#375. Slasherporn blood and gore

Jamie King being chased by the killer in My Bloody Valentine.
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MY BLOODY VALENTINE
Directed by Patrick Lussier
Starring: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Betsy Rue, Tom Atkins, Kevin Tighe

IF the title sounds curiously familiar to you, it is because My Bloody Valentine was a B-grade horror shown in the early ’80s. Those were the days of the so-called slasherpix, the likes of Friday The 13, Nightmare On Elm Street and Halloween.The 1981 My Bloody Valentine was so shamelessly exploitative and gory that a lot of its scenes were censored.Still, it became a cult hit on the videotape rental circuit for diehard horror fans. Now, what is the reason for this remake of a movie that had so much gratuitous violence?Answer: So that viewers can see body parts and blood splatter in glorious state-of-the-art 3D!

Yes, this movie is actually titled My Bloody Valentine 3D to differentiate it from the ’80s Canadian production.However, since this remake will not be shown in 3D in Malaysia, the 3D suffix has been dropped.Local viewers won’t get the sensation of blood and pieces of flesh flying at their face but even in 2D, it is revolting enough.The action revolves around a small American town called Harmony where an accident at its coal-mine 10 years ago left five men dead and one survivor in a coma.When the patient,Harry Warden (Rich Walters), woke up on Valentine’s Day a year later, he was believed to have gone on a killing spree, chopping up 22 people at the hospital.

Tunnel 5 of the mine had been closed ever since but that did not stop a bunch of teenagers from going there for a booze and sex party. And of course, even before they could consume the first beer, a gas-masked guy with a pickaxe starts attacking them.

Three managed to escape. They were Sarah (Jamie King), Axel (Kerr Smith) and Tom (Jensen Ackles of TV’s Supernatural).

Ten years later, we find Tom returning to Harmony to sell the mine. This upsets the townsfolks, including Axel, who is now the town sheriff.

To complicate things, the two-timing Axel is married to Sarah, an old flame of Tom. This love triangle forms the basis of the whodunit, keeping us guessing who the real killer is...

My Bloody Valentine is nothing more than “slasherporn” where director Patrick Lussier sets up mindless killing sequences and sex scenes (which are censored here) every few minutes or so.

Cult horror fans may like the extremely graphic scenes of heads being cut in two with a shovel, eyes popping out after the head is struck by a pick-axe, etc.

There is a particularly tense chase in a grocery store where Sarah and her assistant are being pursued by the killer.

However, this is a rare gem as most of the movie’s plot devices defy logic and common sense.

Sure, credulity is not a strong point in slasherporn but screenwriters Todd Farmer and Zane Smith seem to have done nothing to improve on the original story by Stephen Miller.

The cast of nubiles and veterans generally manage to earn their keep, considering the undemanding script. However, it is nice to see horror film regular Tom Atkins back in action after such a long time.

Behind the cameras, Lussier has worked frequently with Wes Craven on the latter’s horror efforts but here he seems intent on only delivering blood and gore and to poke fun at the romantic gestures of Valentine’s Day.

Source : The New Straits Times