic hands grab him from within the chair, likely causing the heart attack that will be listed on his death certificate. But his abandoned PKE meter below the chair activates, reminding us that Egon may be deceased, but he is far from gone.  

The Terror Returns

scariest Ghostbusters moments

Ghostbusters: Afterlife turns out to be a touching tribute to Harold Ramis as his friends and family unite to complete the beloved scientist’s heroic mission. In addition to a tearjerker ending, Reitman also includes a bevy of callbacks to the original film. Not only do the Spenglers square off against the team’s first enemy, Gozer (Emma Portner), the nonbinary entity brings back the Terror Dogs that once possessed Dana Barret and Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). These demonic beasts first rear their ugly heads while Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) stops by Walmart to buy a midnight snack. While the horde of mini marshmallow men are eerie in their gleeful self-destruction, the ghostly canine that chases him through the store is the stuff of nightmares. Early iterations of this fearsome creature are hindered by ’80s-era special effects, but Reitman’s version feels frighteningly real. While Gary frantically tries to find his keys, this Terror Dog snarls at him from atop his car dashboard, leaving the endearing science teacher with no way to escape. 


Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Frozen Dinner 

After a film set in a small mountain town, the opening of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire takes us back to New York circa 1904. We see the fire station in its early years as a horse-drawn carriage responds to a call. Arriving at the scene, a fireman tests the door for heat and watches in horror as his hand instantly freezes. Inside, they find jagged shards of ice surrounding and piercing a frozen dinner party. Guests are posed in various states of ice-covered surprise while an eerie record skips in the corner. A figure covered in brass armor we will come to know as a Fire Master is crouched in the corner clutching a mysterious orb. When the fireman touches this rippling sphere, the frozen diners’ heads begin to explode, an ominous precursor to the chilling threat awaiting the newest Ghostbusting team. 

Lights Out

If Ghostbusters: Afterlife featured the lo-fi gear of the 80s, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hurls us into the future. Wealthy financier Winston Zeddemore has been surreptitiously building a new containment unit to relieve pressure on the original model along with a secret lab designed to study ghosts and haunted objects. In addition to fancy new gadgets and gear, this facility contains several captured spirits like a fanged Wraith and a speedy Possessor. Lab techs assure the astonished Spengler team that they are perfectly safe, but it seems they’ve overestimated the facility’s security. Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) and Lars (James Acaster) are studying the aforementioned orb when the power goes out, leaving them stranded in the dark with a cache of haunted objects. Not only does the ancient sphere hold a deadly spirit, the proton fields containing the captured ghosts have just been disabled. These terrifying creatures begin to drift through the walls toward the defenseless lab techs, perhaps at the bidding of an evil commander. Thankfully the generator kicks on in the nick of time, drawing the ghosts back into their cells. It’s a tense moment reminding us that no matter how charming the Ghostbusters may be, they still spend their days with evil spirits just waiting for an opportunity to wreak havoc.  


The Ghostbusters franchise excels at mixing humor and fear, practically setting the blueprint for the modern horror comedy. Moments from the original two films terrified a generation of gen-xers and elder millennials and newer iterations are currently scaring their kids. The fifth franchise installment effectively passes the proton pack torch to a new generation of Ghostbusters and we can only hope additional films will continue to induct future generations of Ghostbusters fans into the horror family as well. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now playing in theaters. Read our review.

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