Coming from Paramount, I expected a lot of footage to be missing but I
didn’t expect it to be a bad film. This film has a good reputation
amongst slasher fans but didn’t give me what I was expecting.
Set in the small mining town of Valentine’s Bluffs (yeah right) the film
tells the story of the infamous Harry Warden who was trapped down the town
mine for days after an explosion led to a cave in. Had the supervisors
not been so anxious to get to the town dance, the accident may never have
happened. Poor Harry Warden meanwhile resorted to eating his workmates to
stay alive…..an experience that sent him crazy. One year later Harry
escaped from the nearby mental hospital and came back for the supervisors
who were getting ready to go to the dance, there hasn’t been a dance
since……until tonight.
The main problem with the film is pacing, it starts far too slowly and
spends most of the running time as a dramatic love triangle with few kills
between. The next problem is the cast. Most of the male leads appear to
be pushing and shout their lines. Another bad aspect is the cheesy
humour, which fails to entertain.
The only good aspects about this film come into play during the death
scenes and these are the scenes that have been tragically cut once again
by the ever moral Paramount.
Director George Mihalka demonstrates that he is more than capable of
creating suspense and atmosphere amongst the few good moments, which
mainly go to the females who are more likeable than the male characters.
I believe that this was a good film but like it’s characters, suffered a
cruel fate at the hands of Paramount, who took control of the film and
ultimately ruined what tried to be a different take on the slasher
sub-genre.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Not too bad, but rather slow in pace, I would love to see the Director’s
cut as I think it would change a lot of peoples perceptions of the film.
It’s a shame that Paramount were unwilling to support their Director and
film, as it had the potential elements to be a good movie.
