Starring: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith
Directed By: Patrick Lussier
Written By: Todd Farmer, Zane Smith
Grade: B

In my opinion the original My Bloody Valentine is vastly overrated. It had some good gore, but it quickly became repetitive and even annoying. I really didn’t have very high expectations for this one and the remake seemed to be somewhat of a lost cause. Luckily, I was wrong and My Bloody Valentine ended up being exactly what remakes should; an improvement of the original. It was true enough to the premise while enhancing the film immensely. It can be added to the short list of horror remakes done right, although it is just below slightly superior remakes like The Hills Have Eyes, Dawn of the Dead, and even Last House on the Left. It’s not a perfect film, but it is very compelling, has characters we can care about, and some gruesome gore.

On Valentine’s Day there was a tragic accident in Hanniger Coal Mine, killing many of the miners. The few that weren’t immediately killed by the accident were murdered by one of the miners, Harry Warden, to save all of the remaining oxygen for himself. By the time the rescuers got down in the mine, Harry is in a coma. He manages to escape after a year’s coma, killing the nurse in the hospital. He is rumored to be dead, but his body was never found. Harry sets out to get revenge on Tom Hanniger (Ackles), the owner’s son, who caused the accident in the mine.

10 years later Tom returns to the town where this all happened and he disappeared from 10 years ago, leaving his girlfriend, Sarah (King), and his family, clueless to where he had gone or whether he was even alive anymore. Tom came back to sell his now dead father’s mine. However, the pattern of the murder continues. A copycat killer seems to be around, trying to put fear of Harry Warden’s return in the heads of the townspeople. Sarah is now married to Axel (Smith), the town’s sheriff. He is having an affair with Megan (Boone), one of the worker’s at Sarah’s grocery store. However, when Tom comes back in to town, Axel is the one who becomes suspicious of Sarah and Tom. He quickly pins Tom as the murderer, even finding him near the crime scene of many of the deaths. Tom seems to know a dark secret of Axel’s as well, perhaps he is turning this all on to Tom for a reason.

The cast was great here and brought these characters alive in a way that I never expected. Jensen Ackles of Supernatural fame was very compelling and engaging as Tom. He was likeable and it seemed like the traumatic experience has simply left him misunderstood and confused. Still there was an element that was unknown to us, making it very possible that he had the capability to do what he was being accused of. Kerr Smith did well as Axel, who was the one that we didn’t want to trust. Still, Kerr did a good job of playing both the deceptive side and showing the possibility that he is the genuine one. Jaime King serves as great protagonist. Her performance as Sarah really resonates with the viewer, as she is stuck between these two sides, not knowing which to believe, or even if it is as black and white as one being guilty and the other innocent. Perhaps there is another killer altogether. Thus, she is in the same position as us as viewers. Overall, she’s a smart, strong character, yet is also your everyday girl, realistic, and someone we can root for.

The characters are a big difference in this film in comparison to the original. That was actually one of my major complaints with the first one. Well that and the massive repetition and obsession towards the evil Valentine’s Day and the demonic dances. Rather than Footloose for the horror crowd we are given more of a mystery and dramatically charged film of the same basic events. There was actually a love triangle in the first one just as there is here. However, in the first I remember thinking how pointless and shallow it was whereas here, it charges the story. This brings us back to the characters themselves, they are multi-dimensional, have personalities and problems, and actually seem like real people, thus making us care what happens to them.
 
If I were to have watched the 3D version I bet the fun factor might have been slightly higher as well. However, I watched it without the gimmick of the 3D effects and the film stood on its own as a quality horror film without this. I was definitely able to notice where the 3D effects would have enhanced the action and even the style of the film. Especially in the opening of the movie, the way in which the back story is conveyed to us through newspaper clippings and the media, it is portrayed in a stylistic way, a sort of swooping technique that the 3D element would most likely add to. However, even without the 3D we definitely get our fair share of fun, especially through the deaths. My Bloody Valentine is a gory good time from beginning to end, well until right before the end anyway. The film doesn’t waste any time and displays the horror and the body count with a number of detached corpses. When we are given a fake scare, it is countered with a real scare, resulting from eye gouging. Not only is there a lot of blood, but there are some semi-creative deaths. Many of the deaths include the pickax, but not in the same way every time. Many deaths include the ax going from one side of the victims body to the other or forcing the entire body through the ax. There is plenty of blood and cool kills here to keep horror fans satisfied.

My only major issue with this film is the ending. It took a psychological twist that seemed like somewhat of a cop out and like the writers were just trying to shock the audience, but in a way that wasn’t very genuine or true to the film. Also, the alternative ending on the dvd isn’t really much of an alternative ending. It is really just a very slight variation of the ending in the film, even using some of the exact same shots. The ending seems forced, which is disappointing after this film had surprised me for the better in so many ways up to this point. Still, My Bloody Valentine is one of the only horror films that has ever improved upon the original. It’s true to the original, while having a bit of creativity, brining new depth and style to the table.