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Meurtres à la St-Valentin (1981)

Avis des utilisateurs

Meurtres à la St-Valentin

225 commentaires
7/10

The Slasher That Paramount and the MPAA Tried to Kill

Twenty years ago, Harry Warden went nuts and slaughtered a bunch of people on Valentine's Day. The mining town he hailed from canceled subsequent V-Day dances, but when they try setting one up again, Warden seemingly returns with his pickax, ready to hack the local kids up and leave his mark. Things can only go bad from here.

Director George Mihalka brings us another holiday-themed slasher, riding the success of "Black Christmas", "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th"... and paving the way for "April Fools Day". But George is a nice guy and I don't want to say he's just one among the crowd. There were hundreds of 80s slashers, but only a few stand out today. "Bloody Valentine" is, of course, one of them.

Even in its original, neutered glory (anywhere from three to nine minutes were cut) the film stands as a good film. Without any really notable actors or actresses (okay, so Neil Affleck had a brief role in "Scanners"), and being Mihalka's one big mark, the film carries itself on story, acting and blood. The blood, while lacking a times, comes gushing through in others. And like any good slasher, the killer's identity is not revealed until the end... leaving us guessing until the last twist of the knife (or ax).

Slasher fans need to pick up the Lions Gate special edition. While the double-disc with "April Fools Day" is cheap and still worth watching, you don't really know this film until you've seen it uncut. The gore, oh my, the gore! It's actually a shame that it took so long for a company to come along and save this film because it was even better than we once assumed... Mihalka could have been one of the 80s greats (and, in my mind, he still is).

If you've been a horror fan and avoided this one, please see it. Sure, it's mostly mindless fun -- kids drinking and making out, getting hacked up -- but I can watch variations of this formula dozens, scores or hundreds of times. There's something fun about a simple stalking film that you can't always get from other films that try too hard to be clever. And I like thinking films, but a night with buddies and booze... you need a slasher. And this is the one you should pick.
  • gavin6942
  • 23 nov. 2009
  • Permalien
7/10

Once upon a time, On a sad Valentine, There's a place known as Hanniger mines...

  • TheFinalAlias
  • 7 juin 2009
  • Permalien
7/10

Quentin Tarantino's favorite slasher is good, but not my favorite

Quentin Tarantino has called this his all-time favorite slasher film, and it's one I'd never seen, so I went into this with fairly high expectation. Unfortunately, this film still pales when compared to John Carpenters "Halloween" or William Lustig's "Maniac." Still, it's well made and does stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the better slasher films of the 70s and 80s; "The Town that Dreaded Sundown," "The Burning," "Sleepaway Camp," "Black Christmas," and such. The story involves a coal mining town where a maniac wearing mining gear kills hapless victim with a pickax, boiling water, shower head nozzles, and other implements that all prove deadly. The film does have a decent who-done-it mystery element to it and when the mystery is revealed at the end it's not a copout and is satisfyingly done, which is a rarity for most slasher films. Overall, I wouldn't say "My Bloody Valentine" is a classic, but it is a must see for slasher film fans.
  • a_chinn
  • 25 nov. 2017
  • Permalien
6/10

Bloody is the word (for the eighties, anyway)

'My Bloody Valentine.' A slasher. There's not an awful lot more to say. If you've grown up over recent years and are generally interested in the genre, you'll find that this little offering from 1981 is pretty tame in comparison to what's released today. However, back when 'video nasties' were just taking off, this was pretty strong stuff! A small-time mining town in America has a legend (don't they all?) – this one tells of a miner who went berserk years ago on Valentine's day and killed a bunch of people. Now, several years later – guess what – it looks like he's back.

Normally, this is where I say that the cast is made up of oversexed, annoyingly attractive teenagers. But not this time. Here we have oversexed, annoying UGLY teenagers. Don't ask me why (and I promise you that I'm no oil painting!) but this must be the ugliest group of leading actors every assembled to be chopped up by a nut-job with a gas mask and pick axe. I guess we can blame it on the eighties. Or the lack of budget needed to bring bigger (and more physically attractive) stars on board.

Yes, one by one our facially-challenged heroes are chopped up in various hideous ways. Nothing too new there, apart from the fact that the death scenes seem a little more violent for the time than your average Friday 13th film. Notice I don't say 'gruesome' – only violent. I mentioned the budget earlier and it seems like they didn't really have enough money for expert make-up and prosthetics needed for the gore. I suppose it's the way it's filmed that makes it so violent. There seems like there's a real sense of nastiness in the deaths.

Not that you'll care much about those getting sliced and diced. They really are pretty irritating. If Jar-Jar Binks was a little less computer-generated and a little more eighties then those are the people getting murdered here.

Perhaps one thing that the film does have going for it is that you don't actually know who's under the gas mask. In that was it's more akin to the 'Scream' franchise in as much as like a who-done-it.

There's not much new here (especially nearly forty years later!), but if you're into the slasher genre in general and like to see where this type of film found its roots, then give this a try. The gore isn't really there and the violence – although strong for the time – has also diminished, the mystery element may make it worth an hour and a half of your time.
  • bowmanblue
  • 26 août 2016
  • Permalien
7/10

The Deer Hunter of 80's slashers

This early 80's horror flick is one of the best of the slasher genre. It has a great setting in a small Canadian mining town - which has it's streets and buildings drenched with red and pink valentine decorations - which is a surreal contrast to the cold and sombre setting that foreshadows the real pumpers that eventually pop up in crimson heart shaped candy boxes.

The scenes filmed in an actual mine - where the protagonists are trapped with the killer lurking around with a sharpened pickaxe - are expertly filmed with plenty of style and a menacing atmosphere. The acting is decent and although some of the characters act like jerks they are likable and human enough for the viewer to care about them. They are all working class stiffs and just want a good time and relief from the reality of their everyday situation. You want them to have their valentine party that has been denied them for obvious reasons.

Notorious for being one of the most censored films by the MPAA at the time of release to avoid an 'X' rating, it is now available in an uncut form on Lionsgate DVD. The death scenes are much more detailed and graphic, but either version is worth watching for the flourish that the director and his cast and crew have imbued into this little horror gem.
  • rascal67
  • 13 févr. 2009
  • Permalien
7/10

Iconic slasher

My Bloody Valentine - Special Edition

A slasher classic with an energetic cast. They did a pretty good job concealing the identity of the killer.

Paramount Pictures wasted a huge franchise potential by not follow-up more sequels for this film.
  • ashfordofficial
  • 8 janv. 2022
  • Permalien
5/10

Better than your average slasher-horror

Valentine's Day is coming around and the young people of the small mining town of Valentine's BLuffs are organising a party. A few decades earlier an explosion at the mine trapped six miners underground. One, Harry Warden, survived, though in a deranged state. Warden is sent to a mental hospital but escapes and murders those he deems responsible for the mine accident. Now people are being brutally murdered again, and the townsfolk suspect that it is the work of Harry Warden.

Better than your average slasher-horror, not that this says much. Reasonable set up, and a decent amount of intrigue. Does fall back on many horror clichés, and the performances are so-so. Plot is ultimately fairly formulaic, but has its moments.
  • grantss
  • 29 oct. 2016
  • Permalien
10/10

Terrific, moody slasher!

In the wake of Halloween and Friday the 13th, many similar films were released, most of which had little or no distinguishing features. One of the most effective and atmospheric was My Bloody Valentine.

Shot in Canada and very infamous for it's brutal battle with the MPAA, My Bloody Valentine is a surprising success, and a wonderful addition to the slasher genre. The acting is good, which comes as quite a shock for any slasher lover. The deaths, while obviously edited, are very effective and intense, especially the laundry room sequence. The image of the killer, dressed in a full miner's garb, smashing the lights along an already dark mine shaft, while a group of victims try to escape is terrifying.

The setting is quite interesting. Most Canadian films try to disguise the fact that it's Canadian. Well, this movie doesn't, which makes it very neat.

I'd say that it's lush photography, good acting, frightening set pieces and killer, and brutal deaths make this is one of the most impressive slashers of the 80's, maybe of all time.
  • cmoore0013
  • 7 févr. 2007
  • Permalien
6/10

From the bottom of my heart. I found this horror movie somewhat entertaining even its many flaws.

  • ironhorse_iv
  • 13 févr. 2020
  • Permalien

We'll probably never be-able to see how the movie should have been...

Notorious for being the slasher film most tortured by the censors upon release, MY BLOODY VALENTINE has become something of a cult classic with legions of adoring fans. The only available version of this movie is missing over 9 minutes of gore, but thankfully producer John Dunning has located all of the absent footage and a battle rages on with copyright owners Paramount for a fully restored release. The movie itself nestles nicely with ROSEMARY'S KILLER as the two best non-franchise splatter flicks of 1981.

From the outset, we're introduced to the small mining town of Valentine Bluffs, which hides beneath its fun loving exterior a best-forgotten secret. Twenty years ago the supervisors at the mine were so eager to get to the annual Valentine dance that they didn't bother to check the levels of the methane gas. There was a massive explosion and five workers were trapped underneath the rubble and debris. The only survivor was one Harry Warden, who never mentally recovered from the accident. Exactly a year later he returned and brutally killed the two who were responsible for the tragic mishap. He cut out their hearts, stuck them in candy boxes and sent them to the authorities. Fortunately he was caught before he carried out any more killings and was put into Eastfield Asylum for the insane. Now in 1981 the happy go lucky residents of the usually tranquil town are preparing themselves for the first Valentine dance to be held since that fateful night two decades ago. Memories of Warden's murders have passed and a group of fun loving kids are thinking about nothing else but the anticipated party. However the night before the event the town mayor receives a blooded heart in a candy box with a poetic warning. It seems Harry has returned…

MY BLOODY VALENTINE is certainly a fine example of eighties splatter at it's best. Although the acting isn't remarkable, I found that the three leads were competent enough and the script gave us enough time to get to know them. There's an interesting sub-plot that builds between T.J. (Kelman), Axel (Affleck) and Sarah (Hallier). Apparently T.J. was with Sarah before he went away for a while without telling anyone where he was going. Now he's returned and his buddy Axel is with his old flame. Cue the flying sparks! The rest of the wacky cast members are so cheery and carefree that you just know something dreadful is going to happen to them! There's a practical joker (who surprisingly isn't the fat guy), a couple of overly randy teens and even a hammy old guy who tells the kids that they're doomed just like Ralph over at Camp Crystal Lake!

Credit has to be given for the effort from all involved. The movie began filming in September 1980, but the set designer took the time to make sure that everything was decked out in hearts and banners and they made things look like it actually was Valentine's Day. Mihalka makes good use of the spooky mine as a setting and most of the murders are imaginative and well thought out. In one scene a victim is trapped in a room where miner's uniforms are dropping from rails and surrounding her. In panic she tries to find a way out of the claustrophobic and threatening setting (all courtesy of the killer), before bumping into a costume that actually has the murderer in it! If that isn't bad enough, he kills her in a most gruesome fashion! His disguise is arguably one of the best of the eighties and the gas mask sure helps make the traditional ‘heavy breathing' - sound much scarier. There are also one or two jumps that'll probably get you if you haven't seen this before and it's all accompanied with a satisfactory score from Paul Zaza.

The plot is actually pretty smart for a slasher film. I wont go into too much detail because I can't say anything without spoiling it all for you, but watch how they manage to keep you guessing toward the end. It's also worth noting that James Mangold borrowed that classic body (or in his case, head) in a tumble dryer scene for his part-slasher, IDENTITY in 2003. In 2001 George Mihalka went to Paramount with a script for MY BLOODY VALENTINE 2 but they turned him down because the original didn't do brilliantly at the box office. Just proves how annoying they really are doesn't it! They've already said that they'd have no interest in seeing the director's cut of this movie released, even though fans around the world are begging for it. Recently the company asked people to give them ten films that we want to see unleashed and apparently one of those ten was MY BLOODY VALENTINE UNCUT; so we'll just have to wait and see if they come round to our way of thinking. Just imagine if they gave us the full works: The first four FRIDAY THE 13THs and this movie all uncut on special edition discs with commentaries where available and all the trimmings. If Raimi can do it for EVIL DEAD then someone can do it for us! Come on Paramount, lighten up and get on the case!

All in all this is a great little horror movie. It's smartly directed with a likeable cast and a really tense finale. The only problem lies with the shameful editing in the kill scenes where 9 minutes was savagely removed. I'm beginning to think that old Harry Warden should take a trip to the Paramount office, pickaxe in hand, to get revenge on these brutal spoilsports. Still, a few niggles aside, this is a decent little movie from Canada that deserves to be remembered, as one of the best of it's kind. And that's a sure fire compliment!
  • RareSlashersReviewed
  • 26 janv. 2004
  • Permalien
2/10

Ridiculous........ and I'm a fan of slashers

This is a formulaic slasher film, playing on the premise of a local legend of a homicidal minor. He was trapped with a few others, and had to feast on their remains to survive. He blames the townsfolk, and more specifically their Valentines Day dance. It seems it played a part in delaying his rescue from the cave-in. The lead miners who should have rescued Harry Warden, skipped work early to attend a Valentines Day dance. After a year in a mental institution, he went after those lead miners, and cut their hearts out. Leaving the warning that it would happen to all those who dared hold a Valentine's celebration ever again. Well, think our cast of characters, a young group of college age vixens and horn-dogs, enough time has passed and they just "want to get laid". And where better to hold a Valentines party, but in the very mine that Harry is said to haunt. Some implausible bits here; why would anyone in their right mind go into a mine where not only has their been a catastrophic cave in, but also is the supposed haunt of a real life killer, not some imagined "boogey man". If you read about Jeffery Dahmer's exploits, and then realized he had never been caught, would you then go to a place he was known to have operated, and allegedly still lived? If you would, you're just as retarded as the characters in this film. Plus, why risk the claustrophobic confines of the mine? And what makes one think sex in a mine is a turn on? Which brings me to another gripe, the intro of the film, while entertaining, is leaves one unsatisfied, and realizing it's just a cheap cop out. A girl is led into the mine, and I mean deep into the mine, by someone she believes is her lover. Why? Cause she's amorous, and wants her man to take her in a dangerous place. Not really seeing the believability in this. Why would you let someone garbed in a miners' outfit lead you into the mine, unless you saw them putting the miners' gear on. And after that, why go into a isolated mine shaft to make whoopee? The town must have at least one motel, dorm room, bedroom etc. Just silly. Finally, when the deaths start occurring, and the characters realize there's a killer in their midst, why don't they do the logical thing and abandon the mine, in search of help? Why bother looking for your friends that are missing? Isn't it better to go get the cops, and some I don't know, weaponry to thwart the killer? I know slashers follow a basic formula, but do we really have to see another film with the red herring noises, and dummies that go "Is anyone there?" and then going further into a precarious situation to investigate.??? This is just a cheap Canadian cash in on the slasher revenues to be had in the early 1980's. Yuck.
  • Aomalle27
  • 6 mai 2008
  • Permalien
8/10

Give 'em hell Harry.

My Bloody Valentine is one of the best and most well-made slasher flicks of the 80's. It's also one of the better holiday themed horror movies around!

A crazed miner is determined to stop the celebration of Valentine's day in a small Nova Scotia town, with the help of a trusty pick ax that is.

* minor (or miner, I'm not funny.) spoilers *

While the film doesn't re-invent the wheel for slasher movies, it still manages to stand out well from the rest of it's kind. The climax in the mine creates some great suspense in an atmospheric and claustrophobic setting. The cast is quite likable and good, even though there's not a known name in sight. And the gore hounds should enjoy the happenings, cutting out hearts and pick ax murders, even a nasty death-by-dryer and a face scalded in a boiling pot. It's still gory despite cuts made by the MPAA. There's also the occasional touch of colorful dark humor.

The direction, while simple, is well done with some good shock cuts. The music score is a nicely moody one, even beautiful in a way. Over all, the film holds together well.

Seek it out slasher fans! This is one enjoyable cult film that is not to be missed!

*** out of ****
  • Nightman85
  • 17 nov. 2004
  • Permalien
7/10

My Bloody Valentine:the 1981 (uncut) version.

  • morrison-dylan-fan
  • 12 févr. 2011
  • Permalien
4/10

Did this movie suffer from the censors ?

Partly i think it did, however on the other hand maybe it didn't. Some of the characters where killed off camera which is obviously a censorship issue which if made today probably wouldn't happen. We also had a couple of characters Howard and Sylvia who had little introduction and then promptly slaughtered.

The other issue i had with My bloody valentine was the thin motive the killer had we get a brief reveal at the end but is hardly satisfying.

Your common or garden slasher movie the killer has his trademark kill, here victims are dispatched using various ingenious methods, which we are not allowed to see.

Now that the movie is over 30 years old it needs a re submission to the censors like others of the time and the cuts re-addressed to make the movie more complete.
  • edwardrevans
  • 27 févr. 2016
  • Permalien
6/10

This horror film provides great load of screams , grisly killings and creepy atmosphere

Nice terror movie plenty of ominous murders , chills , thrills , scary scenes and lots of blood and guts . Slasher movie about a coalminer who axes numerous victims in a little mining town which becomes pretty sinister with the miner killer appearing . The caption near the beginning states "Thursday February 12th", indicating that the dance will be on Saturday the 14th . A decades old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day, turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead . This bizarre little horror movie is set in a mining town , on Valentine an explosion of methane gas took the lives of a group of coal miners working in the Hanniger Mine . Long time after, Hanniger (Kelman) returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine's night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people , male as well female and many of the townspeople have their hearts removed with a pick-axe and sent in candy boxes . There's a big valentine-party planned in the little coal mining town of Valentine Bluffs, Nova Scotia . Later on , a blood-soaked heart arrives at the police station commanded by Chief Jake Newby (Don Francks) , accompanied by a heinous message . Hanniger meets his old flame named Patty (Cynthia Dale) and a bit later on he finds himself suspected of committing some new killings . The Valentine party is prohibited but being held in another place: at the coal mine, and it isn't long before the town's young people begin dying violently . It appears Harry Warden , a psychotic coalminer who has returned to punish them and several people are cruelly murdered .

The picture is a sleek production with average budget and packs genuine chills , suspense , tension , head-slitting and shocks ; it turns out to be a terror-thriller very exciting . Gory , gruesome , pretty repellent , ghastly and unrelenting shock-feast laced with a loving triangle . The film is paced with intelligent edition , special use of color and slick utilization of shock images that take place in the astonishing close-up crimes committed by means of a pickax . This scary movie displays terror , shocks , hard-edged scenes and creepy images and abundant gore . While the look is suitable atmospheric and eerie , the plot stretches plausibility to the breaking point . The gory and bloodiest images were cut out to avoid a X-rating . This is a customary splatter plenty of grisly killing , thrills , gruesome shocks , nauseating chills and quite entertaining . It relies heavily on old-fashioned buckets of blood and the plot belongs the same of 'Slashers genre' in ¨ Halloween ¨, ¨Nightmare in Elm Street ¨, ¨ Friday 13 ¨, style . In fact , The Friday the 13th series and the plot of My Bloody Valentine is similar to the Friday the 13th films ; as it was released by Paramount attempting to do same box office . Being recently remade in 3D by Patrick Lussier , starred by Jensen Ackles ,Jaime King , Kerr Smith , Megan Boone ; the latter film being based on original directed by George Mihalka . This is an usual excruciatingly splatter film in which the intrigue , tension , suspense appears threatening and lurking in every corridor , party , mine , shaft , tunnel number 5 and many other places . This unrelenting shock-feast packs good make-up and nice special effects . It's just one long relentless stabbing and acceptable budget horror movie that still packs a punch for those who like to be terrorized out their wits .

Eerie as well as frightening musical score by Paul Zaza . Atmospheric and adequate cinematography by Rodney Gibbons . The shooting location at Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia was chosen because of its rustic atmospheric appearance. The film was shot with lots of difficulties in authentic mines which were often as much as 900 feet underground , only certain lighting devices could be used in the mines because of the potential danger of methane explosions. The motion picture was professionally directed by George Mihalka . It was re-premiered at video-market in 2009 , an original uncut , then it was a real success in America and all around the world , thanks to 3 minutes gore added , even Quentin Tarantino has named My Bloody Valentine as his all-time favorite slasher film . George Mihalka is a good filmmaker and producer expert on terror and suspense genre . He has directed similar terror stories (Psychic , Relative fear ,Watchtower) . He's usually movies television director (Crossbow, Da Vinci's inquest, Windsor protocol , The Firm) and occasionally motion pictures director (Bullet to Beijing, the return of Harry Palmer , Straight Line, The Blue man, Scandale) . Rating : 6,5/10 . This murder-feast that will appeal to gore and guts aficionados .
  • ma-cortes
  • 30 déc. 2014
  • Permalien
7/10

Stands out in the slasher genre

My bloody valentine is a classic, that lives up to our decade, it really shines out on the many slashers produced around this time period, it gives you an original story, and fun and entertainment throughout definitely holds up. And keeps you on the edge of your seat. Defiantly a memorable gem of the genre.
  • jaredkeoppel-34311
  • 3 juin 2019
  • Permalien
7/10

Great Slasher

A good slasher with many flaws but is still a great film with a decent story and plot. The film does't have the best acting and some scenes are dumb, but this movie has a good story and is entertaining. The film has amazing and unique kills. Great fun slasher definitely recommend to watch.
  • stefankrs
  • 9 sept. 2021
  • Permalien

Ver scary, and quite the entertainment

For sure this movie might not have the best actors, greatest budget , but for what worth, its ah hell of ah fun roller coaster ride. My bloody valentine is original. It creates it's own terrifying atmosphere. It's so entertaining it keeps you waiting on the edge of your seat, which alot of horror movies lack. This movies has terms of a plot, with, great cinematography, and some great special effects. Definitely stand out for the genre 3/4
  • jaredlove
  • 5 oct. 2018
  • Permalien
3/10

Boring slasher rubbish with a good location

I saw "My Bloody Valentine" when it played theatrically and I was bored. It's up to scratch technically, but it's just another slasher about a dead miner who shows up on Valentine's Day to kill young lovers because they're busy doing what he never got to do. That's it.

The film, prior to earning its "R" rating, was considerably gorier, and I've read much rubbish about how great the thing would be if the gore was reinstated. I can't agree. If it was bloodier, it would still be a boring slasher... but with bloody killings.

There is no suspense, the characters are the usual clichés, and many scenes are so underlit we might be watching tar dry. I don't like night scenes you can't even see because real night isn't like that. Our eyes adjust to the darkness after a while and sometimes we use flashlights. A much better slasher than this is "Madman", a film with impressive night sequences we can actually see.

The mine location is suitably creepy and probably had potential, but there's no point crying over wasted scenery when quite clearly nobody was up to making much of this thin premise that was probably an easy sell to a studio (Paramount) that was hot for special occasion-based/date-based horror after "Friday The 13th" poured millions into its coffers.

The idea of "My Bloody Valentine" is much more interesting than the reality of slogging through its turgid scenery. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.
  • fertilecelluloid
  • 4 déc. 2005
  • Permalien
9/10

With the added footage, one of the best slasher films of the last 40 years

  • baumer
  • 17 sept. 2009
  • Permalien
7/10

Solid and Slightly Different Slasher

Whilst it still revels in the tropes of the slasher genre 'My Bloody Valentine' is a solid, entertaining and slightly different film which should be enjoyed by fans as well as the casual viewer. 'Valentine' is notable for being one of the few good Canadian entries to the eighties slasher craze and makes the most of a limited, somewhat clichéd idea with a welcome professional, creative element that slashers often lack.

Following on the heels of 'Halloween' and other holiday based plots 'Valentine' concerns the holiday, a card shop holiday anyway, in a small Canadian town also helpfully named Valentine's Bluff. You'd think it'd be the perfect place for a valentine's party but a mine collapse twenty years prior leaves a madman named Harry Warden buried alive whilst the rest of the town parties. You can imagine what happens next. The madman bans Valentine's in the town and enforces the ban in a violent fashion. Twenty years later a new valentine celebration is planned as Harry Warden has faded into legend.

What makes Valentine's stand out is two things. One, the actual slasher set pieces are superb. Creative, brutal and sometimes funny. The filmmakers were forced to cut about eight or nine minutes of footage to appease the censors which adds to the cult appeal of the piece. Yet despite the cuts the bloody nature of Valentine will please fans of the genre and some genuinely unsettling moments are also scattered throughout the film when it comes to the use of blood and guts.

The other appealing element is the film's professionalism. Whereas other slasher films fall into the cheesiest and cheesiest of quality through bad acting, bad camera-work and generally amateurish production Valentine does not. The acting is good and naturalistic, a nice surprise from the genre, the cinematography is interesting and inventive, making use of a wider range of camera expression than falling back on the POV shot. The focus of the characters in peril are also far more interesting. Valentine's Bluff is a dreary working class town with a single industry, the mines, to keep it going. As such the characters are smarter, more bitter and, in many ways, better than their college co-ed, teenage counterparts.

In the ranks of slasher films 'My Bloody Valentine' ranks high. For those who are fans of the genre it is definitely required watching. For the more casual viewer the film's professional tint and interesting, though still generic holiday based premise, will distinguish itself from other less astute entries.
  • Ads96
  • 5 avr. 2017
  • Permalien
2/10

Does not work.

I saw this film recently and I was not particularly impressed. Slasher films are by nature films that rarely turn out to be remarkable, even though they quickly conquer a small legion of fans who give them cult status. This film did not even prove to be a truly good slasher film, largely due to a rather weak script and total lack of environment.

Everything happens in the small town of Valentine, where the main celebration is, as it could not be otherwise, Valentine's Day. This city is a small mining community around an important mine. One day, there is an accident and Harry Warden, a miner, goes crazy and kills a number of colleagues and people, forcing the city to cease to celebrate their party. From then on, an urban legend was born that, now, will take on a new life with the initiative, led by local youth, to reactivate the festivities.

The film has a lot of problems. George Mihalka was an inept director who did not know how to use the best of the film to build a tense and sinister environment, where the dark and damp tunnels of the mine were more than an excellent place for couples to meet and occasionally drink. The film never really scares us, even with all the gore. It has a uninteresting script, where characters' romances are of no interest at all. Harry Warden's story, with little touches of madness and cannibalism, sounds too far-fetched and was not well used. The characters are quite weak and even the villain is forgettable, which makes us lose interest in the film quite quickly.

In addition to the bad characters, most of them merely thought to be there or to die, we have a very mediocre performance of the cast, made of actors from the most basic levels of drama, to the point that even the protagonist is unable to comply with his task with a minimum of presence. The film's obsession with romance or dating, in addition to the obvious gore, also did not help the cast to stand out, on the contrary.

Technically, its very bad: an uninteresting and dull cinematography with washed colors and an extremely low contrast, sets and costumes that are not interesting or remarkable and a virtually nonexistent soundtrack. The only thing working fine are the visual effects and gore scenes. The mutilations and deaths seem real enough and there are a number of good ideas, like the human heart cooking in the sausage pan or the body inside the washing machine. But this is not enough to make the film work.
  • filipemanuelneto
  • 14 oct. 2020
  • Permalien
8/10

This pointless holiday deserves a good slasher film.

  • TOMASBBloodhound
  • 12 févr. 2005
  • Permalien
7/10

Slasher joy

  • BandSAboutMovies
  • 15 avr. 2019
  • Permalien
1/10

This film was Crap

Just when I thought my search for a movie at my local video store was over a woman told me about this film and the Hills Have Eyes. Guess which one was better, not this one that's for sure. The film is typical mid eighties teen fodder with actors who in my opinion act like robots programmed to act like drunk fools. These people work in a mine , what teen would work at a mine? The story is simple a angry miner gets revenge on his home town after his supervisors leave to go to a dance and forget to check the methane levels. By the end of this move you start thinking what am I doing watching this besides killing my brain cells and you don't even care about the characters. My suggestion , rent a film like the Ring if you truly need to scream because like the tape in that movie is just like this one ... it kills you slowly.

DON'T RENT THIS!!!!!!!! _______________ __________________
  • lori-1
  • 20 juin 2003
  • Permalien

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