My Bloody Valentine (2009)

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

Director/Writer(s): Patrick Lussier (director), Todd Farmer (screenplay), Zane Smith (screenplay), John Beaird (1981 screenplay) and Stephen Miller (1981 story).

Cast: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Betsy Rue, Edi Gathegi, Tom Atkins, Kevin Tighe, Megan Boone, Karen Baum, Joy de la Paz...Genre: Crime Horror Mystery Thriller

Plot Outline: 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, however, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders, and it seems like his old flame is the only one will believes he's innocent.Certification: USA:R (for graphic brutal horror violence and grisly images throughout, some strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language.)

Size: 700 MB Megaupload: hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=SPZWKIRR

Well here we go. My first review on here for quite a while, and I choose a remake of one of the best 80's slashers around. The remade My Bloody Valentine.

A while back I saw and commented on the original My Bloody Valentine from the early 1980's. I am going to try and not compare the two as it always comes off worse for the remake, in most cases. (There are a couple of comparisons I will note after though).

So not comparing to the masterwork from the 80's, is this a good film? Yes it is, for a slasher film of this decade. While it is structured as a whodunnit, it is structured quite logically, and when the killer is revealed, it is believable and has a rational reason for the killing spree. Rational for a slasher fim at least. My Bloody Valentine was originally shot in 3D, and runs the risk of having some stupid looking shots when viewed in 2D. Friday the 13th Part 3 and Freddy's Dead:The Final Nightmare fall guilty of this. A pole or something shoved directly into camera so we can all marvel at 3D can look pretty stupid without the visual effect. The shots in My Bloody Valentine designed to give a shock 3D effect don't come off as too bad in 2D. (Obvious yes, but not out of place)

So what do you get when you view My Bloody Valentine? A good smattering of Blood, nudity, mystery, Blood, gratuitous violence and blood. This is a particularly bloody film with a few head meets pickaxe scenes. For those wanting no more than a gore fest, this is the film for you.

There is a downside though. For me at least, none of the cast, with the exception of Tom Atkins, appealed to me. It was a bit like, "sit through ten minutes of tedious acting until the next axe attack" . I know a lot of the films I enjoy have worse acting than My Bloody Valentine but they are still likable in some way. The cast of this film didn't do it for me. And that's a shame, because it is well constructed in other ways.

OK the comparison points. Harry Warden, the mad miner, in the original had that cool little origin of being driven mad after being trapped in a cave in in the mine for 6 days. Add a bit of cannibalism and there's a nice little origin for a villain. In the remake, Harry is a cold blooded killer for no real reason. However the rationale for the films killer is much much better in the remake than the original.

My Bloody Valentine is a hard one for me to classify. I am still not sure if I like it or not. I doubt I will watch it again any time soon, but it is well written and graphicly violent enough for a slasher, so I'll give it hmmmm. 3 and a half Darios, only let down from the acting.