Canadian Slasher #3

My Bloody Valentine 1981

I'm over a month late with this entry. I should have done a post on this during Valentine's week, but for some reason I didn't. I think I was in a moral crisis or some shit. Anyway, with slasher fans it's almost universal - My Bloody Valentine is the end all of the slasher film. It's agreed upon by almost everyone that this flick is as entertaining as it is broad. And we're willing to overlook Paramount's bad cut job when it comes to the slashing sequences.

My Bloody Valentine is a film that strikes a chord with me. It's set in a small dank mining town with your typical early 80's locals with bad wardrobes and even worse hair. [I'm skipping past the awesome opening sequence that involves what seems to be a sexually frustrated miner and his female counterpart.]


TJ's father owns the mines nestled beneath the ground of Valentine's Bluffs - That small dank mining town I mentioned earlier. A gray Canadian haze settles itself over the town like a blanket. TJ has since went out west and made his return upon really falling on his ass out there. He made so many mistakes and he wants Sarah back.

There's a slight problem because Sarah is now going out with TJ's best friend Axel. He explains to TJ that he went away - He didn't know where he was or when the hell he was coming back. TJ's reaction is that Axel is starting to sound like his old man and a nightly gathering at the junkyard almost turns into a scuffle.


In the meantime, the whole town is anticipating the first Valentines Day dance in 20 years. The reason there hasn't been a dance for so long is because twenty years ago, a man named Harry Warden went on a killing spree - murdering everyone responsible for leaving him and five other miners in the bowels of the mine without checking the methane level. The mine blew and here's Harry left all fucked up and eating the leg of one of his co-workers after being trapped underground for six weeks. All this just so happened on Valentine's Day and it was vowed by Harry that the same thing would happen if there was EVER another Valentine's Day dance.

Of course, the town sheriff still remembers the big mess twenty years ago and is still a little shell shocked in the pre-wake of the Valentine's dance. There's a local bartender who expels the legend of Harry Warden from his parched lips while the mining buddy cast play silly games with knives and make farting noises in light of all the bartender's serious hubbub.

There's a mood crasher when TJ's father gets a heart shaped box with a human heart in it. Without question the sheriff cancels the dance. The incident is kept quiet, but it's not long before Mabel (the dance organizer) is killed by a coal miner equipped with blue cover-alls, breathing apparatus and large pick ax. (Sort of reminiscent of Joe Zito's The Prowler)

The sheriff covers up Mabel's death [as well] after she's found stuffed in a running dryer at her laundry mat, burned to a crisp. The young cast of colorful characters are told Mabel died of a heart attack and become all sad at the cancellation of the dance, but TJ has a plan - He'll move the party to his father's mine! They'll have the party inside the rec-room! Of course, we all know at this point that Harry or someone will crash the party.

What comes next is some very good stalk 'n' slash sequences that for the most part take place inside a very atmospheric and gritty underground mine. The mine makes way for some really good scares and is a perfect place for a pick ax welding miner to hide in the nooks and cranny's thereof.

The tension between TJ and his 'best friend' Axel is halted for a bit when it's learned that someone has been killing off members of the party up top and underground. They both realize that Sarah and some others are trapped in the mine and that they better get there before Harry does.

For the first timer [who by chance hasn't read spoilers], there's a question of who the killer really is. Is it Harry Warden? There's some emphasis that the killer could be one of our main leads. There's some scenes that would give prelude to this thought throughout the whole film. It's up to the viewer to actually sift through the clues and figure it out for themselves.

Another saving grace for My Bloody Valentine are the high production values. A glossy look can sometimes hurt a film of slasher ilk, but the grimy mine overshadowed any Hollywood 'effect' it otherwise would have had on the film. The acting is quiet good to boot. Paul Kelman (TJ) is the dark haired mysterious type who could very well be hiding some sinister secrets. Neil Affleck (Axel - TJ's ex-best friend) is the blond haired blue eyed mixture of disgruntled manhood and empathy. Lori Hallier (Sarah) is the catalyst for our little love triangle amongst friends. She's a blond haired blue eyed, buxom blond who's torn between her first love TJ, and her rebound love Axel.

Axel is truly made a fool by TJ and Sarah. He's the fall guy for both TJ's and Saraha's riff between each other. Director George Mihalka takes John Beaird's script and does the best he can. It's a shame this movie didn't do all that well at the box office upon its initial release in 1981. This is truly a good film, even aside from the gore sequences lying on the cutting room floor.

If there was ever a war cry from slasher fans around the world, it's for an all out uncut collectors edition dvd packed with extras. Hell, if Texas Chainsaw Massacre II can get a release called the Gruesome Edition, My Bloody Valentine should be able. [I love TCM 2 btw.]



To sum it up, MBV is a film that can't be missed by slasher fans - even slasher fans of the Scream generation. Even younger fans should find something good in this Canadian slasher whether its shred to bits or not. An atmospheric upbeat slasher film that's never tedious and never boring. My Bloody Valentine is the epitome of what the slasher film should require.