31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Movie 5 | My Bloody Valentine (1981)
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Twenty-one years ago, on Valentine's Day, disaster struck the Hannigar Mine in Valentine Bluffs, trapping five men below the surface. Harry Warden, the sole survivor, driven mad by the experience, was committed for a year only to return and take his revenge on those responsible, leaving a warning for the town never to celebrate Valentine's Day again or the same would happen again. But now the tragedy of twenty years ago is just a distant legend, and the town is planning to celebrate again...
The original My Bloody Valentine was filmed in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, though the location of Valentine Bluffs is never specified as such and in fact the facility where Harry is committed is referred to as a state, not provincial, facility. But apart from that, it's really really obvious that that's where it is. If the geography, the look of the town, and the old Nova Scotia licence plates don't give it away, the Moosehead beer cases and giant neon Moosehead sign in the bar will.
Oh, and of course, because it takes place in the Maritimes, there's one character who went out West and got nostalgica/couldn't hack it/found himself longing for the tiny mining/fishing/farming town and came back home and gets hassled for having left in the first place. (I'm not convinced Canadian filmmakers know how to make a movie set here without this character. Don't bother looking at the Can-Lit, it's just as bad.)
If you've only seen the remake, it diverges from the original at some key points. You can tell they were trying to break free of the standard 80s slasher formula and to place more importance on the character played by Jensen Ackles. The original has more of an ensemble cast, and the love triangle isn't quite as in-your-face. The characters are also more likeable than most modern horror characters - which I think I mentioned in the entry for The Fly as well.This makes the murders more effective, since you have a connection with the character instead of just waiting for this jerk to get it in an unlikely and gory way.
On a side note, I have actually been down in a Cape Breton mine. The Cape Breton Miner's Museum in Glace Bay does tours, usually when they have enough interest but you can also book them in advance. (You have to wear a hardhat and large plastic ponchos to go down - inactive or not, it's still a coal mine.) I even did the optional part of the tour where you have to lie on your stomach and shimmy through a tiny tunnel to get to another area - something to do with ventilation, I think? - then shimmy back. It's definitely not for the claustrophobic but it is among the most interesting places I've been.
Twenty-one years ago, on Valentine's Day, disaster struck the Hannigar Mine in Valentine Bluffs, trapping five men below the surface. Harry Warden, the sole survivor, driven mad by the experience, was committed for a year only to return and take his revenge on those responsible, leaving a warning for the town never to celebrate Valentine's Day again or the same would happen again. But now the tragedy of twenty years ago is just a distant legend, and the town is planning to celebrate again...
The original My Bloody Valentine was filmed in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, though the location of Valentine Bluffs is never specified as such and in fact the facility where Harry is committed is referred to as a state, not provincial, facility. But apart from that, it's really really obvious that that's where it is. If the geography, the look of the town, and the old Nova Scotia licence plates don't give it away, the Moosehead beer cases and giant neon Moosehead sign in the bar will.
Oh, and of course, because it takes place in the Maritimes, there's one character who went out West and got nostalgica/couldn't hack it/found himself longing for the tiny mining/fishing/farming town and came back home and gets hassled for having left in the first place. (I'm not convinced Canadian filmmakers know how to make a movie set here without this character. Don't bother looking at the Can-Lit, it's just as bad.)
If you've only seen the remake, it diverges from the original at some key points. You can tell they were trying to break free of the standard 80s slasher formula and to place more importance on the character played by Jensen Ackles. The original has more of an ensemble cast, and the love triangle isn't quite as in-your-face. The characters are also more likeable than most modern horror characters - which I think I mentioned in the entry for The Fly as well.This makes the murders more effective, since you have a connection with the character instead of just waiting for this jerk to get it in an unlikely and gory way.
On a side note, I have actually been down in a Cape Breton mine. The Cape Breton Miner's Museum in Glace Bay does tours, usually when they have enough interest but you can also book them in advance. (You have to wear a hardhat and large plastic ponchos to go down - inactive or not, it's still a coal mine.) I even did the optional part of the tour where you have to lie on your stomach and shimmy through a tiny tunnel to get to another area - something to do with ventilation, I think? - then shimmy back. It's definitely not for the claustrophobic but it is among the most interesting places I've been.