A My Bloody Valentine Thread

 Just so I watch it, on the 14th of February, Valentine's Day, I'll be watching the theatrical cut of "My Bloody Valentine" (1980) from the Shout Factory set release a couple years ago. I have yet to put that poster up, by the way. I need to rectify that. I finished the 2009 remake currently on HBO Max, and I do think it is a fun time, if very much opposed by the 3D gimmick it used to get folks in the theaters back then. I watched the 2D version when I went to see it. I get that they wanted to shock us with a twist and make their version different from the original My Bloody Valentine, but I just don't think it works for me, personally. 

1980 Version

My daughter had never watched this one before and was very interested as I was talking about it just yesterday. She got to see this as uncut (in the pristine Shout Factory Blu release with the best transfer it has ever had), and I described to her all the cut scenes in the butchered Paramount DVD I used to rent from Blockbuster over and over. 

God, I could remember how frustrated I was. I imagine in some vault (or maybe the footage was tossed in the furnace or in a garbage bin) is "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning", and I'm glad "My Bloody Valentine" at least had footage rescued from that tragedy.

But I was one of those slasher fans who gushed about the setting and the characters, the real blue collar, nothing-happening Valentine's Bluffs where the young miners retreat to the local juke joint to guzzle some Mooseheads. 

I really LOVE the McDermott ballad, Hallier as the young blond beauty the recently deceased Kelman and Affleck fight over is GORGEOUS, the mine is a dark, deep, dank, dangerous closing chapter as the serial killer mimicking Harry Warden targets a few who convince Hollis (mainly his beloved red-dressed Patty, nudging him along) to take them into it out of curiosity, Howard (Humphreys, a Canadian character actor often seen in a ton of stuff) as the goofball prankster "loses his head", the miner outfit remains such a classic disguise for the killer, Sheriff Newby is a strong adult presence in the film (much like a majority of the cast, very likable), and the retrieved, cleaned-up gore (the 2009 release inserted footage contrasted the rest of the film) is flawlessly inserted into the Blu Ray release by Shout Factory. 

My daughter remarked, "Man, this is such a gorefest!" I couldn't help but think, "Not in the past, but today, things are much different". The dropped suits and the killer lifting up the young lady ("Go get us some beeeers") and hooking her head on the shower pipe and the bartender getting the hook through the eye socket from the chin are such badass kills far too long kept from the screens of slasher faithful.

We really did wait a while to get this version, folks. Perhaps the character that will get on viewers' nerves is Patty, after Hollis gets the nails blasted into his head by the nailgun...she really becomes so hysterical and helplessly overemotional, Hallier's Sarah has a lot of trouble getting Patty to follow her out of the mine.

The love triangle between Sarah, TJ, and Axel might be cringe for some slasher fans, but I always thought it wasn't all that sappy. It was used to describe TJ's time away, Axel's frustration with him up and returning when his relationship with Sarah was really going well.

I do wonder how Axel was able to commit some of the murders when it looks like he was in a totally different place, but I just chalked that up to perhaps differing points of time. Still getting that outfit on and off between kills would seem to be a bit difficult!

2009 Version

The twist regarding the miner outfit killer ten years after Harry Warden went on a gruesome rampage just doesn't quite work for me. They wanted to get clever as slashers and giallo had in the past, I get that. Still, great cast. I'm a Supernatural guy, so Ackles getting this gig and Padalecki getting the Friday the 13th gig at the same time made sense.

Kerr Smith as the sheriff, Jaime King as Ackles' ex-girlfriend and Smith's wife, Atkins as the former sheriff who helped Tighe's mine manager get rid of Harry all really make up some effective casting all things considered.

Some of the 3D gore may be is a bit gimmicky, but that hospital massacre, all that bloody carnage, is epic. And the hearts ripped from chests honors the original as does the love triangle between Sarah, Tom, and Axel remains intact even as their character arcs are a bit different.

The miner outfit killer is still a rad disguise and the pickaxe is still a gnarly weapon.

Seeing Meghan Boone pre-stardom Blacklist as Smith's secret sidepiece is wild. The suspense scene at the grocery store is well done as slashers go. Smith, as always, just has such a punchable face.

The jaw flying at the screen is hilarious. Megan's mutilated corpse in the alley left behind as mockery for Axel is a nasty bit of business. Irene's naked scolding of her cheap motel lover outside the establishment had people in the theater when I went and seen this in an uproar. 

The memorable dryer scene from the original involving Mabel is upgraded with a maid's brutalized head spilling out...my daughter and I popped big-time for that. 

Look, I'm a HUGE fan of the original, and this remake is perfectly serviceable if a bit stuck with all the gimmicks other 3D films also are. The first film never had scenes specifically designed for you to fall back in your seat but look so staged in 2D. And the twist, plus how a big explosion fails to take out Harry(Tom), struggles to hold up to scrutiny.

I'm honestly surprised a sequel was never filmed.