My Bloody Valentine

3D

 

Lionsgate 2009. Written by Todd Farmer and Zane Smith. Based on a screenplay by John Beaird and a story by Stephen Miller. Directed by Patrick Lussier. Starring Jensen Ackles, Jamie King, Kerr Smith, Betsy Rue and Tom Atkins

    By Stephen Pytak 
   The best of the slasher remakes to date, this "My Bloody Valentine" 
is like a doctorate thesis on what a good slasher film should be.
It pays homage to the original, delivers some inventive kills, isn't afraid to some some skin and, in some theaters, delivered the thrills in amazing 3-D.
This is the best 3-D horror film I've seen. It's as if the makers of this film looked at every 3-D horror film that came before, studied what those films got right and pushed the envelope further.
Prior to this, my favorite 3-D horror film was "Friday the 13th Part III in 3-D." I hosted a screening of that flick in Pottsville, Pa. back in October 2002. It packed the house. Fun experience.
Anyway, while "Friday III" had some neat effects, there were times the filmmakers were simply winking at the audience. Remember the scene where "Harold (Steve Susskind)" pushes a pole toward the camera (and out of the screen). Interesting shot, but it was obviously done just because the flick was in 3-D.
The effects that fly in your face with the new "Valentine" involve you more in the movie, the action and the story. At the top of the show, we're given the backstory on the "Harry Morgan" character with a flurry of newspaper headlines. In no time, the audience is actually immersed in the story. It's surrounding us. While "Friday III" had a few memorable effects, including the eyeball poping scene, "Valentine" does its best to top it. It's got its own eyeball pop. It happens in the film's first 15 minutes. And the killer menaces the audience again and again with his pick axe. Fun stuff. I also liked how the shaft of light from the killer's helmet permeated the screen. I was like "wow!" I never saw a shaft of light head toward me in 3-D.
If you go, make sure to stay until after the credits. There's a bit more 3-D mayhem tagged onto the end.
The film won't play too badly as a regular 2-D feature either. It's got an O.K. story and keeps the killer miner in the action throughout the film. So there's lots to enjoy.
What follows are a bunch of spoilers. So if you want to be surprised, stop reading. O.K. I warned you.
The plot of the film isn't anything new. It's a cool riff on the original "My Bloody Valentine," with a dose of "Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning," "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives" and "High Tension" thrown in. Some critics said it feels like something cool they pulled out of their DVD collections. And that's about right.
It's a formula slasher flick, and doesn't try to be anything else. It's as if the director embraced the concept and went for it.
There are GREAT kill scenes. My favorite is kind of a homage to a kill in "The Toolbox Murders (1977)," in which the killer chases a completely nude woman (Kelly Nichols I believe). In the new "Valentine" we have a scene like that, where the killer chasing a woman wearing only a pair of high heels, "Irene (Betsy Rue)." It's fantastic, fun and unexpected. These days with so much PG-13 horror crap, you don't expect to see something like that, and IN 3-D! Wow!
The only pet peeve I had -- and maybe it would have been overkill (pun intended) if they did it -- is the killer in this "Valentine" isn't a poet. The one in the original left little notes in his bloody heart boxes. It's kind of fun to hear those things.
Then again, the killer in this flick isn't trying to stop the town from holding a Valentine's Day dance or anything like that. Seems his motivation is simply Valentine's Day mayhem.
So who's the killer?
I'll give you a hint: it's the character who most resembles the Tommy Jarvis character from "Friday the 13th" parts V and VI.
By the way, I thought it was cool the film was shot in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, since I'm from Pa.
RATING OF FILM IN 2-D: Four stars (out of five)
RATING OF FILM IN 3-D: Five stars (out of five)
Copyright 2008 By Stephen Pytak