My Bloody Valentine (2009)

Director:

Patrick Lussier

Writers (WGA):

Todd Farmer (screenplay) and
Zane Smith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

On January 16, Get Your Heart Broken.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Mine | Valentine | Valentine's Day | Coma | Miner

Cast

Jensen Ackles	...	Tom Hanniger
Jaime King	...	Sarah Palmer
Kerr Smith	...	Axel Palmer
Betsy Rue	...	Irene
Edi Gathegi	...	Deputy Martin
Tom Atkins	...	Sheriff Jim Burke
Kevin Tighe	...	Ben Foley
Megan Boone	...	Megan
Karen Baum	...	Deputy Ferris
Joy de la Paz	...	Rosa
Marc Macaulay	...	Riggs
Todd Farmer	...	Frank the Trucker
Jeff Hochendoner	...	Red
Bingo O'Malley	...	Officer Hinch
Liam Rhodes	...	Michael

Also Known As:

My Bloody Valentine 3-D (UK) (promotional title) (USA) (promotional title)
My Bloody Valentine 3D (UK) (poster title) (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic brutal horror violence and grisly images throughout, some strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44787) | Ireland:16 | UK:18 | Japan:R-15 | Hong Kong:III | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | South Africa:18LNPS | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-18 | Italy:VM14 | Belgium:KNT | Sweden:15 | Norway:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 (nf) | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Peru:18 | France:-12 | Austria:16

Filming Locations:

Bethel, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

The screenwriter, Todd Farmer, also appears in the film playing the role of Frank the trucker.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the two girls are running through the grocery store, a man wearing jeans and a denim shirt is standing behind the picket fence area in the upper left corner of the screen near the front doors.

Quotes:

Michael: Jason, is that you?

Movie Connections:

References Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Soundtrack:

Trade

About what you expect, and that's not all bad!

This is a remake of a Canadian horror film that I grew up with and is still very dear to me. Even though I don't think they make great horror films these days, the 3D gimmick was too much to pass up. And it's nice to see that the original motivated someone to try and remake it. That said, this film is nothing extraordinary, but worth it if you have some time to kill. And be prepared to pay extra since this is a 3D film. They charged me an extra two bucks for the glasses. It isn't often you pay $9.50 for a movie at 3 in the afternoon, but what the hell.

The film is faithful to the original in a few ways. Using many of the same names and the mining community for the setting. The story centers around the aftermath of a violent rampage by a coal miner ten years earlier. And a spate of grisly new killings that coincide with the arrival of a young man who left town at the time the original murders took place. Is it just a coincidence, or is the young man picking up where the murderous miner left off? This time around, the script has a lot more going on than in the original. Sometimes a bit too much, but the action is spread out to more locations than just the creepy old mine. There is a very strong amount of gore that the original sorely lacked (thank you Paramount). You will see people mangled in just about every way you can kill someone with a pick ax. This film even recycles the dead body in the dryer shot from the original, too. It seems like they made a point to be much more graphic for the fans who had always complained about too much gore cut out from the 1981 version. And the 3D was a nice treat. It looked very good, even from the rear of the theater where I was seated. And a man in full mining gear is still a very scary sight.

I expected problems with the script, and I was correct to do so. Much of the dialog is very weak, and it seems like they used a test audience to pick the actual killer since it really could have been either of two people. Some of the acting was more than passable, and it was good to see Tom Atkins working again. The locations above ground were more lush and not as economically depressed as they looked in the original. And this kind of hurts when it comes to creating a spooky atmosphere. There are a couple moments during fight scenes where the actions of characters produced groans from the audience due to stupidity, and I really doubt the county sheriff of such a supposedly impoverished area could afford such a nice home and a housekeeper. I guess the film was still as good as I thought it could be, and I'm not a worse person for having seen it. 6 of 10 stars.

The Hound.