Review of My Bloody Valentine (1981) by Michael F — 22 May 2009

Being that this film was made in 1981 (the slasher genre's heyday), has so much buzz, and comes from the great horror haven of Canada, I was really psyched to see this. Unfortunately, it really disappoints. It's not the formulaic, rip-off plot, the stock characters, and the terrible acting that make it bad -- The Burning has all of those things, yet is an iconic slasher. The faults lie in the painfully slow pacing, blanched lighting (even in the above-ground scenes), inconsistent score (which, admittedly, does have its moments), banal love triangle subplot, anticlimactic final half hour, and, of course, the hokey incorporation of the Valentine's Day theme. Furthermore, the killer's real identity is pathetic and far out of left field, and his motive even weaker. Simply put, this just ain't fun.

This film also wrongfully overshadows the similarly structured and themed The Prowler, a far superior slasher released in the same year.