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.
Looking for a movie the entire family can enjoy? Check out our picks for family friendly movies movies that transcend all ages. For even more, visit our Family Entertainment Guide.
Valentine's Day is coming around and the young people of the small mining town of Valentine's BLuffs are organising a party. A few decades earlier an explosion at the mine trapped six miners underground. One, Harry Warden, survived, though in a deranged state. Warden is sent to a mental hospital but escapes and murders those he deems responsible for the mine accident. Now people are being brutally murdered again, and the townsfolk suspect that it is the work of Harry Warden.Written by
grantss
The caption near the beginning states "Thursday February 12th", indicating that the dance will be on Saturday the 14th. That means Friday the 13th falls in between them. The Friday the 13th (1980) series was released by Paramount and the plot of My Bloody Valentine (1981) is similar to the Friday the 13th (1980) films. See more »
Goofs
When the film cuts to an outside shot of Mable's Laundromat, the graphic reads "Saturday, February 14th". The film is set in 1980, in which February 14th was actually a Thursday. See more »
Quotes
Happy:
Beware of having a party at all on Saturday night! You may not live to see daylight!
Howard Landers:
[jumps out and makes a fart sound]
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the beginning of the rolling credits, you will hear the evil-doer miner (Harry Warden) laugh. See more »
Alternate Versions
An unrated region 1 DVD was finally released in January 2009 by Lionsgate/Paramount. The DVD gives viewers the option to watch the R-rated version of the movie or with the original violent scenes spliced back into the film. Despite this, three scenes play in their unrated form regardless of which version is being watched: the flashbacks of Axel's father's death, and Harry Warden with the arm. See more »
Twenty years ago, Harry Warden went nuts and slaughtered a bunch of people on Valentine's Day. The mining town he hailed from canceled subsequent V-Day dances, but when they try setting one up again, Warden seemingly returns with his pickax, ready to hack the local kids up and leave his mark. Things can only go bad from here.
Director George Mihalka brings us another holiday-themed slasher, riding the success of "Black Christmas", "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th"... and paving the way for "April Fools Day". But George is a nice guy and I don't want to say he's just one among the crowd. There were hundreds of 80s slashers, but only a few stand out today. "Bloody Valentine" is, of course, one of them.
Even in its original, neutered glory (anywhere from three to nine minutes were cut) the film stands as a good film. Without any really notable actors or actresses (okay, so Neil Affleck had a brief role in "Scanners"), and being Mihalka's one big mark, the film carries itself on story, acting and blood. The blood, while lacking a times, comes gushing through in others. And like any good slasher, the killer's identity is not revealed until the end... leaving us guessing until the last twist of the knife (or ax).
Slasher fans need to pick up the Lions Gate special edition. While the double-disc with "April Fools Day" is cheap and still worth watching, you don't really know this film until you've seen it uncut. The gore, oh my, the gore! It's actually a shame that it took so long for a company to come along and save this film because it was even better than we once assumed... Mihalka could have been one of the 80s greats (and, in my mind, he still is).
If you've been a horror fan and avoided this one, please see it. Sure, it's mostly mindless fun -- kids drinking and making out, getting hacked up -- but I can watch variations of this formula dozens, scores or hundreds of times. There's something fun about a simple stalking film that you can't always get from other films that try too hard to be clever. And I like thinking films, but a night with buddies and booze... you need a slasher. And this is the one you should pick.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Twenty years ago, Harry Warden went nuts and slaughtered a bunch of people on Valentine's Day. The mining town he hailed from canceled subsequent V-Day dances, but when they try setting one up again, Warden seemingly returns with his pickax, ready to hack the local kids up and leave his mark. Things can only go bad from here.
Director George Mihalka brings us another holiday-themed slasher, riding the success of "Black Christmas", "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th"... and paving the way for "April Fools Day". But George is a nice guy and I don't want to say he's just one among the crowd. There were hundreds of 80s slashers, but only a few stand out today. "Bloody Valentine" is, of course, one of them.
Even in its original, neutered glory (anywhere from three to nine minutes were cut) the film stands as a good film. Without any really notable actors or actresses (okay, so Neil Affleck had a brief role in "Scanners"), and being Mihalka's one big mark, the film carries itself on story, acting and blood. The blood, while lacking a times, comes gushing through in others. And like any good slasher, the killer's identity is not revealed until the end... leaving us guessing until the last twist of the knife (or ax).
Slasher fans need to pick up the Lions Gate special edition. While the double-disc with "April Fools Day" is cheap and still worth watching, you don't really know this film until you've seen it uncut. The gore, oh my, the gore! It's actually a shame that it took so long for a company to come along and save this film because it was even better than we once assumed... Mihalka could have been one of the 80s greats (and, in my mind, he still is).
If you've been a horror fan and avoided this one, please see it. Sure, it's mostly mindless fun -- kids drinking and making out, getting hacked up -- but I can watch variations of this formula dozens, scores or hundreds of times. There's something fun about a simple stalking film that you can't always get from other films that try too hard to be clever. And I like thinking films, but a night with buddies and booze... you need a slasher. And this is the one you should pick.