Tom returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine's night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, Tom finds himself suspected of committing... Read allTom returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine's night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders, and it seems like his old flame is the only one that believes he's innocent.Tom returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine's night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders, and it seems like his old flame is the only one that believes he's innocent.
- Awards
- 4 nominations total
- Jason
- (as Michael Roberts McKee)
Featured reviews
*** (out of 4)
Remake of the 1981 slasher has a maniac minor killing twenty-two people but ten years later more bodies start to pile up. Is it a copycat killer or has the original come back for more revenge? I'll start off by saying that I'm not a big fan of the original and I'll go even further by saying this one here, story wise, isn't that good. It's more like a two-and-a-half star movie thanks to its throwback to the 80's slashers but the 3-D effects are what really makes it worth seeing. The story has some logical issues to say the least and this includes the identity of the killer, which is pretty impossible considering what you've seen throughout the film. With that said, the movie certainly goes all out in terms of violence and gore. I was pleasantly shocked at how gory this thing was as we get all sorts of graphic killings ranging from picks through the eyes, necks, heads, decapitations and much much more. The red stuff is constantly flowing so I'm sure gore hands are going to be very happy. The film also goes back a few decades in terms of nudity because there's some full frontal female nudity, which we haven't seen in a horror film in a very long time. It seems a lot of slashers today play it safe but that's certainly not the case here. The film goes all out and that includes the 3-D effects. The "Real3D" process is certainly the greatest I've seen and I'm sure others will be very impressed. There are a couple classic scenes with various objects floating at you with one of the best early on when the killer throws his weapon towards the camera. Thankfully the director knew these effects would be the main draw here and he constantly keeps the stuff coming at the screen. Unlike many 3-D movies there's nothing here done for comic relief as the film uses the effects to show off the gore and violence. We get some smaller stuff like one character spitting at the camera but for the most part it's murder and mayhem. The performances are what you'd expect from a film like this but it was great fun seeing Tom Atkins in the cast. Many horror buffs will know him from films like Halloween 3 but it's nice to see him here. In the end, the film certainly doesn't stand out as a classic but you know what to expect when you walk into this. The movie isn't a total success but there are certain things horror and 3-D fans want and this film delivers them.
Unfortunately the movie is not as strong as its bookend acts, but it is certainly gory, fun, terrifying, tense and nothing but entertaining. (And yes, there is also nudity). The use of the trademark, in your face, 3-D tactics is mostly restrained, although it seems that director Patrick Lussier (who has mostly been in horror movie limbo since he directed Dracula 2000) could not avoid the intermittent pickaxe to the screen. The performances are actually quite strong, and while this is becoming more the norm in horror films, MBV even forgoes the smart-alecky, prankster character which removes the propensity for us to be taken out of the film.
The unique opening is actually a three-tier start. Flashing newsreels reveal that the collapse of the Hanniger Mine in a small town which claimed the lives of 6 miners (Or was it something else that killed the men?). Awakening from a comma years later, the sole survivor of the cave-in, Harry Warden, picks up where he left off, slaying dozens before being killed himself concluding what the town dubbed the Valentines Day Massacre. But all is not what it seems, as 10 years later Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles), a near-victim of Warden, returns to the small town to sell the mine but the killings suspiciously begin once again and it is up to Tom to clear his name.
My Bloody Valentine is a full-fledged throwback to the golden age of slasher films, like Friday the 13th (and is ironically better then the Friday remake this year) and never for a single second tries to be anything it's not and in doing so, it ultimately becomes something it shouldn't be; fun.
6.5 / 10.0
Read all my reviews at: simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com
My Rating: 6.9/10.
It's never really scary because things happen so fast and because a guy in a miner suit just isn't that horrifying. The appeal comes from the surprise apparitions of the killer, the attempts at escaping and the original gruesome dispatches by the maniac miner mostly with his pick axe and shovel. I suppose it also comes from a very long sequence of a young woman in full-frontal nudity trying to escape the killer. As a side note, most of the story doesn't take place in mines nor is the movie claustrophobic. I enjoyed the mystery of who the maniac guy behind the mask was as it was well presented with a few false leads and likely suspects being offed gradually. However, no clear motivation was offered for the maniac. The ending with the trio (not telling who) was also strong and dramatic. The acting was OK in a TV-quality kind of way, mostly sober although some of the old guys seemed a bit weak. I think the directing was modern and dynamic with good cuts, in more ways than one ;-) So this film is a little above average in the retro slasher genre. It would make a good rental especially with 3d glasses and a few friends.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Perhaps most importantly though, the production and marketing teams were aware of what it what it was. At its core, its a cheesy mindless slasher film, and rather than try to overcome this, My Bloody Valentine acknowledges this trait and works with it. It owns it. Internet ads bore slogans such as 'Its actually 4D if you're wasted.' Never does it get bogged down trying to patch together an airtight story. It just keeps its unrelenting pace up from start to finish, and delivers what the audience came out to see, gratuitous violence.
A film like this is quite refreshing for the genre, not because it is artful by any means, but because it embraces its inherent trashiness. By deliberately failing to take itself seriously, My Bloody Valentine becomes something more than the majority of its peers can ever be. It becomes fun in the same way that a Poison concert or monster truck rally is fun. Take my advice and see this thing as it was meant to be seen, through beer goggles and a pair of cheap 3D glasses. Enjoy it for what it is and don't worry about the second thoughts you might have tomorrow morning.
Did you know
- TriviaIn an interview shortly after the movie was released, Betsy Rue, who plays Irene, the girl who has sex with the truck driver in the motel, said it was her idea to end up running through the parking lot stark naked. It was also her first nude scene. According to her, after she was cast "they wanted to make sure that I was going to be comfortable with everything before I did it, so I knew what it entailed before I went in and actually, the end product was a lot more than they expected. When you're watching the movie, if you look at the part where I take the gun out of the purse, before I come out into the parking lot, I grab a sheet off the bed. We did this many times with the sheet, and it just wasn't working, so I said, 'Forget the sheet, I am leaving the sheet behind.' So that's how I ended up getting so much more nude. I said, 'Forget it, if you want this, I'm going to go balls to the walls and here it is.'" She added "Because, as an actor, I just felt a lot better forgetting the sheet. I felt like it was more real. I felt like I was in my reality. I was, like, 'I would not be worrying about this stupid sheet right now! I just want the tape back.'"
- GoofsAfter Sarah hits the alarm button, you see the outside of the grocery store and you can hear the alarm going off. Seconds later the sheriff arrives. When he and Sarah go the the alley where they find Megan dead, there is now no alarm sounding. Usually only somebody from the alarm company can turn off an alarm that has been pressed.
- Quotes
Tom Hanniger: [trembling] He's here! Harry Warden is here!
Sarah Palmer: Tom... Harry's not here.
Axel Palmer: No... wait. Harry is here... isn't he?
[to Tom]
Axel Palmer: Are you there, Harry? You living inside Tom? Huh? Are you in there?
Tom Hanniger: [breaking character; gruff voice] Oh... I'm right here.
Axel Palmer: I fucking knew it!
- Crazy creditsThe credits scroll over a journey through the mine down a mine train/tram tracks.
- Alternate versionsIn Germany, despite being released uncut in theaters, most DVD and Blu-ray releases had to be cut by two minutes to retain the FSK-18 rating. Uncut video releases are light SPIO/JK indexed.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Bloodlust: My Bloody Valentine and the Rise of the Slasher Film (2009)
- SoundtracksTrade
Written by Marc Anthony Thompson
Performed by The Skillet Turtles
© 2008 Lions Gate Music Publishing LLC
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Meurtres à la St-Valentin 3D
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $51,545,952
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $21,241,456
- Jan 18, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $100,734,718
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1