Prom Night(1980) Review

9/10

In 1978, "Halloween" was released, and it turned Jamie Lee Curtis into a star of the horror genre.  This 1980 film was her second shot in films, and it has been a hit since its release. While critics didn't love it, fans of the genre have raved it, and it has become one of the most popular slasher flicks of all time.

The beginning of this film was done very well. I really love the cinematography as it flies around the brick buildings, because it gets a very tense feeling. The chants of the children are also very chilling, and it gives a unique feeling to the movie. The scene basically portrays children terrorizing a young girl by following her saying "the killers are coming." This scares the girl very much, and she ends up walking out a window by accident. It is extremely sad to see the death of this girl, and the reaction of the kids that were only try to joke around is heartbreaking. 

The movie then skips forward six years, as the family of this girl are shown visiting her grave. One of the members of the family is Kim Hammond, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. The family is obviously still very torn up about the death, and they leave reluctantly.  As things go on, we see a bunch of teens being called by a mysterious man that is using a list to keep track of people to stalk.  We also meet Kim's boyfriend Nick, whom is ignoring these calls. In his mind, he thought it was another girl he was seeing named Wendy trying to take him to prom. This whole beginning sequence of the film is very interesting, because it has a lot of mystery, and it gives a great build up in introducing all of the characters.

One of the things I particularly like about this film is the blurry vision that we see. It gives a very eerie tone to the movie, and almost makes it feel like a nightmare.  In fact, I feel that the style was actually used later in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" during the dreams sequences. 

The acting in this film was quite satisfying in my opinion.  Jamie Lee Curtis gives her usual performance, which is awesome, and I feel that she was a pretty safe pick for the film. Leslie Nielsen was great as her father, because he was good at portraying a stern but fair man. Kim's brother Alex(Micahel Tough) was another great character, because he had a great chemistry with Curtis. I feel this was extremely necessary for their relationship, because in reality, this is how they should be. The death of their sister would in real life make the two of them closer, and this was shown so well.  The rest of the teens do a great job, because they make the high school experience very real. Some of them are the nicest people in the world, and others are complete jerks.  Nick(Casey Stevens) was an example of a likable character, because he was very good to Kim, and was kind to everyone else around him. Some examples of characters that were the opposite would be Lou(David Mucci) and Wendy(Eddie Benton). They are absolute scum, and have no redeeming qualities at all. They hate the fact that Nick and Kim can be happy, and because of this they do whatever they possibly can to make them miserable.

It takes about an hour for the first kill to happen in this movie, but I think that this strategy was very appropriate for the film. Things built up to this one moment piece by piece, and by the time it was here, it just made things even crazier.  I love the way this film was shot, because it was very grainy slow motion, and the killer was in a black costume which made it even more intense. I love how just before the throat of the victim was slit, they cut to her face, because it showed the fear at the moment.  The noises used for this kill were absolutely brutal, and they were perfect. After the kill, the whole movie really amps up, and a rampage of murder begins. I love how this was done, because the tone of the film was a little dry to begin, but you could tell that everything became more energetic, whether it was the chasing, or it was the music at prom. 

The scenes at prom were very well done, they made the dance look quite fun, and the disco soundtrack was pretty cool.  The lighting in the school looked great, and it made me feel like I was watching a "Soul Train" type of thing.  I also like the way that the teens are shown out of the gym. When the girls are in the restroom, their banter is very realistic as to what girls would be talking about in real life, and some of the occasional pressure is extremely genuine. 

The violence and gore in this film is lighter than others I've seen, but it is so proficiently done that I enjoyed it greatly. Rather than just being the usual lighthearted slice and dice movie, there is a lot of tensity that comes about these scenes, and they really get the adrenaline going.  It almost reminds me of a "Halloween" type of thing, because they don't make it graphic, but it's just as intense. My personal favorite of the whole film is the killing of Wendy, because it is a long and horrifying chase scene that builds up more and more, and then turns into a black screen as we hear the brutalities occur. 

The ending of this film was absolutely shocking. I was not expecting the killer to be who he was at all, and once it was revealed, the feeling of the movie became heartbroken. Thankfully, it ended right at this, because it didn't add any stupid fluff to ruin the vibe. It honestly may be one of my favorite horror movie endings ever. 

"Prom Night" is a fantastic slasher film. It was one of the first, being released in 1980, and it's one of the best. There is so much intensity and terror in this film, and while it's not scary, it's still gets the adrenaline going well. I highly recommend this film to any fans of the genre, because it is not one to miss. 

Killjoy Review

6/10

One the fears that people have is clowns.  I've never understood this, because I've always found them to be quite humorous if anything.  This 2000 movie horror film makes my point even further proven, because it is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It is so cheesy, and low quality, but it is enjoyable as can be. 

This movie starts off in a rough neighborhood where two girls are walking home from school. As they make their way to their house, they run into a boy named Michael, who asks one of them on a date. The girl Jada is taken already, and she turns him down. As they stand there, a car full of a gang beats up this boy, because the leader Lorenzo is the boyfriend of Jada.  After everybody leaves, the film takes us to Michael's room as we see him trying to conjure up a spirit named "Killjoy."  He is then called down from the house by one of the gangsters from before, and they kidnap and murder him.  This whole beginning is very entertaining, and quite intense. 

The film skips forward a year, and we see Jada on a study date with a different boy named Jamal.  He is much nicer than Lorenzo, but she still has some feelings for him. Jamal convinces her of how dangerous this is for her, and they end up making love.  In the other side of the story, we see Lorenzo and his friends all smoking and drinking together.  They then hear a ice cream truck, and go out to buy something. In the truck, they see a clown that is also claiming to be a dealer.  This clown lures them into the truck, and teleports them into his lair. 

This special effects in this film are hilariously pathetic. They look like they were done on a cheap movie app, and they obviously took no effort at all. This isn't exactly terrible though, because it made me laugh more than cringe.  The funniest scene was when Killjoy shoots bullets out of his eyes, and as they hit Lorenzo, little digital dots hit off his body.  The props used were also super fake, and the knives look like they were bought at Dollar Tree. 

This film is one of the first horror flicks I've ever seen with an all African American cast, and it gives a whole different feeling to the genre.  I think this was cool, because it isn't common, and it made a very urban vibe.  The acting was absolutely terrible though. The cast members have no sense of delivery, and they portray little to no emotion at all.  I spent so much time laughing at this, because the way they act seemed like the biggest spoof ever.  The only actor that I could ever see being a different film was Michael L. Johnson(Lorenzo), because he at least did a good job of portraying a gangster. 

Killjoy is not a scary villain whatsoever. He is creepy, but any potential of being frightening is dogged by his constantly hilarious antics. He dances around, says funny things, and does nothing at all to make himself brutal at all. He is basically an evil Barney.  I laughed at almost every part he was on screen, and for that reason I could say he was at most enjoyable. 

The best part of this whole film was the ending, because it really did leave the viewer at a "what the heck" moment. I do give props to this, because it's the best way to end a horror film, and the directors at least figured that out. 

Overall, this film is one of the biggest disasters I have seen.  There is nothing in it that could be called close to quality in any standards.  Regardless of this statement, the film was one of the most fun horror flicks I've ever watched.  Some movies are bad, and are unwatchable, but this one was so bad that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.  For this reason, I will give the film a good grade, because if it hadn't been so funny I would've given it zero stars.  Don't expect a masterpiece in any standard, but watch this film for a laugh that you can't get anywhere else. 

Jason X Review

2/10

There have been many times that famous characters have gone to space in our time. There has been Abbott and Costello, Tom and Jerry, The Muppets, along with many others.  Who would've ever thought that Jason would be the next in line?  This could've been a good film, and something very different, but this movie failed on most possible levels. It lacked likable characters, a decent plot, good effects, the majority of things that made the originals good. 

The first point I would like to bring up about this film is the name "Jason X." In reality, this name  doesn't work well at all, being Pamela was the killer in the original, and Roy was the killer in part 5. So technically this would only be the eighth film to have Jason as the villain, and therefore makes the name quite irrelevant.  While this doesn't bug me too much, I just think that the filmmakers should've chosen a name a little more carefully. 

As the movie starts, we find out that Jason has been frozen by the government, and they want to transfer him. There is a lot of controversy about this decision, with the fear that Jason would escape and kill.  Even though they give in, they are too late; as Jason slaughters them all.  If this film hadn't been part of the series, this would be cool, but in continuity standards, this makes no sense at all. First off, the last we saw, Jason was taken to hell, but now he is back on Earth?  Even with the time jump of 1993 to what is supposed to be 2010, this scene is completely irrational, because even for Jason, it would logically be impossible for him to come back from hell.  

The movie then jumped forward to 2455, where Jason is shown to be frozen. As the scientists begin to start doing experiments on him, he thaws out and begins his killing spree. Honestly I don't like the futuristic aspect of this film for many reasons. First off, I like the vintage feel of watching the others in the series. I really miss the 80's nature of the original films, and this 400 years forward thing came across as very cheesy.  Another reason I didn't like this idea was the costumes. I don't think the "Power Ranger" suits and elf shirts looked good at all, and it made me feel like I was watching a bad alien movie.  I also really disliked that the film was turned into more of a scifi film than anything. It takes place on a spaceship, looks like "Star Trek," and feels like "Alien Resurrection."  This is not what I wanted to see in a Jason film. While I think that the space idea had the capability of being neat, I feel that it was a failure in this form.  It would've been much cooler if it was astronauts in present day, because it would have much more of a horrific feeling, because the future almost takes away from the tensity, being it will never happen during our life time.  It actually made the film take itself way too seriously, with the constant melodrama of the ship, and the cheesy monologues coming from the captains and such. 

One of the positives I happened to find in the film was that at times, there were fun moments like the originals. There was times where I laughed a little, and I mean because the scene was genuinely funny. I liked how the dialogue was often witty, because it helped balance out the otherwise boring tone of the film.

The other main positive of the film was that Kane Hodder played a very good Jason once again. He was big, brutal, intimidating as ever, and his fast walk really kicked butt. I think that this was his second best performance as the character, behind his portrayal in "The New Blood."  Jason also looks pretty good in the first half of the film, with the exception of that the stupid hair that the makeup artists added to his head in "Jason Goes To Hell." 

Things really went downhill with his appearance after his new costume appeared. He is completely metallic, and looks like a cheap robot.  I found this to be extremely dumb, because he looked like a low grade General Grievous, and the lack of his hockey mask takes away from the character completely.

I personally felt that the special effects in the film were pretty terrible. They were fake CGI tricks, and not once was I blown away.  The sets looked extremely fake, and so did everything else surrounding the characters.  The earlier films worked really well when they used fake blood, because there was much more of a authenticity than this computer junk squirting all over the place.  The frozen head kill in this movie was one of the most creative murders of the entire series, yet I felt it was dragged down by the shoddy gore shown. Overall I wish that the filmmakers stayed to doing these effects much more genuinely, but obviously they wanted to stay with times, and there is no way of changing it now. They just have to pay the price of looking back at this and seeing how crappy of a job they did. 

Another terrible aspect of the film was the acting. In the previous films I can't say there was any Oscar winning performances, but at least the casts were somewhat enjoyable.  In this one, it is almost unbearable to watch some of the people. They have a whiney tone to their voice, and no sense of delivery at all. One of the best examples is the scene where Jason is brought to the fake world, and those two girls in the sleeping bags try to lure him over. They were two of the worst actresses I have ever seen, and it seemed like there was no effort in their lines, and no effort at all by the cast director to have picked them. 

The ending is another thing that really bugged me in this film.  There was no shock whatsoever, and it was a cheesy happy ending that shamefully ripped off "Alien" and "The Empire Strikes Back" in one instant. I don't know why this was done, because often in the past really crazy things happen at the end, and it's often the scene a viewer remembers best from the film.  

In the end, this movie sucked big time. It is most definitely my least favorite of the series, and one of the worst movies I've ever watched. There was such a bad ratio between positives and negatives, because in the midst of two good things, I found at least ten horrible problems.  I really cannot recommend this film to anyone, because it is a waste of 93 minutes.  Watch the original nine films, and skip to "Freddy Vs Jason," but stay far far away from this film, because it is hell. 

The Amityville Horror(1979) Review

6/10

All of our lives, we have been surrounded by haunted houses. Whether they are the attractions we go to during the Halloween season, or a laughable subject of a horror film, every person has some connection to them.  Did you ever think about what it would be like if the connection that you had was that your house you have resided in was actually one of them?  This harsh reality became life for the Lutz family in the 1979 classic "The Amityville Horror." Based on a 1977 novel by Jay Anson, this story tells of a family that moves into a house that had been abandoned after a son murdered the rest of his family. Slowly as they reside in this mysterious home, things begin to get weirder and weirder.  Over the decades, this film has become a huge hit with horror fans, although it has been universally panned by critics. I find the film to be good, but not great, with a slow pacing and unsatisfying ending really dragging a film with huge potential down.

The film does something that not many do, and it gives its best parts right in the beginning. As the first shots come on to the screen, we see a family murdered by the oldest child. Two parents, and four children dead for no motive whatsoever. Is this possible though? Why would anyone just kill their family for no reason?  As the caption telling this story comes up, they make sure to really emphasize this point, causing the thoughts to begin racing into our head as to what might've happened.

The film then skips a year into the future, and we see a couple played by Margot Kidder and James Brolin looking at the very house that the murder took place in. One of the really cool things about this scene was that as the realtor showed a different bedroom to the couple, there were flashbacks to each individual killing.  At the moment I saw this, a few questions went through my head.  Does the couple know of the events that happened? And if they did, why would they want to bring their family into a house with this kind of psychological baggage?  Regardless of these obvious questions, the Lutz family buys this house, and the film skips another year so it becomes present time, and they are shown living in the house with their children. As we meet the children in the family, something ironic came into my mind. Two parents, and four children. Weird isn't it?  When I looked at the elements that the film had given me so far, I knew something crazy was going to happen. 

This entire film goes off of this slow revelation of details. Every day the family lives there, something new occurs in the house.  On one of the first days of living there, a priest by the name of Father Delaney(Rod Steiger) comes to visit the family. When he enters the house, no one is there, and he looks around to find someone. As he is in one of the bedrooms, he is apparently seen to be attacked by a swarm of flies.  This becomes the first of his problems, as his physical and mental state deteriorates throughout the entire film.  Another victim of this growing craziness is Brolin's character George Lutz.  Originally a very easy going and kind man, he slowly turns into an easily angered, threatening and paranoid man that honestly shows a lot of potential to murder.  This really scares Kathy(Kidder) as she has nightmares of him murdering the family and such.  Outside of the people being harmed, the house starts to be weird.  Toilets overflow with black water, closets trap people even though they don't have locks, and windows automatically come down on the fingers of the children.  I really love how the film does this, because it builds up the tensity you feel toward the house, and it gives you the idea that a huge climax was on the way. 

One of the positives to this film was the cast. Both Margot Kidder and James Brolin do a great job in the lead. They both start out as very likable people, but as the film goes on, they have a great way of conveying the previous kindness into a newfound insanity.  Brolin especially does this well, because he is almost like a chameleon. He goes from moments where he seems like a mindless drone, then to a paranoid freak, and in just the next second he could be completely normal.  Rod Steiger was fantastic in his role, because he has such an amazing speaking voice.  Whether he is just talking or yelling in a huge outburst, his voice is so easy to listen to, and his delivery of words are absolutely stellar. 

Another positive to the film was the Oscar nominated score by Lalo Schifrin. The music in the movie is extremely tense and eerie, and it's great at setting up for disaster.  The instruments used were very diverse, and it gave the sounds gave me the same kind of fascination as the score in "Planet of the Apes."  Even though the music was such a big part of the movie for me, another cool thing I noticed was the moments without any sounds.  These scenes were very true to reality, because it depicts the times of loneliness in our own lives.  One of the greatest examples I noticed was a scene where George was just walking outside by himself, and the only thing you could even hear was his footsteps. This was a great technical decision for the movie, because it helped it set itself apart in a unique way.

The special effects were done extremely well, given the time the movie was made. Everything was quite realistic, and extremely creative.  One of the greatest examples of this was the iconic scene where the blood comes out of the walls.  Even though the blood was pretty fake, it still had a very cool look to it, and was colored very well. I liked the way that it streaked down the wall, because it gave a chilling feeling to the scene.  The only special effect that didn't stand the test of time at all was the floating head of the spirit of Ketcham. This was done very cheesily, and I had to laugh at the fake nature of it. 

One of the main weaknesses of the film was the slow pacing. Throughout the whole movie, there was a lack of life in the scenes, and quite a few of them really dragged on. I almost feel like a half hour could've been condensed from the two hour running time, being there was at least four long scenesof unnecessary   content.  If the film had been more around the hour and a half range, I feel it would've been a lot more enjoyable for sure. 

Another weakness for me was the ending. As I mentioned before, the film builded itself up for an intense climax the entire time, and this began to happen in the last five minutes. I was so excited about the craziness that was taking place, and I was totally set up for something I'd never forget. As the house started to shoot blood out of the walls, and everything started to collapse, I thought that in some way, shape or form, this family was going to die like the last one that lived there.  Sadly, this never happened.  The fact that the movie ended happy doesn't bother me as much as the fact that it came so quick. The exciting part of the movie finally came, and it only lasted about a minute. I can't even tell you how upset I was by this, because I felt like this made the entire movie a tease.  If I use a roller coaster as an analogy, the car went up and up all the way to the top of the roller coaster, and everyone is ready for the craziest ride of their life, and just as the free fall starts, we find out it was only about twenty feet, and the ride ends.  I really think that if the filmmakers were truly serious about what they were doing, they could've come up with something much better.

Overall, I enjoyed many things about this film. There was a great cast, a brilliant idea for a film, and some really great special effects.  Sadly, this all was thrown away by what I may have to call one of the worst endings ever.  I can't say that the film isn't worth a watch, because there really are a lot of positives to it, but in the end it really was a disappointment. 

Slaughterhouse(2012) Review

7/10

So I wake up this morning, and I check out all of my stats for the page and my Instagram and Facebook accounts for it, and I see that I'm tagged in a post to a movie that director Carlos Junior(whom I follow on Instagram) made. I was totally psyched that he wanted me to check out the film, because I'm open to watching new things all of the time, and it is my honor to be looked at to review peoples' films now.  So the film I watched was a 2012 indie horror flick called "Slaughterhouse."  I really didn't know what to think of the film at first, because I had never heard of it, but Carlos told me I could watch it on YouTube, so I gave it a shot.  Let me just tell you all that this film was very very well made. There was great acting, dialogue, etc.  It was a great indie flick for sure.  While some of the scenes portrayed are really not for me at all, I totally respect the way the film was made, and I give total props to Carlos for his achievement. 

The movie starts out with a quote from the notorious pyscho Ted Bundy.  The quote was "I just liked to kill, I wanted to kill." In my opinion, this was an ingenious way to start the film off, because it really set the dark tone to what was going to happen. I could almost make an analogy to how the 1985 film "The Breakfast Club" used a quote from the David Bowie song "Changes" to really foreshadow the events of the film. This was a totally awesome idea, and the maturity of it impressed me a lot from Carlos. 

This film was made in Brazil, and is spoken in Spanish, but it is still easy to connect to the characters and what they're saying. The first reason for this is the good subtitles. They weren't too quick, and not too slow, and they were very easy to read. Another thing that really helped was that the dialogue wasn't spoken at rapid speed either. 

One of the things I wasn't huge on in this film was that it was shot with found footage. I have watched movies like this before, and I really can never get into the style. It is way too shaky for my taste, and it makes me scatterbrained. I actually noticed my eyes starting to hurt from the rapid movements of the camera, and I had to look away a little bit. I understand that some people really like this technique, and it is an interesting tactic, but it's just not for me. 

Basically the film starts off quite uneventful, but yet I wasn't bored. The first twenty five to thirty minutes is a bunch of teens driving around in their car, and they eventually break down and fix the car. By this description, I know that many of you expect this film to be exhausting, but in reality, these moments were very fun. One of the saving graces that helped it stay good was the sense of humor from the cast members. They were constantly spitting out hilarious jokes, and I was laughing most of the time. There was also very spontaneous scenes like the teens randomly singing and playing guitar that made the film very light hearted and fun at these times. 

Honestly the way that this car ride starts this film off really reminded me of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Both movies start off uneventful like this, and both are in a car to start. Then both of them really start to kick in after the first attack.  I really love the way that Carlos referenced other horror films in this, because he really give a fresh reminder of the greatness of the genre. 

The cast in this film was awesome. I really loved the fact that a lot of the time I actually forgot I was watching a movie. The characters didn't even seem scripted at all, and their performances were just natural and authentic. Another great factor of the acting was that everybody was just genuinely funny. They had a great movie personality, and I congratulate them all grandly. 

As I mentioned briefly before, the film really takes off after the first attack. This scene was done very well, because you could barely see anything that took place. All you know is that the character named Junior falls to the ground, and is seen being dragged away into the midst of a field. The scene was shot skillfully, because all you can see is Junior's hand as he is being taken away, and then the screen blacks out. This really causes the viewer's imagination to go wild as to what might've happened to this poor man. 

There are many things that really captivate the terror in this movie. The first is the very dark tone used in the color scheme. It makes the scenes very shady and trippy, and it really adds to the horror effect of the film. The next is that when the screen blacks out, there are many screams and shouts in terror that add to the brutality. Even though we have no idea what's going on, the sounds itself make us think the worst is happening. 

The last twenty to twenty five minutes of the film are when things got really crazy. The people are taken into a slaughterhouse, and are completely terrorized. This is more than just a slasher film, it's full on torture. Honestly some of the events that take place really weren't for me at all. The idea of watching these people be beaten constantly is just a little much in my opinion. The worst though is an assault that was modeled off of the film "Deliverance." The humiliation put upon these two men really crossed my line in viewing.  

Overall, the film was quite enjoyable. There were a lot of fun and terrifying moments to it, and it was a great achievement for the up and coming director. I am giving this film a good grade for the fact that there was not much to dislike about it at all.  With the exception of my utter distaste to found footage, the making of this film was super well done, and I was impressed.  I just can't recommend this film to all of you, because honestly there was stuff that was way too much for me, and not knowing where your line crosses, I don't want to put that upon you. If you are a person that really digs this kind of film, then I totally recommend it, because it was a brilliantly made work, but if you don't want to watch the brutal torture of these innocent people, then I say skip it.

The Hills Have Eyes(1977) Review

7/10

Wes Craven has become one of the most notorious filmmakers in the horror business.  Being responsible for classics like "A Nightmare On Elm Street," "Scream," and many others, he has become a household to the masses.  This 1977 cult film never met the same glory as his other work, but over the decades, it has acquired a fanbase of its own. It has spawned sequels and remakes, and it definitely had quite an influence on other horror films to come.  

This film starts a little slow, as we meet an old man and a young girl named Ruby in a very rural area that is close to being a desert. The two of them start talking about how Ruby is starving, but that there is nothing left to trade for food.  After this, a family comes by to get some gas for their station wagon. Then the family leaves and they drive around and talk, and they see a big plane flying in the sky. Things start to get a little more tense as the family gets stranded in the middle of nowhere.  You know at this moment that something crazy is going to happen. The movie get even weirder as one of the young boys in the family named Bobby is seen ignoring his sister and giving her a death glare, and the fact that his face has been altered in some way.  Even though things were still slow at this point, at least there was one teaser jump moment to get things going, and a mystery to make you engrossed in the film.

About 32 minutes into the film, the first attack happens.  The victim of the brutality had just been talking about his abnormally large son, and then coming through the window the son takes him and beats him with a crowbar.  I can't even express how relieved I was that something finally happened in the film, because honestly if things would've stayed boring any longer, I might've fallen asleep. 

The family of savages are absolutely disgusting. They are sadistic, cannibalistic, deformed, dirty, and completely immoral. They steal babies, assault young women, murder, etc. The idea that they're attempting to cook the young baby Kate is absolutely awful, and it's such a brutal thing even for a horror movie.  My personal favorite of the gang was Michael Berryman as Pluto. He was a very deformed and creepy character, but was also quite humorous at times. 

The violence in this film is sick, brutal, and absolutely awesome. While its gore is tame compared to now, it still has a lot of bite to it, and really stands as a strong point of the movie. There is stabbing, mauling, shooting, etc.  The coolest scene is the Achilles' tendon tear in my opinion.  

The last quarter of the film is very intense, as the good family attempts to save Kate from the cannibals. There is a lot of brutal fighting and chase scenes, and it is one of the most exciting parts of the film.  The ending scene especially ends well because it ends my favorite thing; a "what the heck" moment. 

This movie was made 38 years ago, and to be honest, it hasn't aged as well as other films from the decade. I have seen many movies of this time, and even older that do just fine, but this one wasn't meant to work for more than a year in my opinion. The soundtrack makes me feel like I'm watching a serial movie from the 70's. So while I did enjoy the film a bit, this factor did bring it down a bit. 

After viewing this film for the second time, I can say that I enjoyed it a little bit more. There is some pretty exciting scenes, and the characters are cool enough. While it is still extremely flawed and dated, it is definitely worth a watch, and I think it could be enjoyable for fans of the genre. 

My Bloody Valentine(1981) Review

7.5/10

The year is 1981, and films like "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" have already paved new boundaries for the slasher genre.  Who would've thought that the next big movie would take place in a mine.  "My Bloody Valentine" brought horror films to a whole different level with its explicit violence and brutal nature. It was not a favorite of the critics at the time of its release, but it has become a huge cult hit since.  I find this film enjoyable without a doubt, but it is also quite flawed, and it isn't anything significant in my standards.

The movie starts out in a very original way for horror films. We see a bunch of workers in a mine, and one of the females becomes flirtatious with a man.  The scene just looks very sensual at first, and we think she knows the man well.  Then suddenly, he pushes her back into his pick ax and stabs her.  This scene was quite surprising to me, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was obvious that someone was going to die, because romance never ends well in these kind of films, but the nature of it was very different than what I thought would happen. 

One of the first things that I find interesting about this movie is the changes in atmosphere. A lot of movies like "Halloween" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" just stay dark the whole time, but this film is extremely diverse.  There are dark moments like the killings, but there are also quite a few scenes that are very happy and lighthearted.  The red and pink color scheme of decorations and look of the happy small town really brighten the viewer's mood, which is extremely clever in the way it sets up the other scenes. 

The idea of having the film take place on Valentine's Day was genius for a few reasons. First off, the holiday is supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year, yet there is brutal killings and terror taking place amidst the fun the characters were trying to have. Second off the holiday has a lot to do with hearts, and they bring a lot of significance to the brutality of the film. 

The acting is good in this film, because all of the cast members really give a great feeling of a blue collar mining town. They are very hospitable, kind, funny, and genuine people, and a lot of the men in the mine have a very close knit and brotherly relationship. This comes across greatly in the way they talk to each other, and by the goofy nature of their performances. One of the exceptions of this kind hearted personality was the character TJ Hanniger; whom was played by Paul Kelman. While he is a good guy, he has a certain darkness to him, and he doesn't get along with everyone as well.  This makes a good balance in the film, because it is more realistic to have a mix in personalities.

One of the infamous factors of the film is how the MPAA slashed nine minutes of footage for the theatrical cut of the film.  This caused the movie to lose a lot of the gore and special effects that were made, and it took away from the positive appraisal that the film could've gotten. Now on DVD, there is the option to buy an extended cut, and several of the gory minutes are back.  Watching this version of the film I was mindblown by some of the killings. While they aren't frightening at all, the scenes are super gory at times, and very brutal. One of the most iconic killings is when Harry puts his pick ax through a man's chin, and it takes an eyeball out of its socket. This is fully onscreen, and very very bloody.

One of the things in the movie that I find to be a blessing and curse was the fact that the movie tried to be more than just a horror movie.  Much of the film was going toward a romantic drama, and sometimes even a comedy when it wasn't being horrifying. On the positive side, the filmmakers were obviously trying to add some different elements into the genre so we didn't feel complete déjà vu from other films. Also, it gives us a more open look at the town, and makes us feel for the people a little more. On the negative side, I feel that the diversity almost made the script a little but scattered, and almost grating at times. The whole love triangle between the main characters is interesting at first, but by halfway through the film it really just feels like beating a dead horse, and I just really want things to go back to the horror side.  

Another complaint that I have with the film is the score.  It really just doesn't fit the movie at all, because it'd be better suited for something like a mystery film.  I feel that the instruments were a little bit too muffled, and it doesn't give the same suspenseful feeling that a great score like "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" had.  I also feel that the score had been used before, or at least has a similar sound to other films. I really love a movie to have distinct music/themes. When I hear the "Halloween Theme," I know exactly what is on right away. With this film though, if the music came on randomly, I wouldn't have clue of what movie it was from. 

The last thing I can really say in negativity toward the film is that even though it is highly enjoyable and brutal, it really didn't do much to set itself apart from other films of the genre. Yes there was a new level of gore, and yes the setting was unique, but in the end, it just followed a basic formula for horror films, and didn't bring anything new to the genre.  This doesn't make it a bad film at all, but it just takes away any extra significance that I find in a better film like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The ending of this film was pretty awesome. There was quite the plot twist when the killer is revealed. I honestly wasn't expecting the person it ended up being at all. I thought that this was very cleverly done, almost like the original "Friday the 13th" movie, and I give the filmmakers props for it. 

Watching this film 34 years after its release, I feel that it aged pretty well. The humor stayed pretty fresh even with the time difference, and so do all of the characters.  I feel that even though the filming definitely has a vintage look to it, it still seems pretty cool because of the darkness it gives to the movie. One of the things that isn't exactly relevant anymore is the film's setting in a mine. While there are still mines in America, it isn't nearly as common of a job, and it doesn't define a town like it did back then. While it doesn't connect to a viewer of now compared to one back then, it doesn't take away from the coolness of it at all. I find the setting to be a genius idea, because a mine is so dark and isolated, that there really isn't much chance of escaping. 

Overall, I find this film to be quite enjoyable. It isn't a masterpiece in any sort, but it is a fun bloody mess of a horror film.  I almost feel that the movie is more of a novelty for its infamous controversy, because it has much more of a reputation than it really deserves. It is worth watching for sure, but don't expect anything different.