Halloween reboot #1 My Bloody Valentine

2009 vs. 1981

My Bloody Valentine

The original film was released in 1981 and was a Canadian horror import. It was one of a slew of early 80’s slasher cash-ins that also involved a holiday. Thank you Friday the 13^th for stuff like this! It dealt with a crazed killer miner around a Valentine’s Day dance and a mining accident. The only redeeming bits are a fun shower victim and the fact that like 9 minutes were cut to get this movie from Canada to U.S. theaters. I have never seen these cut minutes, but I can only hope it was really bloody, naked stuff or in a prefect horror world both!

PLOT
It is Valentine’s Day 1997 in the mining town of Harmony. All is well until the Hanninger mine has an issue and a collapse happens trapping six miners. Days later the miners are found and five are dead and one Harry Warden is in a coma. After he is taken to the hospital it is realized that Harry murdered the other five miners with a pick axe to ensure he got all the air in the collapsed tunnel.
Jump ahead one year and Harry Warden awakens from his coma. He then goes looney in the hospital and kills a bunch of people. Then he disappears. Well and manages to leave a calling card of a human heart inside a heart shaped box of chocolates.

Another jump of ten years and one Tom Hanniger is back in town ( It is discovered it was his mistake that caused the mine collapse 10 years prior) to deal with the selling of the mine. Even better it is just about Valentine’s Day. Even better still….horrible murders begin again. Even better still….it is a guy dressed as miner with a gas mask covering his face and brandishing a pick axe. Harry Warden in back to murderize the citizens of Harmony again on Valentine’s Day or is he……….

THOUGHTS
Originally shot (and thankfully I had the chance to view it) in 3D is what made this movie a lot more fun! Having bloody human bits launch out at you is pretty hysterical! 3D is a bad choice and a money grab with most films. Here it worked to make a silly slasher a Hell of a lot more fun. The theater experience for this movie would have been a lot more enjoyable than at home. A crowd reacting to the silly amount of gore flying off the screen would have been a damn good time. I watched this a second time without the 3D and is still a descent slasher with a great amount of fun gore, but it wasn’t nearly as fun in 2D.

Speaking of gore boy howdy is there some great stuff here! A midget being driven into a ceiling fan, a face ripping off  and flying across a porch, shovel decapitation, the most naked victim  that I have seen in a long time in a horror movie and a good ol’e fashioned eye popping are just some of the more outstanding bits of bloody fun. Once again it has been a while since we got a good and fun bout of gore and this over looked 2009 reboot really delivered the goods!

Even better the story and action follows adults and not teens (being played by adults). It is always a bit refreshing to see people outside of high school/ college can be terrorized by a maniac too.
The movie also clips along really well. The only slowdowns are when they need to drive the plot forward. There are also a few stumbles due to plot holes  that are not too huge, but they are hard to miss. Plus there is the added and typical stupid character decisions, but that is common and needed to keep slasher movies rolling along.

FINAL DECISION

"My Bloody Valentine" 2009 is much better than the 1981 original. It is just a good bit of slasher fun. It doesn’t try to make itself something it isn’t. It doesn’t try to reinvent the genre. It just does what this type of movie needs to do; have a good body count, have a premise that isn’t overly silly and don’t take yourself too seriously. If you haven’t given this movie a chance try it out. It is pretty damn fun! If you get the chance to see it in 3D then do it!

 Next up is the 1988 remake of the 1958 B-movie…. "The Blob."