My Bloody Valentine 3d is a remake from an old Canadian horror film. It's also a throwback to the maniac serial killer/slasher genre from the seventies/eighties but with some modern touches. First of all, I'm not sure it would have been made and released without the 3d gimmick. I watched it home with standard 3d glasses and the 3d effects were fairly good especially the fences and pickaxes. The only problem of course being that the colors are not as nice as the 2d version also available on the DVD/Blu-Ray. With that out of the way, it's a pretty standard slasher, with a deranged miner with costume and gas mask as the protagonist, but it starts the carnage very quickly without much of a buildup except for some kind of story recap background as if it was a direct sequel (it's not). After a few slaughters, it's 10 years later. That was pretty bold and cool. As you might expect, killings start happening again after an old survivor from the first incident comes back to town.

It's never really scary because things happen so fast and because a guy in a miner suit just isn't that horrifying. The appeal comes from the surprise apparitions of the killer, the attempts at escaping and the original gruesome dispatches by the maniac miner mostly with his pick axe and shovel. I suppose it also comes from a very long sequence of a young woman in full-frontal nudity trying to escape the killer. As a side note, most of the story doesn't take place in mines nor is the movie claustrophobic. I enjoyed the mystery of who the maniac guy behind the mask was as it was well presented with a few false leads and likely suspects being offed gradually. However, no clear motivation was offered for the maniac. The ending with the trio (not telling who) was also strong and dramatic. The acting was OK in a TV-quality kind of way, mostly sober although some of the old guys seemed a bit weak. I think the directing was modern and dynamic with good cuts, in more ways than one ;-) So this film is a little above average in the retro slasher genre. It would make a good rental especially with 3d glasses and a few friends.

Rating: 6 out of 10

This one of the better uses of 3d tech that occurred around when Avatar was released. Its gimmicky as all heck but the gore effects mix well with the 3d to make a visceral slasher. Fans of the genre should love the film's 80's vibe-it has the nudity and blood associated with the form. The film has an 80's vibe even through it was made in 2009.

The story is a more of a romantic melodrama-built around a love triangle-than is common to the slasher flicks. It works as a love triangle even when the big twists in the story are not that twisty. The film does a well making the 3 leads more or less actual people that rise above being canon fodder.

A lot of this is due to the cast. Ackles-Dean from Supernatural-gives a good, fun performance as the damaged center of the film. Smith makes a good foil for Ackles. I wish this film got a sequel.