Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
101 mins
Hugely enjoyable, smartly directed slasher flick with decent performances, intriguingly flawed characters and the best 3D horror effects since the heyday of the 1950s.
What's it all about?
Part remake, part sequel to a 1981 slasher movie, My Bloody Valentine
(3D) stars Jensen Ackles as Tom Hanniger, who returns to the smalltown mining community of Harmony, ten years after a pickaxe-wielding, gasmask-wearing miner named Harry Warden slaughtered 22 people before disappearing. However, Tom's reappearance coincides with a new wave of pickaxe-related murders - is Warden back to finish what he started?
Meanwhile, Tom has other problems to deal with, such as the fact that the love of his life (Jaime King as Sarah) is now married to his best friend (Kerr Smith as Axel), who, in turn, is having a secret affair with perky twentysomething Megan (Megan Boone).
The Good
The performances are excellent (there are even a couple of original cast members thrown in for genre fans) and the script takes an intriguing approach to the characters – everyone is flawed in some way or another, so you have no idea who's going to survive, which keeps the atmosphere constantly tense. In addition, director Patrick Lussier orchestrates some terrific sequences, such as a fraught chase scene in a darkened supermarket.
Lussier also has a good eye for genre movie thrills, as evidenced by a liberal use of gore, several inventive death sequences and an audacious scene involving a naked, gun-wielding and very pissed off blonde (Betsy Rue).
The Great
However, what really makes the film are the 3D horror effects, which are an absolute treat throughout. The filmmakers have thrown every 3D trick in the book at the screen, with glorious results. Consequently, we get objects being thrown at the screen, blood spurting up towards the audience, mirrors being punched and shattered and several brilliant POV shots (it helps that the pickaxe is unquestionably the perfect 3D weapon).
Please note, though, that this is not playing in 3D in every cinema, so confirm with your local cinema beforehand. It won't be anywhere near as good without the 3D effects.
Worth seeing?
My Bloody Valentine (3D) is a hugely enjoyably Friday night horror flick that's worth seeing for the 3D effects alone. Highly recommended.