My Bloody Valentine

"There's more than one way to lose your heart..."

1981 1h 30m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🥫

39%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 576🥫39%Rotten Tomatoes●46Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 26,964

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Twenty years after a Valentine's Day tragedy claimed the lives of five miners, Harry Warden returns for a vengeful massacre among teen sweethearts gearing up for another party.

“There's more than one way to lose your heart...”

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Cast

Paul Kelman
T.J.
Lori Hallier
Sarah
Neil Affleck
Axel
Keith Knight
Hollis
Cynthia Dale
Patty
Alf Humphreys
Howard
Helene Udy
Sylvia
Carl Marotte
Dave

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Mihalka
Writers: Stephen A. Miller, John Beaird
Languages: English
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Mihalka, shot by Rodney Gibbons. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Zaza. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gérald Vansier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paul Kelman and Lori Hallier and Neil Affleck carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There's more than one way to lose your heart...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Mihalka directs. Rodney Gibbons behind the camera. Paul Zaza scores. Gérald Vansier cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $2.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
345 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by George Mihalka, shot by Rodney Gibbons. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Paul Zaza. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Gérald Vansier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Paul Kelman and Lori Hallier and Neil Affleck carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "There's more than one way to lose your heart...".
9IMDB entry: tt0082782 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "miner", "murder", "serial killer", "slasher".
11Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rodney Gibbons
Original score: Paul Zaza
Editing: Gérald Vansier
Costume design: Susan Hall
Makeup / hair: Louise Mignault
Sound: Joe Grimaldi
Stunt coordinator: Dwayne McLean
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,200,000
Box office: $5,672,031
Return: 258% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes: 39% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 46/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 26,964 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

George Mihalka

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-01
★ 7/10
Love me love my pickaxe. Slasher films from the 1980s are legion for they are many, unsurprisingly the quality varies and the advent of time has dimmed their impact somewhat. My Bloody Valentine is middle of the road, blighted by cuts to its gore scenes, it’s a film that has had to work hard to earn its cult following. It’s a good old stalk and slash revenger based around a coal mine where a tragedy happened many moons ago. The mystery element is strong enough to maintain interest, and although the formula is consistently one dimensional for the genre of the time, it operates well above average for the gore and blood hounds. There’s some bad acting and some even worse moustaches! While expectation of a hidden slasher gem will only end in disappointment. But what it does it does well and a good time is assured for the undemanding horror peeps. 7/10
JPV8522020-01-25
★ 6/10
Okay early 1980s slasher (with some decent gore effects, though the violence was very tame compared to today) that has its moments but really never found it very suspenseful or worse, engaging, maybe hurting there's not much in the way of a lead to follow. I know this holds a special place in some people's hearts, I just didn't do it for me. 3.0/5
Wuchak2020-02-25
★ 6/10
The Miner Forty-Niner, oh no!!! (not really, but sort of) Twenty years after a psycho murder spree at a mining town in Nova Scotia, gruesome slayings start happening again on Valentine’s Day. Did the psycho escape the asylum and return for more blood? “My Bloody Valentine” (1981) was part of the early 80’s slasher boom after the success of “Friday the 13th” (1980) and, of course, “Halloween” (1978). It meshes the vibe of “The Funhouse” (1981) with the location of “Orca” (1977) and throws in a dash of “The Fog” (1980). While it’s the least of these IMHO, it’s not far off. The remote mining town area on the shores of Nova Scotia is a highlight augmented by a colorful cast. Unfortunately, the filmmakers didn’t have the funds to shoot any sequences at nearby Cape Breton Highlands National Park, so there are no scenic shots; everything looks mundane with a lot of scenes taking place IN the mines, particularly most of the third act. Paul Kelman is good as the mysterious male protagonist, T.J., reminiscent of Oliver Reed. On the female front there are several beauties, e.g. Cynthia Dale (Patty), Lori Hallier (Sarah) and Helene Udy (Sylvia), but the creators curiously didn’t know how to photograph women, as was effectively done in “Friday the 13th,” “The Funhouse” and “Tourist Trap” (1979); and I’m not talkin’ ‘bout nudity or sleaze. Another problem is that the events take place in friggin’ coastal Canada during mid-February and there’s no snow or coldness to be found. It was actually shot in September-November and looks it. The 2009 remake, which was shot in central Pennsylvania, took the template of this film and made a more all-around entertaining slasher, but this one is worth checking out if you like the style of the contemporary films noted above. Like all of those flicks, it has quality mood and creepiness, but it’s never genuinely scary. When a slaying happens it’s usually humorous even though it’s played out seriously (to me, anyway). The movie runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot around Sydney Mines on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. GRADE: B/B-