On Valentine’s Day 20 years before, an explosion of methane gas took the lives of a group of coal miners working in the Hanniger mine near the small Nova Scotia town of Valentine Bluffs.

The accident occurred because supervisors left their posts to attend the annual Valentine’s Day dance. A year afterward, Harry Warden, the only survivor of the accident- retaliated by killing the two supervisors, and leaving a terrifying warning never to hold another Valentine’s Day dance.

My Bloody Valentine from 1981 is a cult classic horror slasher about an infamous killer miner who died doing what he loved and supposedly terrorizes the town that he worked in to this very day on every Valentine’s day. The film stars Neil Affleck, Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Alf Humphreys, Cynthia Dale, and many more. 

The style matches up pretty well with most classic ‘’80s slasher films like Friday the 13th, or A Nightmare On Elm Street. The camera shots are grainy, but sharp. The acting is not the most polished, but that is to be expected of the time period this movie was shot in. The makeup and practical effects look authentic and realistic from a distance. Up close is where some of the imperfections and blemishes begin to shine. 

The evil villain, Harry Warden, feels very threatening and menacing throughout the whole movie in general. The added breathing for some of the point-of-view shots of Harry Warden are a nice touch and are similar to the sounds of Jason Voorhees. Some of the flaws in this movie show up in the 40 to 60 minute mark. Granted, I think the dark and damp coal mine with a killer coal miner is a well-executed concept, the pacing feels like it has slowed down to a crawl. The kills do not seem to have as much of an impact as in the beginning of the film

Overall, I had my doubts at first, but over the course of the movie, I have grown quite a liking to it. It fits the cheesy “80s slasher category pretty well. The characters feel awkward and silly at times, which is to be expected. Some frightening scenes turned out to be pretty comedic. In conclusion, My Bloody Valentine is a perfect slasher to watch especially on Valentine’s Day.