Post by bruce on Apr 1, 2011 12:47:29 GMT -5
Canadian slasher film released in the wake of the popularity of the slasher genre that had overtaken the 1970s. Considered an example of the low-budget cult films reminiscent of popular slasher films such as Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), the movie was filmed on location in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The movie is infamous for having had 9 minutes cut by the MPAA due to the amount of violence and gore. Though co-producer Dunning confirmed that the excised footage still existed, attempts to release it proved difficult as Paramount Pictures refused to offer an uncut version. Lionsgate subsequently secured DVD rights to the film (as well as several other Paramount features, under license) and released the uncut version on January 13, 2009
In 1961, in the sleepy mining town of Valentine Bluffs, a methane gas explosion at Hanniger Coal Mine trapped five miners in a shaft when the foremen of the crew left early to attend the town's Valentine's Day dance. Six weeks later, the sole survivor of the accident, Harry Warden, was rescued; he survived by eating his dead coworkers and ultimately went mad. After a year in a mental institution, he escaped on Valentine's Day, killing and cutting out the heart of the guilty foremen, leaving a warning that the same would happen if the town ever again held a Valentine's Day celebration.
With the legend of Harry Warden nothing but a distant memory, a group of young miners and their girlfriends decide that the town has gone without a party long enough. As the night of the dance approaches, a murderous maniac in mining gear begins dispatching townsfolk in bloody and creative ways. The town sheriff and mayor quickly deduce it must be Harry Warden, who was returned to the institution, though their attempts to confirm Warden's status are hindered.
The movie is infamous for having had 9 minutes cut by the MPAA due to the amount of violence and gore. Though co-producer Dunning confirmed that the excised footage still existed, attempts to release it proved difficult as Paramount Pictures refused to offer an uncut version. Lionsgate subsequently secured DVD rights to the film (as well as several other Paramount features, under license) and released the uncut version on January 13, 2009
In 1961, in the sleepy mining town of Valentine Bluffs, a methane gas explosion at Hanniger Coal Mine trapped five miners in a shaft when the foremen of the crew left early to attend the town's Valentine's Day dance. Six weeks later, the sole survivor of the accident, Harry Warden, was rescued; he survived by eating his dead coworkers and ultimately went mad. After a year in a mental institution, he escaped on Valentine's Day, killing and cutting out the heart of the guilty foremen, leaving a warning that the same would happen if the town ever again held a Valentine's Day celebration.
With the legend of Harry Warden nothing but a distant memory, a group of young miners and their girlfriends decide that the town has gone without a party long enough. As the night of the dance approaches, a murderous maniac in mining gear begins dispatching townsfolk in bloody and creative ways. The town sheriff and mayor quickly deduce it must be Harry Warden, who was returned to the institution, though their attempts to confirm Warden's status are hindered.