Five Films for a Terrifying Valentines Day

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

This early slasher film was part of a wave of Canadian horror movies that would arrive after the success of Halloween and Friday the 13th. Despite following a similar pattern to the two earlier slasher films, My Bloody Valentine does offer an antagonist wearing a gas mask and miners equipment that truly makes the killer look sinister and scary. The deaths are unique and quite graphic despite the cuts made. Filmed in Nova Scotia the production studio made use of an existing closed mine to get a more genuine setting and this adds significantly to the suspense and fear.

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

This 2009 remake of the 1981 Canadian slasher classic tells pretty much the same story but does alter enough to make the film stand out on its own. On Valentine's Day in a small town, a mining accident traps six miners with only one found alive after rescuers were able to reach them. A year later a massacre occurs, and in the aftermath, the town lives in fear of the gas mask-clad killer who promised revenge on the town. There are enough changes in the plot to allow this film to stand on its own along with the nifty 3D shots that make this a fun remake.

The Loved Ones (2009)

A young lady wants to go to a dance with the boy of her dreams, but his rejection won’t do when she decides that she will plan her own dance with him as her special guest. Robin McLeavy stars in this twisted tale that shows just how far a girl and her father will go to make her special night one that her date will never forget. This directorial debut by Sean Byrne mixed horror and teen genres to deliver this bloody yet surprisingly tongue in cheek tale.

Let the Right One In (2008)

A young preteen boy who is bullied by his classmates befriends a young girl who has a secret she shares when they bond as friends. This new friendship gives him the confidence to face his bullies and to learn what love can mean despite her secret. Based on a novel, the film would be remade in the US and is one of the few remakes that stands on its own.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

A Valentines Day picnic for an Australian girl’s school turns into tragedy after a teacher and three students disappear while exploring a rock formation. The disappearance will cause tension in the school and raise more questions when one girl is found and can’t explain her experience. More a mystery than horror, Picnic at Hanging Rock makes effective use of the mysterious rock formation and flute music to set an atmosphere of beauty and dread.