My Bloody Valentine (1981) (1981)

February 15, 2023 10:12 AM

A decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.
posted by quatsch (8 comments total)

I rewatched this last night, and continue to love it! I'm a horror fan but not particularly partial to slashers, so I didn't expect much when I first saw it. But I ended up absolutely loving it, mostly thanks to all the great character moments. It might even be on par with Black Christmas in terms of the way it lets the viewer know that the characters are supposed to be real people with lives outside the 90 minute runtime, with dumb inside jokes and goofy hats and perfectly mundane aspirations that are no less important to them than the wildly grandiose aspirations blue collar characters in small towns usually have in movies like these. And it even has a plot synopsis folk ballad that plays over the end credits!
posted by quatsch at 10:24 AM on February 15, 2023

Ha! I convinced my wife to watch this with me last night as well. HBO Max has both the original and 'extended' cut (which isn't THAT extended just has longer takes on some of the kills showing more gore.) That ending song has no business being as good as it is!

Few years back when I saw it for the first time my friend and I who are horror movie buddies did sort of a double feature watching the original and the 2000's remake with the guy from Supernatural. We both agreed that original is far superior.
posted by Captain_Science at 10:44 AM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

I only saw this for the first time a few years ago, but it quickly became a slasher staple for me. There should be more blue collar horror.
posted by d_hill at 12:12 PM on February 15, 2023

The guy who played TJ was a regular at the bar in Toronto where I worked in the late 90s. I think I remember him being a Labatt Blue guy. Neither here nor there I guess.
posted by transient at 2:41 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ah, there's so many FanFare entries I now want to go back and tag with #CanCon

If you're old enough to remember renting VHS tapes from a physical location, you probably remember this box, even if you never watched the movie.
posted by bartleby at 4:18 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you're old enough to remember renting VHS tapes from a physical location, you probably remember this box

Raises hand... I also have the theatrical poster.

I love the utter Canadianess of this film! I'd argue that it is one of the truly great Canadian films of the 80s. Despite not being a documentary, it really manages to capture the tone of what it is like to live in a shitty mining town (in this case Sydney Mines, NS) in 80s Canada (speaking from experience). My grandfather was from Sydney Mines and ironically ended up in a place in Northern Ontario that was essentially a carbon copy though I don't recall any escaped mental patients. The cast is great - tho it is 80's Canadian TV icon Cynthia Dale as Patty looking so young that catches the eye. And Lori Hallier as Sarah so ubiquitous in so much Canadian shot TV. Hungarian born Canadian director George Mihalka never made a movie quite as good (tho I have a fondness for his first film, Pinball Summer) but he worked loads in TV and film, particularly in Québec, so you'd see the name in many 80s and 90s productions.

Quatsch mentions the other great classic Canadian slasher Black Christmas with an equally spectacular cast of Canadian faces and hoser vibes. I also vote for a Cancon tag and its retroactive application.
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:27 PM on February 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh the music, particularly the closing theme, is by the great Paul Zaza who worked a lot with director Bob Clark (who directed Black Christmas and the Christmas Story) and wrote music for many cult Canadian shot horror films - Prom Night, Ghostkeeper, Curtains, the Brain, Popcorn... Tho My Bloody Valentine is easily his best.
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:34 PM on February 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ask (for a CanCon tag) and ye shall receive (a CanCon tag)! I also contemplated adding some punny take on "Canadian Tax Shelter Film" (Canadian Slash Telter Film?) but clearly wasn't up to the task.
posted by quatsch at 9:07 AM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]