Where in the Horror are they Now? The Cast of My Bloody Valentine (1981)!

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

THE CAST OF MY BLOODY VALENTINE

THEN: Some people think Valentine’s Day is all about chocolate and roses. For many, it’s time for a romantic dinner or a movie, it is all about the love. Yet for horror fans, this holiday full of hearts and flowers reminds me of one of my favorite genre flicks. My Valentine’s Day consists of possibly a romantic dinner at Denny’s, and more importantly, it’s a date with my pal Harry Warden. Yep, I love that rascal who wears a gas mask with a pickaxe in his hand. Sure I loved what Patrick Lussier did with the remake, but I definitely hold a soft spot for the original 1981 flick. So while I am very happy to chat about Jamie King, Jensen Ackles and Kerr Smith, what about the original film’s love triangle?

In MY BLOODY VALENTINE, two old friends are in a bit of a feud over the lovely leading lady. Instead of King and company, this film stars Paul Kelman as T.J., Lori Hallier as Sarah and Neil Affleck as Axel – and no, I don’t think he has any relation to a couple of other Afflecks. The beauty of this cheap little slasher is just how appealing the three leads are. And since the film offers up a mystery, we aren’t quite sure if Harry Warden is causing the havoc, or if we have a mysterious copy cat killer on the prowl. And thanks to this fine trio, it helps give a little bit of HEART to the George Mihalka directed feature.

We are doing this week’s column a little differently. Instead of placing the focus on one actor, we are going to briefly look at each, and find out what is up with them now. Let’s start with Kelman. I dug this fella in this movie. And frankly, he hasn’t had a very long acting career. However, he did a little more than this when it came to horror flicks. Aside from doing the comedy GAS, the same year as MBV, he was also featured in a 1988 rock and roll fright flick called BLACK ROSES. In the film he played “Julie’s Step-Dad!” It’s been a long time since I checked this movie out, and I don’t remember the guy at all. He sure as hell rocked as T.J. however.

Next up we have Neil Affleck. The blonde-haired actor played the hothead Axel perfectly. It was nice to see he and Kelman have a couple of moments where they aren’t battling for the girl. I genuinely liked both of these fellas. The Toronto based actor not only appeared in a leading role in MBV, but he also had a small role in the classic David Cronenberg film SCANNERS that same year. A year later in 1982, Neil appeared in VISITING HOURS and MURDER BY PHONE. And his genre work continued through the Eighties in flicks like CROSS COUNTRY (1983) and WILD THING (1987). He even appeared in the Frances Farmer television bio pic “Will There Really Be a Morning?” in 1983.

Finally, we have our leading lady. Lori Hallier seems to have had the best luck when it came to acting. Her horror credits include WARNING SIGN in 1985, BLINDSIDE in 1987, as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In fact, the actress worked steadily in television since her date with Harry Warden. There was an episode of The Hitchhiker in 1990, two episodes of Friday the 13th: The Series and War of the Worlds, both in 1988 – 1990. While her big screen journey into terror was minimal, she certainly seemed to enjoy working on a scary series or two. And we must not forget her work in the TV-movie Night of the Twisters in 1996.

NOW: So what has happened to the three little lovebirds that found out the hard way that Valentine’s Day can be deadly? Let’s again start with Kelman. After doing a single episode of something called Class of ’96 in 1993, the actor disappeared from Hollywood completely. However, according to his Twitter page, he has became far more interested in something positive. This “Earthling; Writer; Activist; Human & Animal Rights, Environment” lover still considers himself a professional actor. And more importantly, he still seems to be proud of being involved in the gory goodness of MY BLOODY VALENTINE.

What has Neil Affleck been up to? The onetime horror star has left behind chills and thrills and has moved on to animation. He has worked as an animator for both The Simpsons and Family Guy. He has even directed a few episodes of the two shows, as well as episodes of Seven Little Monsters (2000) – I’ll bet Harry Warden isn’t one – and Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends, where he directed 33 episodes. Most recently he directed 5 episodes of Mike the Knight from 2011 – 2012 as well as Mike the Knight: Journey to Dragon Mountain.

And what about our leading lady? Well, Lori hasn’t stopped acting since her days running away from crazed miners. With 85 credits to her name, the actress recently starred in the TV-movie Christmas with Holly in 2012 and something called A Fish Story in 2013. A couple of nice family films for your viewing pleasure! In 2014 she appeared in one episode of the TV series Sensitive Skin. It’s good to see the actress continue to work, but it sure would be great to see her back in something spooky and fun. Actually, the love I have for this flick, I’d be thrilled to see a bit of an on-screen reunion!

As night falls on Valentine’s Day, I will once again return to MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and let Harry Warden rip a few hearts out. Axel, T.J. and Sarah remain one of my favorite horror threesomes to this day and I hope you enjoyed looking back on this awesome cult classic. Happy Valentine’s everyone!