I’ve always loved the fact that any holiday you can think of has been utilized and exploited in the slasher sub-genre. While George Mihalka’s “My Bloody Valentine” isn’t my favorite, it certainly does hold its very own in horror history.
The plot and back-story of this 1981 slasher is pretty creative and I think using mines as the setting is brilliant. If you think of the small, confined tunnels that coalminers have to work in on a consistent basis, then you can imagine how adding a serial killer to the mix can make an already frightening experience even more terrifying. I also want to note that Rodney Gibbons did an awesome job getting some great camera shots in these tight quarters. My favorite being towards the end of the film, as TJ and Sarah are being chased by our killer, all while riding on the carts back to the surface.
The acting was all done exceptionally well and I love the mix of characters used for the cast. Aside from TJ and Axel’s constant bickering, the entire bunch looked like a fun group of friends to be a part of!
For this review, I watched the theatrical version of “My Bloody Valentine.” I mention this because I’m not sure if the extended cut actually shows more gore than this version. It seems that most of the kills were off-screen, with the exception of very few. I think the last few slasher flicks I’ve watched may have spoiled me, as I was really hoping for some great bloody kills in this one.
I enjoyed the ending of the film and while the reveal seemed somewhat predictable, I think the reasons why the killer is doing this is pretty neat; it made a predictable ending have a nice twist to help it along.
Like I said, this isn’t my favorite holiday-themed horror, but it is definitely a solid entry in the genre we all love so much. If you haven’t seen Mihalka’s 1981 original of “My Bloody Valentine,” do yourself a favor and get on that! This one gets a strong 3.5 chocolates out of 5.
Edit: I was able to go back and watch the awesome selection of deleted scenes in the special features of the blu-ray release. The film originally did have some outstanding kill effects and gore. The extended cut certainly deserves a higher rating of 4 chocolates out of 5.
