GARFY'S GORETORIUM

WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE…..In this review I am comparing a classic 1981 slasher and its 2009 remake. Two movies with pretty much the same plot but each make it their own and end up making the perfect mix of old and modern in what is a horrifying story of a vengeful pick axe swinging maniac.

My Bloody Valentine(1981)

Cast – Paul Kelman, Lori Haillier, Neil Affleck and Don Francks

Director – George Mihalka

Plot – In 1961 the lone survivor of a mining accident the previous year, returns to seek revenge and kill anyone celebrating Valentines Day and warns them to never celebrate again. 20 years later a group of miners and their partners hear the gruesome tale and defy the warnings only to realise there is a terrifying truth.

Even though this was released in 1981 I had only recently seen this movie, being a big fan of this sub genre I was pretty excited to watch it and it didn’t disappoint. It started pretty strong then became a bit of a slow burner but it was definitely worth it for the total horror that eventually came. I did find some faults to it, for example some of the story, the group are excited for the towns Valentines dance which kind of makes it seem like a high school horror when they are all adults but apart from that I would say this was one of the best 80s slasher movies I have seen. My favourite parts were definitely the kill scenes, these were executed brilliantly and the gore was factor was perfect. Although some parts of this movie did look really dated some of the kills seemed quite advanced for a film of this decade. The killer is possibly one of the best I have seen, he certainly had a menacing look and really did bring terror into the scenes he appeared in. Some scenes did have comedic moments during them which usually I am not a fan of but the horror side definitely made up for that especially when they got into the mines which gave a slight claustrophobic feel for it and certainly added to the experience of viewing this horrific 80s gem.

I’m giving this a rating of 7.5/10 and recommend you buy this movie, it does make an excellent addition to a slasher fans collection and is just a really fun one to watch.

My Bloody Valentine 2009(2D version)

Cast – Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith and Tom Atkins

Director – Patrick Lussier

Plot – After a mining accident that seemed to be his fault, Tom Hanniger and his friends escape an encounter from the lone survivor of the accident who seeks revenge and claims 22 victims at part held at the mines. 10 years later Tom returns after the death of his father, instead of the welcome he had hoped for he is greeted with anger and suspicion after more people end up dead.

2009 brought us this fantastic remake which was released in cinemas in 3D, remakes are always risky and tend to leave fans disappointed as lately they are usually made as an easy way to make studios money, so after watching the original I wasn’t getting my hopes up for this one but just like the original I was left satisfied. After a brilliant and quite chilling scene set in a hospital it cuts to the party happening in the mines where Tom shows up to meet his girlfriend and friends, during this scene I noticed a nice little homage to the slasher genre with 2 minor characters named Michael and Jason (Myers and Voorhees) which I thought was a nice touch. This also pays tribute to the original with a couple of very similar scenes which worked really well as this still felt like its own movie. There are quite a few cheap scares during this but admittedly some are quite effective, there is also a lot more gore due to the fact most kill scenes were made specifically for the 3D version but still have the same shock factor in 2D . Two performances stood out the most for me, Jaime King was brilliant as she always is in other movies i have seen her in and the other one is Jensen Ackles, I thought it would have been difficult to separate him from his role as Dean Winchester in the Supernatural TV series but he played his role as Tom Hanniger  superbly and convincingly. This was a fantastic movie to watch and is one of those rare remakes that does its original justice or was even better.

This gets a higher rating of 8/10 and is another one you should buy, the 3D version gets extra points and gets a 9/10 so if you decide to watch it, go 3D!