My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)

My Bloody Valentine 3D

8/10

WARNING *** Some people may find the below to contain spoilers *****

I had heard so much hype about this movie that I intentionally tried to know as little about it as possible. I did go back and read reviews of the original movie to have an idea about the premise. I probably would not have gone to see this if not for the 3-D aspect, which was widely praised. And I have to agree, the 3-D was spectacular. More on this later.

Quick plot recap for those (1,2?) people who don't already know it. Smallish town mine has a cave-in (courtesy of mine owner's son), guy kills the other survivors to conserve oxygen. Guy goes into coma for 1 year, then wakes up in hospital and slaughters patients and hospital staff alike. Goes to the mine for some mayhem, and is presumably killed. 10 years later, the son comes back to sell the mine, and wacky murders run apace. Through some fairly good machinations, the blame shifts between the original killer, the son, and the sheriff (who survived the first mine mayhem action). Lots of friction between the town folk for various reasons, ratcheting up the tension.

The movie itself is not groundbreaking in any sense. The action is fairly tight, if sometimes abrupt. I would have liked to see some more building up to the action, though the first kill really got me! The convolutions needed for the killer seemed, well, convoluted. I'll have to check this out on DVD to look for discrepancies, but I'm fairly sure they are there. Now, as per my before mentioned not looking up anything about the movie, to my (happy) surprise one of the main characters is Dean from Supernatural, one of my favorite shows. He holds his weight well here, especially when everyone in town is peeved at him for wanting to sell the mine. (Aside- there was an extended trailer for the new Friday the 13th, which features Sam from Supernatural. Extra bonus. Yeah, I got a man crush on those guys. Stow it.) The sheriff was so wacky I can't even imagine how he got elected in the first place, and the acting seems a bit over the top. Last girl was good. Not great, but I liked her.

****** Here may be spoilers ******* Look for more asterisks to skip

I think my biggest problem of the whole movie was the supermarket scene when the killer stops pounding on the office door and about 8 seconds later is slashing the girl in the window. Seriously, run all the way out the front, around the side, and to the middle of the building that quick? Err.

****** End of spoiler action *******

Now on to the 3D. Another review here mentioned that they were drawn in at the Lionsgate gear title. Yup. There is a notice to put your glasses on, and after about 30 seconds you get a "Caroline" trailer in 3D (pretty cool), but the Lionsgate screen was awesome. It looks like you are flying through the gears. I said "whoa" (channeling my Keanu) and the people next to me chuckled. The whole movie was like this- not just a few occasional "cat jumps" at you, but the whole movie is in 3D. When the camera walks into a room, you can tell the depth difference from the doorframe to the far wall. When they say immersive, I can vouch for it. This is not your parents' 3D. I've seen my share of 3D (Metalstorm: the destruction of Jared-Syn, anyone?), and all I have to say "ain't technology grand?". I hope that this can somehow be brought to DVD/Blu-Ray. It will not be as effective as the big screen, but still would be cool to see GOOD 3D at home (and for less than $12 a viewing).

[Edit- 1/22/2011- Well now they have home 3D. So scratch that. And I was a bit over excited by the original 3D stuff, but it was still pretty good in retrospect. Now I'm waiting for the "glassless" 3D that is supposed to be coming out in a year or 2]