My Bloody Valentine 3D
Holidays and horror movies are a perfect combination. What better way to start the New Year than with an auld lang syne slashfest? Then scare lovers silly with a St. Valentine’s Day massacre, impale them on Flag Day, stuff them on Turkey Day, and tie them up for Christmas?
Let’s face it, holiday horror is a gimmick, but a fun one that has certainly proven to be a successful formula. From Halloween in the ‘70s to April Fool’s Day in the ‘80s to the remake of Prom Night last year, audiences love to defile a holiday or milestone with some slash-tastic movie mayhem, and My Bloody Valentine 3D, a remake of an ‘80s flick with a filmmaking process also revived during that decade, continues this long-running tradition. (Valentine’s technological twist recalls the trend that brought back the original House of Wax and gave us Jaws III and Friday the 13th Part III, all three in 3D.)
Plenty of holidays have been exploited for a good scream over the years, as in Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter Bunny Kill! Kill! St. Patrick’s Day got a nod with the Leprechaun franchise. December 31st was the backdrop for New Year’s Evil and Terror Train. And a gazillion fear fests have been set around Christmas, including Black Christmas, Christmas Evil, Jack Frost and Santa’s Slay.
“Gimmick movies are always more appetizing, in my opinion,” remarks Nathan Hanneman, editor-in-chief of Horror Hound magazine. “Horror is exploitation, and thus, filmmakers attempting to exploit the holiday seasons is natural. They are trying to take something familiar to everyone and make it scary. Sadly, most of these films aren't exactly good. I have never been a big fan of Silent Night, Deadly Night, for example.”
Donald May Jr., president of cult DVD company Synapse Films, recalls the opening of that aforementioned, notorious mock Santa slasher film, which spawned four sequels and a lot of controversy. “People picketed, and the posters were all folded so you couldn’t see the arm with the axe,” he says. “That was great and memorable publicity for a pretty crappy movie. I know it wasn’t necessarily ‘planned’ publicity, but it certainly helped with the notoriety.”
Yes, notoriety, the thing that many horror directors crave. It’s very rare for anyone to get up in arms about movies anymore, since most taboos have been broken on the silver screen or on television. It seems these days we actually revel in crossing lines, which seems to be why a killer Santa is too devilishly delicious for some filmmakers to pass up. And with a real-life killer Santa mowing people down in Southern California last Christmas Eve, these movies now smack of scary realism.
“One of my favorites has always been Christmas Evil, not because my company put it out, but because it’s just so weird and creepy,” states May. “It’s exploitive without being too over-the-top and you really can believe that the poor guy is just plain nuts. The ending is ‘scratch your head in amazement’ crazy, too, which is great fun. I try to watch Christmas Evil at least once around Christmas holiday.”
Indeed some of these movies can become tradition. In its own way, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas has become associated with both Halloween and Christmas, and both its recent DVD re-packaging and previous 10th anniversary merchandising blitz has made sure it will stay in the public consciousness for years to come.
“Halloween is no doubt the best in terms of holiday-named horror films,” asserts Hanneman. “While Black Christmas was the original, and my pick for best Christmas-themed horror, Halloween set the bar that all future holiday-inspired features have aspired to meet. Sadly, throughout the years we have seen only a rare few pull off a ‘win,’ so to speak, including Friday the 13th and My Bloody Valentine. I loved the Thanksgiving trailer Eli Roth made for Grindhouse and hope one day he can pony up the time to develop that into a featured film. Regardless of all those, however, Michael Myers -- in his own Halloween mask -- is no doubt the king of holiday-themed horror.”
If you don’t have a great character, though, marketing always helps. As Hanneman notes, it’s wise to release a holiday-themed horror movie around the actual time it takes place. My Bloody Valentine 3D is just a month early. Releasing Prom Night during the height of prom season last year undoubtedly helped with its hefty box office take. (Interestingly, though, both of Rob Zombie’s Halloween installments -- the second arrives this summer -- have had August release dates.)
A good ad campaign also suckers us horror fiends in. The tongue-in-cheek April Fool’s Day was memorable for featuring a woman, back turned to the camera as she toasted her friends, holding a knife and sporting a ponytail shaped like a noose. The original video cover for Happy Birthday To Me spotlighted its gory money shot, the image of a man being impaled through the mouth with shish kebab. And the DVD cover for the original Prom Night spotlights prom queen Jamie Lee Curtis holding a bouquet of roses…and a bloody axe.
Ultimately no one can deny the power of a holiday-themed fear flick. It appeals to some twisted glee we experience in watching of a good time turn bad. “When the remake of Black Christmas came out on Christmas Day, I went,” recalls May. “And the theater was packed. Sold out. In a small Midwestern town. I bet 90 percent of the audience hadn’t even been aware it was a remake. I bet if someone made even Rosh Hashana Massacre, people would go. I know I would.”
A life-long movie aficionado and NYU film school grad, Bryan Reesman (www.bryanreesman.com) revels in everything from big-budget epics to obscure horror and cult movie gems that no one has ever heard of. He has been published in the NY Times, Playboy, American Way, Premiere and MovieMaker.
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