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It's 20 years later and the town of Valentine's Bluff is now preparing for its first Valentine dance since the Warden incident, that's part of the story of My Bloody Valentine - it's also about the love triangle between Sarah (Lori Hallier), T.J. (Paul Kelman) and Axel(Neil Affleck). Sara and T.J. were hot and heavy before he went West to try his luck, but things went bad and now he's back in Valentine's Bluff (a Canadian spot I guess since it's a Canadian film). But since he never wrote Sarah, she rebounded into the arms of Axel. Now that he's back, she's torn.
The movie actually starts with a couple of miners in full dress going down to the mine; one removes their outfit to reveal she's a woman. In a very cheesy moment, she caresses the air hose to the miner's mask! I think this may have been the first horror movie set in a mining town and actually IN the mines! It works rather well as a setting I think, with the deep, dark and slightly claustrophobic underground. The murders are interesting ranging from being stabbed with a pickaxe then stuffed in a dryer to being drowned in a boiling pot of hot dogs then stuffed into a freezer. There are a lot of elements to the film that would later become cliché, from the slightly crazy old coot who warns everyone about the impending doom (and is ignored, of course!) to the couple killed during the sex act (or the few killed while in foreplay).
After a heart is sent to the mayor then one of the party coordinators is killed, the party is cancelled but the young people decide to have a party anyway and hey-let's have it at the mine! Like I said, the mine does work well as a backdrop for this film. During the party, TJ and Axel fight over Sarah (again). I was of two minds about the character of Sarah-she was pretty but frankly besides that, there was no reason for you to get behind her. She was treated like a prize to be won by either guy but honestly, there wasn't much there to root for either. Neither have any outstanding qualities and frankly, I didn't see much chemistry between any of them.
When 2 of the bodies are found during the party, everyone scatters except T.J. and Axel, who rush to the mine shaft where Sarah is hanging with some of her friends. They're convinced Harry Warden is back and down there too. The film climaxes with a fight in the shaft and a cave-in. I also found the ending quite disturbing, though I guess after countless much more graphic horror films, it's sort of cheesy today. But I think it stands up pretty well and if you're in a 'love stinks' attitude, this movie is right up your alley.
