This Canadian-produced teen slasher flick is actually better than any of the FRIDAY THE 13TH movies that it rips off. But that’s not saying much.
T.J. Hanniger (Paul Kelman, BLACK ROSES) left his small coalmine town, called Valentine’s Bluff, to make it big in the big city. But after falling on his face, he’s returned home to work in the mine he left town to avoid. Now his former girl Sarah (Lori Hallier, THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD) is dating Axel Palmer (Neil Affleck, SCANNERS). There are other characters, but who cares about them, because they’re just fodder for the killer, who is rumored to be a miner who was buried alive and went crazy.
Twenty years prior he escaped from a mental institution and killed people in town, demanding that they never hold a Valentine’s Day dance again, for it was the party that everyone was rushing off to when the mine collapsed.
The love triangle at the core is average, but at least it attempts to make us care about the characters. The film never gets gratuitous with its gory moments, choosing to allude to more bloody deaths than we actually see. Early on there’s some nice tension created, however, the film losses its suspense toward the end. Then it throws in a twist, which with some thought makes no sense. It actually ruins the good things established prior. As a slasher film it’s a little better than average, but its attempt at a twist wasn’t thought out enough, so it really leaves you unsatisfied.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
