How do I love thee, My Bloody Valentine? Let me count the ways...
I first saw MBV on cable sometime in the late 80's, and subsequently taped it, eventually wearing out the VHS tape to such an extent I eventually had to break down and buy a copy on VHS. The spooky miner Harry Warden haunted my dreams early on, when I was just starting to get into horror movies as a kid.
I remember having a closet much like the one seen near the end of the original Halloween, and the left-hand sliding door- which opened outwards, like an accordion- would never quite stay shut. I'd see all kinds of creepers hiding in there, and one of them was definitely the disgruntled miner from this slasher flick. I'd imagine he was lurking back in the shadows with his pick-axe at the ready, breathing like Darth Vader in his insectile gas mask, ready to spring if I made the mistake of drifting off to sleep and maybe have a late-night snack...
MBV was one of the more notorious slashers, in that it was chopped to pieces in the editing room by a power-mad MPAA, who were cracking down on horror movies in the wake of former Beatle John Lennon's assassination by a crazed fan in 1980 and the attack on Ronald Reagan in 1981 by a nut-case who was looking to "impress" actress Jodie Foster, after seeing her in the violent masterpiece Taxi Driver. (Little did he know she was batting for the other team, lol.)
In addition, respected movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert somewhat notoriously came down hard on the "dead teenager" movies, devoting an entire episode of their then-popular TV show Sneak Previews to bashing them, and even going so far as to encourage viewers to picket theaters showing such movies and to send letters to the actors and filmmakers behind them. (Siskel even went so far as to give out Friday the 13th actress Betsy Palmer's personal address!)
(Would you trust these two to review your movies?)
Basically, these morons were "doxing" people before there was a word for it, in other words, which is a horror movie unto itself. It's a wonder something bad didn't happen to some of these people beyond angry letters and people picketing outside theaters. These days, in this politically-charged climate, it probably would.
*Side Note: Just to give you a frame of reference, though, here are some other movies the gruesome twosome panned: Straw Dogs, An American Werewolf in London, Harold & Maude, Fight Club, Gladiator, Blue Velvet, Donnie Darko, Reservoir Dogs, Raising Arizona, The Thing, The Usual Suspects, A Clockwork Orange AND Full Metal Jacket, Dead Poets' Society, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Kick-Ass, Crash (which went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars!), the list goes on.
They didn't always agree, of course, but mind you, Ebert has room to talk having once worked for the notorious Russ Meyer as a screenwriter. Not that I don't love me some Meyer, mind you, but, if you've seen any of his movies, you get my point- they're not exactly known for their writing. As they say, those who can't- critique. (He says, ironically, as a film critic himself...)
Anyway, the point being, that these two douchebags didn't exactly help matters at the time, as to how these movies were perceived, least of all in missing the point that, more often than not, it was the WOMAN that bested the killer in the end! Ugh. Okay, rant over.
Despite the judicious editing MBV received at the hands of censors, it was still embraced by slasher movies fans as one of the absolute best examples of the oft-reviled sub-genre, and there's a reason for that: it's an exceptionally well-made little movie that boasts atmospheric cinematography, a unique locale- much of the film takes place in and around an actual functioning mine- a killer with a memorable look, and a nifty mystery twist element that not all slashers have.
As hardcore slasher fans know, this latter element was often featured in Canadian slashers in particular, which is precisely why a lot of them are held in higher regard than their American counterparts. Check out this list: Black Christmas, Prom Night, Terror Train, Happy Birthday to Me, Visiting Hours, Curtains, Funeral Home... the list goes on. (All of those are the original films, of course, not the typically inferior remakes that later followed, which should almost go without saying.)
(He gets it...😏 )
In addition, these films often featured a higher level of acting talent than their American equivalents as well. The above films feature such notable actors as Jamie Lee Curtis, John Saxon, Glenn Ford, Melissa Sue Anderson, Leslie Neilsen, Olivia Hussey, William Shatner, Michael Ironside, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, etc.
While MBV lacks a "big name," it still features a decent enough cast that feels "real" and "lived-in" in a way a lot of horror films of the period don't. This is due in part to the fact that the cast was able to hang out together for a good week, bonding and checking out the local color, giving them a good idea of what life in a mining town was really like.
Somewhat ironically, this was mostly due to the fact that, in their excitement for having been chosen as a filming location, the Sydney Mines, located in Nova Scotia, opted to "clean" up the town and even the mines, in anticipation of the film crew's arrival, necessitating the crew to have to "dirty" it back up, as it was precisely the "lived-in" feel of the location that drew them there in the first place! Go figure.
Still, all of this bonding led the film to have a decidedly authentic "working-class" vibe that helped to set it apart from the rest of the slasher pack, most of which revolved around teenagers or college students. Here, we had bona fide adults, and even a "love triangle"-style subplot that help to propel the matters at hand, and which, along with the mystery element, go a long way towards rewarding future re-watches in a way most slasher films don't.
In other words, you feel like you know these people, and are invested in their lives. In many ways, the lack of "big names" is actually a plus in this case, as it helps the viewer feel like you're watching authentic people, not actors, a fact helped immeasurably by the setting- and not just the mining town thing, either, but the uber-Canada surroundings, including the ever-present sight of Moosehead beer and obvious Canadian accents, which a lot of other Canadian horror flicks tended to try and avoid by casting American actors.
That said, there are a few notable names here, even if they aren't household ones. Police Chief Newby, played by distinguished character actor Don Francks, for instance. Francks, aka "The Iron Buffalo," was also a jazz musician, singer, peace activist, avid motorcyclist and a DJ. His massive IMDB credits include lots of TV, including ongoing stints on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and La Femme Nikita and lots of voice-over work, including Star Wars: Droids, Garbage Pail Kids (!) and various X-Men animated series.
Most recently, he was on the cult Netflix TV series Hemlock Grove. Fun fact: his daughter is Cree Summer, of the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, herself a notable voice-over artist, and his son is Rainbow Francks, of Stargate: Atlantis and The Strain fame.
Jack Van Evera, who played Happy, the grumpy bartender- who, a la "Crazy Ralph" in the first two Friday the 13th movies, warned everyone of the threat of Harry Warden- was a semi-regular in Canadian horror flicks, cropping up in Black Christmas, Plague, Stone Cold Dead, Funeral Home, The Incubus and Deadly Eyes.
Leading man Neil Affleck, who played the troubled Axel, also appeared in the Cronenberg classic Scanners, Murder by Phone (aka Bells), and the aforementioned Visiting Hours, before going into a distinguished career in animation, including directing stints on The Simpsons and Family Guy.
Leading lady Lori Hallier has worked extensively in TV, appearing in everything from The Dukes of Hazzard to Star Trek: Voyager, as well as a recurring gig on the soap Santa Barbara, and continues to work to this day. Sadly, co-lead Paul Kelman, who played TJ, didn't go onto much, save a small role in the Metal-themed horror flick Black Roses.
Likable Keith Knight, who played Hollis, the miner with the ace mustache, was in the cult classics Meatballs, Class of 1984, Of Unknown Origin, Whispers (based on the Dean Koontz novel), and a host of voice-over work in the likes of The Care Bears (he is sort of a "bear," when you think about it, lol), Barbar and the animated TV-series version of the movie Beetlejuice.
His sexy girlfriend in the movie, Patty, whose striking red dress did indeed ensure that she did not get out of there alive, was played by Cynthia Dale, who was also featured in the aerobic dance-centric Heavenly Bodies and the Nicholas Cage vehicles The Boy in Blue and Moonstruck, as well as the TV series Street Legal.
The still-lovely Helene Udy, who played Sylvia, and had one of the most memorable slasher movie deaths ever- she was the one planted on the shower-head, who had blood running out of her mouth like a faucet- was also in director George Mihalka's debut feature Pick-Up Summer, and appeared in the creepy The Incubus (alongside indie film darling John Cassavetes), Cronenberg's adaption of Stephen King's The Dead Zone, the underrated Pin and in Amityville: The Evil Never Dies, but is probably best-known for an ongoing supporting role on the long-running Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
Alf Humphreys, who played practical joker Howard, has worked steadily to this day, in everything from Funeral Home to Stallone's First Blood (aka the first "Rambo" movie) to the Jackie Chan flick Rumble in the Bronx to multiple episodes of The X-Files. More recently, he cropped up in Final Destination 2, X-Men 2, The Uninvited and the ongoing Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.
As for director George Mihalka, he has continued to work steadily in the industry, particularly in TV. Some of his more notable credits include the genre flicks Eternal Evil, the Zach Galligan/Catherine Mary Stewart flick The Psychic, and episodes of the TV shows Da Vinci's Inquest and Lost Girl.
Writer Stephen A. Miller, who came up with the story, continued to write, mostly for TV, segueing into producing as well, including 80's faves Simon & Simon, Airwolf and Magnum P.I. He seems to have retired as of the end of the 90's, however.
Actual screenwriter John Beaird, sadly seems to have drifted out of the industry altogether in the mid-80's, after doing some uncredited work on Happy Birthday to Me and writing the backwoods slasher Baker County USA, aka Trapped in 1982.
The producers, John Dunning and Andre Link, however, fared quite well in the industry, working on the likes of Cronenberg's Shivers and Rabid, Meatballs, Happy Birthday to Me and, more recently, the excellent Buffalo '66. Though they laid low after the late 90's, they did make a comeback of sorts with the remake of My Bloody Valentine in 2009, which was a cut above most slasher remakes.
Around that same time, longtime fans were delighted upon the re-release of the film on DVD, which finally saw the uncut version surface for the first time. While the non-color-corrected footage did stick out like a sore thumb, it was great seeing the long-buzzed about special effects footage which had previously only been glimpsed in the horror mag Fangoria.
This was, however, somewhat rectified with the Blu-Ray release, which vastly improved the quality of the inserted footage, or as much as one could expect for footage that sat in a bin for over twenty years, that is.
Finally, there's the memorable score by composer Paul Saza, another Canadian horror regular, who provided the soundtrack for everything from Bob Clark's excellent Sherlock Holmes-meets-Jack the Ripper flick Murder by Decree (to say nothing of Clark's decidedly different teensploitation flick Porky's) to the likes of Ghostkeeper, Prom Night (as well as its subsequent sequels) Curtains, American Nightmare (ironically, also filmed in Canada!), Popcorn, The Dark, The Club and Misbegotten.
Saza drafted the Scottish/Canadian folk singer and celebrated tenor John McDermott to sing the classic song heard over the closing credits, "The Ballad of Harry Warden," which Saza composed and recorded in a matter of days. One of my favorite horror movie tropes is the theme song written explicitly for the movie at hand, and this is easily one of the best and most memorable.
A soundtrack was eventually released on (blood-red) vinyl by Waxwork Records, in a beautifully-done package well-worth owning, even at the $28.00 price tag. It features liner notes by Saza and the director, and over an hour's worth of material, including other songs heard in the movie, some by country singers Lee Bach and Marie Botrell, which are also available on her album "The Star." You can pick it up here, though if you just want to hear it separate from the movie, it's readily available for streaming on YouTube.
Well, that about wraps it up. As must be obvious by now, this is easily one of my fave slasher movies- writer/director Quentin Tarantino is also a big fan, reportedly, and one of my favorite bands named themselves after it, allegedly, so I'm not alone there- and I watch it almost every year, right around- what else? - Valentine's Day.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed my deep-dive into the movie, and, naturally, I couldn't part ways, dear readers, without asking you one last question: Won't you be my bloody valentine?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
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