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.

What we see and what we seem are but a dream - a dream within a dream.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) 

Dir- Peter Weir
In 1900, a Valentines Day picnic for an Australian girl’s school turns into tragedy after a teacher and three students disappeared while exploring a nearby rock formation. The disappearance will cause tension in the school and raise more questions when one girl is found yet can’t explain her experience.  Based on a 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock was filmed in Australia and utilized the Hanging Rock formation located in Victoria most effectively. Picnic sets an atmosphere that showcases the vast difference between the sexually repressed Victorian lifestyle of the young students with the foreboding mystery of the new and unknown land. More a mystery than horror, Picnic at Hanging Rock makes practical use of the strange rock formation and flute music to set an atmosphere of beauty and dread. As a child, I remember watching the preview for the movie, and it was terrifying yet when I watched the movie years later it was mysterious, haunting yet beautiful in its direction.

Boarding Schools are not the best place for some troubled ones.

Alena (2015)


Dir- Daniel di Grado
Alena is a young girl who has been accepted at a posh private school with the hope she can make friends and excel in her new environment. Her attempts at socializing are thwarted by a group of girls led by the leader of the Lacrosse team who makes it her goal to get her kicked out of school. Alena does have some dark secrets and a mysterious friend who seems ready to defend Alena to any extent. Horror movies set in boarding schools often focus on some secret society of witches or ghosts, yet Alena is not a horror movie in the conventional sense. Based on a Swedish graphic novel by Kim W Andersson, Alena is a tale of the horror of teen life as seen through the eyes of a young woman who has faced the pain of loss and struggles to overcome the bullying she faces for merely being from a low-income family. Although the film does follow the formula of some supernatural themed teen revenge films, it is not a copycat of Carrie. Instead it a coming of age film that uses themes that most teen girls face along with the trauma felt after one faces tragedy. Watching Alena, I was drawn to the title character as she is well cast in a role that is more Carrie White and less Clueless. 

Weren't you warned to stay away from cabins in the wood.

The Ritual (2018)

Dir- David Bruckner
After a mutual friend is killed in a store robbery, four friends get together to go an adventure that they all were planning before their friend's death. Their journey takes them on some hiking trails in the wilds of Sweden where they intend to enjoy some buddy time and pay tribute to their lost friend. Things get crazy when they decide on taking a shortcut into the woods after one of their friends hurts his leg. Once in the woods, they find themselves lost and at the mercy of some unknown threat that is stalking them and pitting them against one another. Along the way one of the members face survivors guilt that seems to manifest stronger as the movie progresses. In many respects, The Ritual plays on a theme similar to that of Deliverance as well as The Descent. Both films center on a group of friends who find their friendship challenged when they get lost and face a threat in the woods. The Ritual does make efficient use of the wooded scenery that adds significantly to the element of fear in much the way that The Blair Witch Project did two decades ago.

Good Old Fashioned Cannibal Western

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Dir- S. Craig Zahler
Western-themed horror movies are a rare breed, as the Western genre tends to focus more on adventure or drama. Set in the 1890's in the frontier town of Bright Hope, the local Sheriff is called upon when some townsfolk are captured in the middle of the night by what appears to be a native raid. Upon closer inspection, the local Native American member of the community informs the Sheriff that a far greater threat is responsible, and it is up to the Sheriff to lead a rescue party against this unknown tribe with the fear they may not find anyone alive. "Bone Tomahawk" was written and directed by S. Craig Zahler making his directorial debut. The cast is quite impressive featuring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox as well as David Arquette and Sid Haig. The film received critical acclaim from movie critics for its unique script and unconventional mixing of horror elements with a Western setting. The movie is a bit of a slow burn but well worth the time as it offers outstanding portrayals by the principal cast as well as the supporting roles in a movie that must have been a quite a dream project to work on. Director Zahler not only wrote and directed the movie but also composed the film's score. 

Cloverfield Part 3

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

Dir- Julius Onah

The crew of the Cloverfield Spacestation, facing a worldwide energy crisis and a potential war over resources, is tasked with testing new technologies that could result in unlimited energy for the planet yet their experiments have a surprising result that shock the whole crew as well as people on the planet's surface. As the third movie of the Cloverfield franchise, the Cloverfield Paradox was known as The God Particle and was intended to be released in early 2017 but was shelved until February of 2018 where it was premiered on Netflix after Super Bowl LII with its new official title. As with the previous films, there was plenty of secrets and speculation on the plot of the film as well as a similar space station centered movie called "Life" that forced the film to go through some reediting. Unlike "Life," Cloverfield III does not feature an alien or creature as the primary nemesis but is more Sci-Fi centered with a plot that focuses on the aftermath of a failed experiment that has unintended consequences. The movie has an excellent set design, good special effects and the performance of the actors is pretty decent, yet some may have difficulty with the plot as it does rely upon some scientific principles that may be above some viewers understanding. Overall this third entry in the Cloverfield series should add to what is already a great franchise.

"Every Body Has a Secret"

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

Dir- André Øvredal

The discovery of a beautiful yet unknown female corpse has a Coroner and his son baffled as the clues they find reveal even more mysteries. As father and son piece the evidence together a brutal storm traps them in the morgue overnight. As they discover more about her, they soon find that she has some darker secrets that may be best left alone. André Øvredal, known for Troll Hunter delivers this well made and chilling tale that blends old world superstition with elements of the supernatural. The Autopsy of Jane Doe features veteran Scotish actor Brian Cox as Tommy and Emile Hirsch as his son Austin, but special praise goes to Olwen Kelly who portrays the eponymous female corpse. Autopsy scored well with critics and has gained attention for its genuinely terrifying and original concept. After reading so many other posters heap praise, I finally watched this movie and made sure I went in as cold as possible as spoilers will ruin some of the mysteries.