The Flight Of Dragons

Be afraid of this cutesy cover art!

 So nice to see you again, blog followers! I know we've been taking on a more family-friendly route lately and talking about fairy tales but I'm certain today's film may be a little more darker for your enjoyment but not to dark that you can't watch with your children if you ever get a chance to come across The Flight Of Dragons. Now the movie gets its source material from two sources that might be more to the liking of older teens and since this was around the time that Dungeons & Dragons was reaching maximum momentum, I could see the appeal to a much broader audience. Now since all of us have grown up with Rankin-Bass thanks to their many Christmas themed specials over the years, they must have come to realize that the little kids that use to love Rudolph were getting older so they started dabbling in more adult themed animated features and specials. In 1976, author Gordon Dickson wrote a novel called The Dragon And The George and three years later, author Peter Dickinson wrote another book that focused less on fantasy and more on the nature of dragons as if they really existed called of course The Flight Of Dragons. Taking more from Dickson's book than Dickinson's (confused yet?) yet slapping the more exciting title of the latter on the film, we are taken into the world of fantasy and magic and well...why don't we just start from the beginning like we always do?


What's The Plot?
It seems that magic is beginning to die as humans embrace the ways of science every passing day more and more. This becomes very clear to the Green Wizard Carolinus so he summons his fellow magical "brothers" to meet and discuss plans to create a realm where the last bits of magic can come together and stand a chance of existing hidden from men. His brothers The Blue Wizard Solarius and The Yellow Wizard Lo Tae Zhao of course agree but the last brother, The Red Wizard Ommadon doesn't seem to keen on the idea of hiding from mortal men but ruling them instead. This is our villain, ladies and gentlemen, and you can tell from the not so subtle hints of his character well look at him...

Yes his robe, shifty eyes and goblin features make him clearly not evil!!

Besides Ommadon being a threat it seems that in this fantasy world, the four magical brothers can not war against each other (hence I guess the trying to co-exist together?) but if a band of three heroes can be formed to go on a quest and destroy his very powerful crown that seems to be okay. Carolinus' very young and exuberant dragon Gorbash is more than happy to volunteer and Carolinus also sends word to a brave knight, Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe, to request his aid. One hero short, Carolinus is given advice from the Silver Tree of Antiquity ( just go with me here it is a fantasy/sword & sorcery kind of time...) to find a man of science and magic who is also a descendent of the man who tamed and taught the dragons how to speak.

Meet Gorbash now...he's got no idea what's in store...

 This leads Carolinus to Boston in the 20th Century and Peter Dickinson (yay for self-promoting!) who is a very bright and scientific young man but also seems to have his head in the world of fantasy as he is working on a book (wink wink) about the science of dragons but also designing a very Dungeons & Dragon-esque board game where his game pieces seem to eerily look like Carolinus, his brothers and Gorbash. This is enough to convince Carolinus that Peter is the one so he transports Peter to this magical land and drafts him into the quest. Peter really doesn't seem to mind after he meets Carolinus' adopted daughter, The Princess Melisande (hello romantic love interest!) but another little snag may just hinder this a bit...

I'm digging Melisande's take on the look Leia had on Endor!

Ommadon doesn't really seem too happy about this and sends his very literal dragon, Bryagh, to kill our hero and in an attempt to save Peter, Carolinus' waning magic accidentally merges Peter and Gorbash together seeing as the dragon was on his own way to save Peter (nice going there with your unpredictable magic, Carolinus!) Peter's mind is now inside Gorbash's very large dragon body and since he literally has no idea what he is doing, Gorbash's adopted uncle, an older dragon named Smrgol, is forced to join the quest and teach our hero how to be the very creature that has always fascinated him. Once Sir Orrin arrives the quest is ready to begin to travel to Ommadon's realm and destroy his crown of power. The trio set out and are soon joined by comrades like Danielle of The Woodlands, a fire-haired archer and Aragh, a very large, sentient wolf. Will this band of heroes be able to defeat Ommadon or will the bigger battle be between magic...and science?

I think Danielle has second thoughts on joining this quest

Do you remember me talking about Kiki's Delivery Service a few blog posts back and about how I absolutely love the animation and backgrounds of the film? A little trivia for you is that before Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli existed, he along with other animators worked for Topcraft, the anime company that did the work on all of Rankin-Bass's non-stop motion productions. Knowing that you can see another reason why I love The Flight Of Dragons because it was films such as this and The Last Unicorn that the company worked on before it went defunct in 1985 and allowed Miyazaki to create his own animation studio.

Carolinus, the wizard who got Peter in this pickle...

 Compare the animation in The Flight Of Dragons with something such as Rankin-Bass' Frosty's Winter Wonderland and you can tell how the animation progressed and become the beauty that we know today. The human characters are still quite well done but the animation of the backgrounds and the dragons is spectacular! Besides the animation, the film has a very beautiful musical score and the opening title song sung by Don McLean (of American Pie fame for those of you who didn't know) is gorgeous and even more so with the provided backdrop.

To make up for the above cover art terror, I give you this!

Another reason I love The Flight Of Dragons besides the aforementioned animation, music and fantasy elements (which I didn't state but isn't it obvious?) is the voice cast. Most of the voice cast for The Flight of Dragons may not be that very well known (the two biggest names I'll leave for last) to the audiences of today but being a child of the 80s who grew up on Nick At Nite when it use to play shows of the 1960s and 1970s I think the cast works wonderfully. There may be a few roles you recognize like Bob McFadden (Sir Orrin and Gorbash)? He voiced Snarf on Thundercats!

Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe in his more younger days

Talented voice actors like Larry Storch (who was also on F Troop) and Don Messick (the original Scooby Doo and many voices from our childhoods) also provide vocal work here. Harry Morgan from M*A*S*H provides the voice of Carolinus and I have to say he does a very good job going from drama to comedy with great ease. James Gregory, like McFadden, also does double voice work providing not only the voice of Smrgol but also of Bryagh which are on very opposite ends with one being a good guy like a kindly uncle and the other being a blood-thirsty despicable monster who almost kills our protagonist!

Best Smrgol quote: "Shut up and eat yer Limestone!"... you have to hear it to love it!

Well if you ever get a chance to find this film I will spoil it for you right now but minutes into the film it's hard not to notice that the villain Ommadon is voiced by none other James Earl "Darth Vader" Jones! I guess it's that voice of his that makes casting directors automatically think let's cast this guy as our main antagonist but James Earl Jones is more than just the guy with the deep voice fit for mostly menacing bad guys he is also a very talented Broadway, Emmy and Tony-award winning, Shakespearean actor. I don't know maybe he likes playing the villain as I have stated that a lot of actors seem to have more fun being bad guys but you also can't deny that James Earl Jones does have a nice speaking voice that draws your attention.

Remember LaserDisc? Maybe not but this cover's epic!

For me I saved the best for last as growing up I kind of had a crush on John Ritter who provides the voice of Peter Dickinson. I think it might have been those re-runs of Three's Company that attracted me physically to Ritter and his acting in Stephen King's IT that attracted me to how good an actor he truly was but seeing The Flight Of Dragons, where you can't see his face but can only hear the acting behind his voice, is what truly amazes me. Since his character is supposed to be very scientific he could have made the voice come of cold and stuck up but Ritter actually makes you like Peter from the first moment he appears. His voice is warm and at times, charming as it is befuddled, you can tell he is having fun and when the time comes for him to be dramatic, you can feel it. I also loved John Ritter because he was funny and seemed such a genuinely nice person that others came to love and that's why you couldn't help but be a fan of his work.  

 

Voiced by John Ritter makes nerds kinda sexy don't you think?

The Flight Of Dragons also makes me appreciate the cast voice work because most of the people who worked on this film are no longer with us and for most of the voice actors this was the last role of their careers (Victor Buono, who voiced Aragh, died just after finishing all his character's dialogue) so it makes the beauty and the magic all the more poignant. To bring you back from a very depressing place you can be happy to know that as of this writing Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin & Bass fame are still alive in their late 80s/early 90s so just think about that and smile :)

Aragh may be a wolf but I just wanna hug him!

If you ever get a chance to find The Flight Of Dragons on DVD, don't let that cover fool you (as so many of them seem to do to classic children's films these days) and give it a viewing. There's comedy, action, adventure and romance for everyone and age need not apply. If like me you already remember this classic and maybe just want to watch it again to see if it still stands up to what you remember as a child then go for it. If the kid in you is disappointed that's fine...I'm sure the adult in you can find new things to appreciate just as I did...

**Found a trailer but not an original...seems like it was a fan trailer because the music didn't seem to fit and plus it was filled with way too many spoilers for those of you who have never seen it :( Don't worry though I hear there is a planned live-action remake coming next year so until that comes true enjoy this video...

Flight Of Dragons opening song by Don McLean

NEXT BLOG: We are going to still delve into my childhood but we are going to leave fantasy behind and go on a different kind of adventure. Ready for some...Adventures In Babysitting?

The Burning

If there was ever a theme that occurs in most horror slasher flicks it is the killer in the woods. To take the beauty of nature and turn it into something frightening and sadistic is very easy and Friday The 13th may have done it first and the best but The Burning to me does it far better. Never heard of The Burning you say? It's okay not many have but because I browse the horror section of Best Buy trolling for forgotten horror gems during Halloween you are about to learn why I love this film more than Friday The 13th but first things first...

What's The Plot?
The caretaker at Camp Blackfoot known as Cropsy is an alcoholic, cruel and sadistic man despised by everyone at camp and few campers decided to show him what it is like to be scared by pulling a harmless prank. Setting a skull on fire and placing it by his bed, Cropsy wakes up and so scared he knocks it over and ends up setting himself on fire to be burned beyond recognition. Five years later, procedures and skin grafts have failed to leave Cropsy disfigured that he has to wear gloves, glasses, a hat and a long coat; his rage is now burning for revenge.

At Camp Stonewater, a group of campers and their counselors are going to be the victims of Cropsy's desire for revenge. Camp outcast and nerd Alfred (Brian Backer) is the first and only one to notice Cropsy lurking with his scarred, burnt face and of course no one believes him but soon camp counselor Todd's tale of Cropsy before the three day canoe trip starts to put the other campers on edge and soon, people start to disappear. Todd (Brian Matthews) may not know it but his little campfire tale is going to come back to haunt him and only Alfred knows that Cropsy is out there in the woods killing his fellow campers but can he convince everyone else in time before Cropsy's killing spree of revenge burns out of control?

Again unlike most movie bloggers, I don't like to tell you the whole plot because I hope I can encourage you to go out and rent or buy the films I talk about to view them for yourself because I feel the film in question is good enough for you to watch or at least up to you discovering your own opinion. As I have stated, "the killer in the woods" genre has been done before by Friday The 13th as the most popular but The Burning has elements in it that make me enjoy it far much more.

What Else Can I Say?
Tom Savini is the master of horror film special effects and the infamous "raft scene" is a true pinnacle of his art and the DVD version I have is uncut to display every gore soaked minute. The acting of the campers and their counselors looks real and natural and you may notice some familiar faces. Jason Alexander from Seinfeld and Holly Hunter appear in small roles, comedic actor Fisher Stevens from the Short Circuit films has a role as a camper who is just so adorable you know he will meet a grisly end and Alfred is played by Brian Backer or as I will always know him Mark "Rat" Ratner from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, which he made after this film.

Seeing actors that I recognize make me relate and sympathize more to their characters but Brain Matthews as Todd is also a good actor and a real hottie as well! Most attractive men don't survive in horror films or they are the obnoxious jerks you want to get murdered but Matthews isn't one of them (oops did I give away a spoiler?)

Aside from acting, the score is also brilliant! All of the original music in the film is provided to us by Rick Wakeman, keyboardist of the band Yes. Now if you have never heard of the band Yes, I think you need to go out and try to find a greatest hits of CD by them or at least try to find a copy of the music soundtrack on eBay somewhere as well. There is additional scoring not done by Wakeman but you won't be able to tell the difference because you will be so engrossed in the film but if that music in the background doesn't give you chills it's not doing its job to add suspense and it does!

If you like Friday The 13th, you are sure to enjoy The Burning and even if you didn't like Friday The 13th, you will still love The Burning in my opinion. As far as a slasher, this film is an underrated if not undiscovered classic. The Burning has gore and sex to spare for you horror film fans out there and I am sure you will enjoy every minute of it once you get your hands on it!

The Burning 1981 Trailer

Next Blog: Gothic Horror Fiction makes for a great 80s flick - Flowers In The Attic

The Howling

It seems that 1981 was the year of the werewolf in cinema. I already talked about An American Werewolf In London and mentioned that in the same year both Wolfen and The Howling were released. These later two films were based on novels written by Whitley Striber and Gary Brandner respectively and of the two, I have only seen The Howling but have read neither novel. Even though The Howling has about a dozen sequels and even a reboot the original is the only film I own and I consider it a stand alone film and treat the sequels as if they do not even exist. The film plot and the plot of Brandner's novel differ greatly so I will only be talking about the film plot so...

What Is The Plot?
Los Angeles newswoman Karen White is being stalked by a serial killer named Eddie Quist. She works with the police to end his murder spree by meeting Eddie at a porno theater face to face. While there, Karen sees something so horrifying that once it is all done, Eddie is dead and Karen can not remember anything. Subconscious memories of that night begin to haunt Karen's dreams and make her freeze on air when she tries to recount the story. Therapist Dr. George Waggner suggests that Karen and her husband Bill Neill journey down the coast to his retreat called The Colony to help Karen relax and try to regain her memories.

The countryside doesn't really help Karen feel any better even though most of the people are very nice because her nightmares are keeping her and Bill from becoming intimate. The couple grows distant and soon the cattle surrounding the retreat are being killed and frantic howls are filling the air as the local sex addict Marsha begins throwing her advances on Bill. When her husband is soon attacked and bitten by what appears to be a wolf, Karen calls her friends Terri and Chris to come down to The Colony. Only Terri goes but on their own, she and Chris discover frightening secrets about the people surrounding Karen and when Eddie Quist's body disappears from the morgue, Chris fears the worst.

Will Chris be able to get to The Colony and help Karen and Terri in time? Can Karen truly remember what happened with Eddie that fateful night and can she and Bill be a loving couple once again? A howling in the air is growing louder and it is bringing a terrible creature even worse than Karen could ever imagine...

Of course you know that The Howling involves werewolves and you also know if you have read my past blog postings that I never tell too much of the plot for those of you who have never seen the films I discuss. As always I think you should view the movie for yourself to see for yourself just how good the movie is and The Howling is no exception.

What Can I Tell You?
The Howling is a clever straight forward approach to the werewolf horror genre with subtle in jokes to wolves and horror films of yesterday, has a great cast and the effects by Rob Bottin regarding transformation scenes is amazing for the early 1980's! Dee Wallace Stone steals the movie as main character Karen White because she is relate-able and down to earth in dealing with the stress. She is still regarded as a horror scream queen thanks to also appearing in Cujo but she doesn't rely on skimpy clothing and breast baring to get the job done and is as classy as Janet Leigh in Psycho and even to Jamie Lee Curtis in her early horror film roles. Her husband Christopher Stone plays Bill in the film and even though they were not married here they have great chemistry even when the relationship between their characters starts to come apart.

Dennis Dugan who plays Karen's friend Chris Halloran may have a small but important role here but he has gone on to be a director with many films and television shows under his belt including tons of Adam Sandler comedies. Elisabeth Brooks plays the insatiable Marsha and is beautiful and stunning in her evil way and Patrick Macnee is a sophisticated Dr. Waggner with charm reminiscent of John Steed from The Avengers which Macnee played back in the 1960s. John Carradine, famous character actor and father of the great deceased David Carradine, also appears as one of the Colony's eccentric residents in a stand out performance.

In regards to horror, The Howling depends on only a little gore to bring the horror across because the story's atmosphere and score provide the real horror thanks to good old-fashioned suspense and effects that involve none of today's overused CGI. The acting is done wonderfully and the end may have provided sequel fodder but is easy to keep The Howling as a film of its own merit and not the beginning of unneeded B-movie fodder. If you want a good werewolf film where simplicity is key, The Howling is one film you must see.

The Howling 1981 Trailer (SPOILERS!)

Next Blog: An almost forgotten classic 80s slasher - The Burning

An American Werewolf In London

Now I know I talk about vampire films a lot but I do have love for the other most famous of horror movie monsters: werewolves. They say you can only love one and not the other in the battle of vampires vs. werewolves but it depends on the quality of the film and how a vampire or werewolf mythos is handled. One of my favorite werewolf films is An American Werewolf In London.

What's The Plot?
American college students David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) are enjoying backpacking across the Yorkshire moors in England but one night they stumble across a pub and are turned away by the patrons when asked about the candles and a pentagram. The only advice given to David and Jack are to "stay on the road" and "beware the moon" by the very hostile men before they leave. Soon, the men feel guilty about letting the strangers leave and go after them when a piercing howl fills the air. David and Jack don't follow the advice given to them by accident and hear the same howl in horror as they realize their mistake. Suddenly, a large animal attacks the two young men killing Jack and mauling David almost to the brink of death as he does not wake up until three weeks later in a London hospital.

Even though David doesn't remember much he knows that it was a wolf that killed his friend even though police tell David that he and Jack were attacked by an escaped lunatic. The nightmares David begins to have of monstrous faces and of himself attacking and killing animals and people don't help but when Jack begins to appear to David with a slashed face it is confirmed that a wolf did attack them...a werewolf. Jack's corpse informs David that he will change into a werewolf during the next full moon and the only way to prevent this is to kill himself. Besides David transforming any victim of the werewolf's bloodline killed will continue to be among the living dead in a grotesque, decomposing state until the beast is killed.

Despite the horror he has been through, David finds one spot of hope in his bleak situation: Alex Price (Jenny Agutter). This pretty English nurse has fallen into a Florence Nightingale situation with her patient and lets him continue to recover at her London apartment. David falls in love with Alex as well and it seems as if the nightmares have ceased until Jack appears to David again the day before the next full moon with the same story: he will become a werewolf and kill unless he ends his own life before then. Soon, it becomes too late and the following night after a painful transformation, David becomes a werewolf and goes about London spreading terror and killing half a dozen people.

Now that David knows Jack was speaking the truth...can he take his deceased friend's terrible advice? Will David commit suicide to save more Londoners from joining the living dead? Can Alex help the man she loves fight the sickness inside his mind and overcome the curse?

Now I know my plot description seems short but again An American Werewolf In London is one of those films you have to watch to get the full enjoyment of the experience so...

What Else Can I Tell You?
The transformation scene is of course an amazing piece of horror cinema! Rick Baker created the effects for the werewolf and the living dead victims in this movie and it impressed Michael Jackson enough that we see the same touches in the famous music video for Thriller, also directed by John Landis. Even though Landis is known more for his comedy films like The Blues Brothers and Animal House, he still brings comedy to American Werewolf but it doesn't take away from the dramatic or horror aspect of the film. Back to Rick Baker, his make-up effects won an Academy Award for this film in 1981 which was the first year the category was introduced!

Acting wise, David Naughton and Griffin Dunne steal the movie basically! Though it may seem weird, Griffin Dunne walking around as a corpse that just keeps rotting away is funny because he is just so deadpan and acting as if nothing is going on while you are almost a science class skeleton is hilarious!

"Can I have a piece of toast?" ~ Jack's first line to David coming back as an undead corpse.

David Naughton handles his character's tragic disposition in a slightly less maudlin way and is comedic and dramatic at the same time. His acting during the transformation sequence is almost painful to watch because the way he screams in pain is so believable that you can feel what it must be like to have your bones shifting and cracking into that of an almost canine beast. On the lighter side, his character is practically naked throughout the film in comedic and not so comedic scenarios that you feel sorry for him and can laugh at him at the same time! Jenny Agutter as Alex Price is sweet, lovely and the character that holds the main drama emotion for the film. She keeps us grounded between the blood and horror and the dark humor of An American Werewolf and in my opinion, is the voice of reason and reality. 

The soundtrack of the film is interesting as all the songs have the word "moon" in them but the context of song doesn't really fit to the emotion of the scene. "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival is a good choice but the other songs are mostly 3 different versions of "Blue Moon" and one other standout of Van Morrison's "Moondance" which actually fits the scene it is used in (A love scene between Alex and David which is more playful than romantic and is still sexy.) As I said the make-up and special effects are outstanding but the original composed music and the cinematography are also noteworthy.

When the film came out in 1981, it was also against other werewolf films The Howling and Wolfen. I have seen The Howling and have yet to see Wolfen so between the two choices I have more love for The Howling as I saw it first. An American Werewolf in London is not a bad film and is one of the better werewolf films but is nowhere near the original The Wolf Man as being iconic but it comes in very close. If you ever get a chance to view this movie and enjoy comedy-horror films, this is at the top of the pack.

1981 Teaser Trailer 

Next Blog: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Ghost Story

I first heard about Ghost Story not as a movie but as a horror novel reviewed by Stephen King in his book Danse Macabre. The novel was written in 1979 by Peter Straub, who co-wrote The Talisman with King, and praised as being one of the greatest horror novels written in the late 20th century. I have yet to find a copy of the novel but I have watched the film and it is one of my favorite horror films that is more of a thriller and less of a gory slasher flick. I saw Ghost Story late one night on AMC's Fear Friday movie blocks and was hooked for many reasons which I will discuss but first...

What's The Plot?
In the small, New England town of Milburn, four elderly gentlemen have formed a society where they tell each other ghost stories. The Chowder Society as it is called has four members: lawyer Sear James, Doctor John Jafferty, business owner Ricky Hawthorne and Mayor Edward Wanderley. These four men love scary stories but their scariest story is something that happened fifty years ago and it is beginning to come back and haunt them in terrifying nightmares and Edward soon is found dead after falling from the town bridge.

Since recently one of his sons, David, has died in the same manner, Edward's death is seen as a suicide of grief but his friends and his other son, Don, know something else has to be at work. Entrance into the Chowder Society requires a ghostly tale and Don has one of his own that involves the torrid affair he had with a beautiful yet mysterious  woman named Alma Mobley. Alma's sometimes coldness toward Don made him push her away and she soon became engaged to his late, twin brother David, who Don now suspects was murdered by Alma.

When Doctor Jafferty has a heart attack, appearing to have died from fright, Sears and Ricky now feel it's time to share their secret with Don. Fifty years ago, the four younger men all met and became smitten with the beautiful Eva Galli who awakened a sexual interest in all of them until one heated night something went wrong and they murdered Eva by accident.

So it appears Alma and Eva are the same person but what is she really? Is she a ghost or something much sinister? Whatever the case maybe, she is back for revenge and only two of her murderers remain alive...but for how much longer? Can Don, Ricky and Sears be rid of Eva before they become part of the most terrifying ghost story of them all...their own?

I don't want to divulge too much of the plot even though it is a little different from the book (Stephen King talked about the novel in Danse Macabre in great length) because the movie should be seen as it is that great a film to watch! This goes back to the things that I enjoy about this film:

1. The musical score is beautiful yet chilling.

2. Dick Smith, who did the make-up for The Exorcist and many other films and TV, did the special make-up for the film involving Eva/Alma's most frightening appearances. If Regan scared you as a demon, that says something about how disturbing you may find Eva/Alma.

3. The list of actors in this film is incredible! Veteran actors Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. made their final screen roles in Ghost Story and they will make you appreciate classic films as their acting is top notch (I always knew Fred Astaire could dance but he can act as well...better than some actors of today I might mention!).

Alice Krige is a wonderful actress who I first discovered in Stephen King's Sleepwalkers and she is both beautiful and disturbing as Alma Mobley and Eva Galli. Another cast member of note is Patricia Neal as Ricky's wife (who I adore from Breakfast At Tiffany's) though her role is small, it wouldn't be fair not to mention such a great actress.

When most horror movies of today are blood, sex and gore, Ghost Story is a classic horror film that doesn't need any of that (even though there is a 1981 version of an explicit sex scene, flashes of Alice Krige's breasts and a scene of brief male frontal nudity for you sex hounds out there!). All you need is great storytelling, fabulous actors and some special effects make-up to add to the atmosphere of great music and photography to make Ghost Story a film only seen to believe in its awesomeness.

Ghost Story Trailer

Next Blog: A break from the horror genre to talk about a film by one of my favorite directors. Whether you have seen it or not...Jerry Maguire

My Bloody Valentine

Horror loves the holidays from what I can tell and what holiday can be better for heart-stopping slasher love than Valentine's Day. The only way for those who hate Valentine's Day to enjoy it would be watching others suffering as much and My Bloody Valentine is perfect. Now there is the 3D remake but I want to talk about the original 1981 version because the gore is not CGI but real old fashioned movie magic that was so heinous most of the original footage was scraped and then edited back in when the remake brought this classic back to DVD as a promotion for the new film.

What's The Plot?
The coal mining town of Valentine Bluffs is having their first Valentine Dance in twenty years after an incident where five miners were trapped in a cave-in because two supervisors were rushing to the annual Valentine Dance and forgot to check methane levels that caused an explosion, killing all men but one: Harry Warden. Left for six weeks in the wreckage, Warden cannibalized his co-workers to survive and went insane, killing the supervisors after being released from a mental hospital. He cut out the hearts and left them at that year's following dance as warning that he would kill anyone who dared to celebrate on February 14th ever again.

Mayor Hanniger and all the young men who work in the mines are excited and ready to put this all behind them but when Police Chief Jake Newby receives a box of Valentine candy replaced with a human heart, it seems Harry Warden is making good on his promise. When the body of the dance organizer, Mabel, is found dead the plans for the dance are cancelled with the cover up of being a reason of respect. A young miner named T.J. who recently moved back suggests having the dance at the mine in an almost feeble attempt to get back with his ex-girlfriend Sarah, who is now dating another miner named Axel.

So the dance is back on and Harry Warden is on the loose! The triangle of Axel, Sarah and T.J may be the least of their worries as this proves to be another Valentine's Day that Valentine Bluffs will never forget!

What Else?
As I said, the kills in this movie are creative and nasty! You won't be able to look at dryers, shower heads and hot dogs the same way ever again after seeing this movie! The acting is great but as a horror fan, its the atmosphere and the kills that hook me to movies and classic ones like My Bloody Valentine are phenomenal because they don't need CGI and digital just some old fashioned movie make-up and creativity. For its time of the early 80s, this movie is a great slasher flick and the ending genuinely gives me chills of both the creepy and satisfied kind.

Now I'm a girly kind of girl and I love getting flowers, chocolates and stuffed animals for Valentine's Day but I'm not ready to have a human heart greeting me in the mailbox anytime soon. If I can't have a romantic V-Day with my boyfriend, I'll curl up watching My Bloody Valentine...the original 1981 version. If you like the 3D remake, you'll love this version better with its simplistic yet strong visuals guaranteed to get your heart...racing.

Next Blog: Ghost Story