My Bloody Valentine (1981)

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A man named T.J. Hanniger (played by Paul Kelman) returns to his hometown following a failed attempt to strike out on his own. He attempts to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend, Sarah (played by Lori Hallier) and his former best friend Axel (played by Neil Affleck). This leads to a love triangle between the three. The town has a dark history of its own. You see, ten years prior there was a mining accident on Valentine's Day. Several miners were trapped. One of them-Harry Warden-ate his fellow miners purely to survive. He would eventually snap and kill people before seemingly being put down. Upon his apparent death, he left a warning that he would return should the town choose to celebrate Valentine's Day again. Naturally (because this is a slasher film) the young people decide that it's time to put on a Valentine's party again. A killer in a mining outfit begins to rack up a body count, but we're never completely sure who exactly the killer is. It could be Harry Warden himself. It could also be a copycat. The acting is actually pretty solid (which doesn't often feel like something easily said about slasher films). The practical effects are incredible-and the aspect I find to be superior to the remake. As much as I honestly do enjoy this film, I do have some problems with it. Firstly, I didn't really care about the love triangle (and it's one of the things the film kind of hinges on). The other issue I really had with this movie is that I personally feel that the whodunit aspect could have been a bit stronger. I felt like occasionally, you'd get something with the police trying to investigate. The problem is, it never really feels like it has any effect on the overall story. To be fair, neither one of these is done badly. I just don't think they were done as strongly as they could have been. I have gone on record to say that I believe the remake of My Bloody Valentine actually is the better film, and I still stand by that. However, I do have to say that the original is still a solid film that was made at exactly the right time it could have been made. 

6 / 10