My Bloody Valentine - Uncut Version (1981) ****
🎶Once upon a time, on a sad Valentine...🎶
I don't consider myself a huge fan of slashers. I've seen (and enjoy) a great many of them, but I am no aficionado (I tend to connect more with other types of horror films). For the most part I find some of them very fun and a good deal of them particularly mean-spirited, with cardboard characters and hulking villains that don't interest me. That said, I do think there is a place for films like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) (review), which are simply exploitative entertainment.
But My Bloody Valentine (1981) stands out to me because the characters are incredibly charismatic and relatable (but also very melancholic). There's no doubt that MBV follows a slasher formula and contains tropes of the genre, but here instead of teens getting hacked up we have twentysomethings (some of the actors were even close to thirty) in a small mining town. MBV doesn't delve too deeply into its backstory (and there is even a kind of hilarious thirty second flashback explaining the killer's motivation not long after their reveal). The characters don't seem to have too much motivation outside of living their daily lives, partying, and trying to get laid. But there is something that feels so comfortable about their escapades and their goofy charm (there are some really funny moments), so that when they do start to get bumped off, you genuinely feel sorry for them. Hollis and Patty's love, in particular, always gets to me.
It's humorous that the MPAA ever made a stink about this particular film because even the extra gory scenes, reinstated in the uncut version, are pretty tame, all things considered. Thankfully, Scream Factory was able to restore those scenes, from a 4K scan, so that they seamlessly match the rest of the footage. SF released the film on 4K UHD last September, but I waited until now to (re)watch it (natch) and wow, this transfer is a stunner, one of the more transformative viewing experiences on the current best home video format. (The screenshots below are iPhone captures, from the previous 2020 Blu-ray, and not indicative of the 2023 UHD.)
MBV isn't the best Canadian slasher—that honor belongs to Black Christmas (1974) (review)—but it's definitely the second best Canadian slasher. It's a little clunky here and there and it's melodramatic (enjoyably so), but it's comfort food for horror fans. So be sure to heed your bartender's warnings ("beware of what you make fun of, you little asshole") and never forget "the horror from long time ago" (as chronicled in "The Ballad Of Harry Warden").
But My Bloody Valentine (1981) stands out to me because the characters are incredibly charismatic and relatable (but also very melancholic). There's no doubt that MBV follows a slasher formula and contains tropes of the genre, but here instead of teens getting hacked up we have twentysomethings (some of the actors were even close to thirty) in a small mining town. MBV doesn't delve too deeply into its backstory (and there is even a kind of hilarious thirty second flashback explaining the killer's motivation not long after their reveal). The characters don't seem to have too much motivation outside of living their daily lives, partying, and trying to get laid. But there is something that feels so comfortable about their escapades and their goofy charm (there are some really funny moments), so that when they do start to get bumped off, you genuinely feel sorry for them. Hollis and Patty's love, in particular, always gets to me.
It's humorous that the MPAA ever made a stink about this particular film because even the extra gory scenes, reinstated in the uncut version, are pretty tame, all things considered. Thankfully, Scream Factory was able to restore those scenes, from a 4K scan, so that they seamlessly match the rest of the footage. SF released the film on 4K UHD last September, but I waited until now to (re)watch it (natch) and wow, this transfer is a stunner, one of the more transformative viewing experiences on the current best home video format. (The screenshots below are iPhone captures, from the previous 2020 Blu-ray, and not indicative of the 2023 UHD.)
MBV isn't the best Canadian slasher—that honor belongs to Black Christmas (1974) (review)—but it's definitely the second best Canadian slasher. It's a little clunky here and there and it's melodramatic (enjoyably so), but it's comfort food for horror fans. So be sure to heed your bartender's warnings ("beware of what you make fun of, you little asshole") and never forget "the horror from long time ago" (as chronicled in "The Ballad Of Harry Warden").
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