Sangriento San Valentín 3D

My Bloody Valentine 3d is a remake from an old Canadian horror film. It's also a throwback to the maniac serial killer/slasher genre from the seventies/eighties but with some modern touches. First of all, I'm not sure it would have been made and released without the 3d gimmick. I watched it home with standard 3d glasses and the 3d effects were fairly good especially the fences and pickaxes. The only problem of course being that the colors are not as nice as the 2d version also available on the DVD/Blu-Ray. With that out of the way, it's a pretty standard slasher, with a deranged miner with costume and gas mask as the protagonist, but it starts the carnage very quickly without much of a buildup except for some kind of story recap background as if it was a direct sequel (it's not). After a few slaughters, it's 10 years later. That was pretty bold and cool. As you might expect, killings start happening again after an old survivor from the first incident comes back to town.

It's never really scary because things happen so fast and because a guy in a miner suit just isn't that horrifying. The appeal comes from the surprise apparitions of the killer, the attempts at escaping and the original gruesome dispatches by the maniac miner mostly with his pick axe and shovel. I suppose it also comes from a very long sequence of a young woman in full-frontal nudity trying to escape the killer. As a side note, most of the story doesn't take place in mines nor is the movie claustrophobic. I enjoyed the mystery of who the maniac guy behind the mask was as it was well presented with a few false leads and likely suspects being offed gradually. However, no clear motivation was offered for the maniac. The ending with the trio (not telling who) was also strong and dramatic. The acting was OK in a TV-quality kind of way, mostly sober although some of the old guys seemed a bit weak. I think the directing was modern and dynamic with good cuts, in more ways than one ;-) So this film is a little above average in the retro slasher genre. It would make a good rental especially with 3d glasses and a few friends.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Bloody Valentine 3-D (2009)

*** (out of 4)

Remake of the 1981 slasher has a maniac minor killing twenty-two people but ten years later more bodies start to pile up. Is it a copycat killer or has the original come back for more revenge? I'll start off by saying that I'm not a big fan of the original and I'll go even further by saying this one here, story wise, isn't that good. It's more like a two-and-a-half star movie thanks to its throwback to the 80's slashers but the 3-D effects are what really makes it worth seeing. The story has some logical issues to say the least and this includes the identity of the killer, which is pretty impossible considering what you've seen throughout the film. With that said, the movie certainly goes all out in terms of violence and gore. I was pleasantly shocked at how gory this thing was as we get all sorts of graphic killings ranging from picks through the eyes, necks, heads, decapitations and much much more. The red stuff is constantly flowing so I'm sure gore hands are going to be very happy. The film also goes back a few decades in terms of nudity because there's some full frontal female nudity, which we haven't seen in a horror film in a very long time. It seems a lot of slashers today play it safe but that's certainly not the case here. The film goes all out and that includes the 3-D effects. The "Real3D" process is certainly the greatest I've seen and I'm sure others will be very impressed. There are a couple classic scenes with various objects floating at you with one of the best early on when the killer throws his weapon towards the camera. Thankfully the director knew these effects would be the main draw here and he constantly keeps the stuff coming at the screen. Unlike many 3-D movies there's nothing here done for comic relief as the film uses the effects to show off the gore and violence. We get some smaller stuff like one character spitting at the camera but for the most part it's murder and mayhem. The performances are what you'd expect from a film like this but it was great fun seeing Tom Atkins in the cast. Many horror buffs will know him from films like Halloween 3 but it's nice to see him here. In the end, the film certainly doesn't stand out as a classic but you know what to expect when you walk into this. The movie isn't a total success but there are certain things horror and 3-D fans want and this film delivers them.

In the mining town of Harmony, there is an accident caused by the son of the owner Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles) during a drilling, and the mine collapses burying six miners alive. The rescue team finds only Harry Warden alive but in coma and the other miners murdered punched by his pickax, and they conclude that Harry killed them to save oxygen for himself. On the Valentine's Day, Harry awakes from the coma in the local hospital, and he kills twenty-two persons, including a group of teenagers that are partying in the mine. Harry is killed by the deputy but the only survivors are Tom Hanniger, his girlfriend Sarah (Jaime King), their friend Axel Palmer (Kerr Smith) and another girl. Ten years later, Tom returns to Harmony after the death of his father decided to sell the Hanniger Mine, and finds that Sarah has married Axel, now the local sheriff, and they have a son. On the Valentine's Day, Harry Warden also returns seeking revenge against those that had escaped from his pickax in the past, and Tom is accused by Axel and other locals.

The slasher "My Bloody Valentine" is an entertaining collection of clichés that keeps tension until the last scene despite being predictable. The greatest attraction of this forgettable feature seems to be the effects of 3D in movie theaters. I have watched at home on DVD and I had lots of fun with the silly and manipulative plot. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Dia dos Namorados Macabro" ("Macabre Valentine's Day")

An interesting new take on the classic 80's slasher, My Bloody Valentine 3D isn't quite as charming or atmospheric as the original, but it does prove to be a decently enjoyable little horror flick. As someone who recently watched the original and was a fan of it, I think this was a solid enough remake. It has its duller moments here and there, and the characters are not particularly interesting for the most part- but it does have some fun gruesome kills and it's fun to see where the mystery takes us. The plot twist in this film is done far better than in the original, and I was rather delighted with it- as the true highlight of the film. It doesn't have the same sort of atmosphere or charm the original had, and feels a bit formulaic at times, but it does serve some similar key elements which are interesting to watch nevertheless. The costume of the miner is really well done, and I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning and end of this film. It may not be perfect, but in the end, My Bloody Valentine 3D is a solid horror efort. It may not stand on as well as the original, but it does prove to be a solidly fun horror mystery with plenty of gore and surprises to satisfy fans.

My Rating: 6.9/10.

Pretty run of the mill slasher film but one thing it really has going for it that a lot of horror movies don't is that its not as predictable as you might expect it to be and I feel like that kind of plays a big part in why I personally enjoyed it. Cool but cheesy 3D effects, interesting plot. However I will admit one thing I feel like might be a deal breaker for some people is that if you don't like supernatural and have seen the show before, this movie might not be for you. Jensen's character acts a lot like Dean and the whole movie's plot is basically a giant supernatural episode, which if you're like me and like the show you'll definitely like the movie but if you don't this movie might be a turn off.