''Valentine'' is a 2001
slasher film
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
directed by
Jamie Blanks
Jamie Blanks (born 29 November 1971) is an Australian film director and composer. He directed the cult slasher films ''Urban Legend'' (1998) and '' Valentine'' (2001). He later directed the horror films ''Storm Warning'' (2007) and ''Long Weeke ...
and starring
Denise Richards
Denise Richards (born February 17, 1971) is an American actress, television personality, and former fashion model. Her most recognized roles are Carmen Ibanez in ''Starship Troopers'' (1997), Kelly Van Ryan in '' Wild Things'' (1998) and Bond gi ...
,
David Boreanaz
David Paul Boreanaz ( born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/UPN ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' supernatural drama (1997–2003 ...
,
Marley Shelton
Marley Eve Shelton (born April 12, 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Wendy Peffercorn in David Mickey Evans's coming-of-age comedy '' The Sandlot'' (1993), the Customer in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's neo-noi ...
,
Jessica Capshaw
Jessica Capshaw (born August 9, 1976) is an American actress known for her roles as Jamie Stringer in ''The Practice'', and as Dr. Arizona Robbins on the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy''.
Early life
Capshaw was born on August 9, 1976, in ...
, and
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role tha ...
. Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Tom Savage, the film follows a group of women in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
who are stalked by a killer wearing a
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...
mask.
Released theatrically on February 2, 2001, the film was critically panned, with critics deeming it too similar to 1980s slasher films. The film earned $36.7 million on a $29 million budget.
Plot
At a
junior high
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
school
St. Valentine's Day dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
in 1988
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Jeremy Melton, an outcast student, asks four popular girls to dance. The first three girls, Shelley, Lily, and Paige, reject him spitefully and cruelly, while the fourth girl, Kate, politely responds, "maybe later." Their rich friend Dorothy accepts Jeremy's invitation, and they proceed to make out underneath the bleachers. When the school bully Joe Tulga and his friends discover them, Dorothy falsely claims that Jeremy sexually assaulted her. Joe and his friends publicly strip and severely beat Jeremy, and his nose starts bleeding under the distress. It is later revealed Jeremy was expelled and eventually transferred to reform school and juvenile hall, due to Lily, Paige, Shelley and Joe testifying against him for unwanted sexual advances towards Dorothy, and then ended up in a state-run mental institution.
Thirteen years later, in 2001, Shelley, now a medical student at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, is at the morgue one evening studying for her medical exam. After receiving a vulgar Valentine's card in her locker, Shelley discovers someone has taken the place of the cadaver they had been dissecting. After being attacked by someone in a trench coat and
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...
mask, Shelley is cornered in a cooler where she attempts to hide in a
body bag
A body bag, also known as a cadaver pouch or human remains pouch (HRP), is a non-porous bag designed to contain a human body, used for the storage and transportation of shrouded corpses.
History
In the United States, the apparent first docum ...
, but the killer finds her before slitting her throat. The killer's nose bleeds as she dies.
At Shelley's funeral, Kate, Lily, Paige, and Dorothy are questioned. They admit to not having seen her in some time after she moved from San Francisco to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Paige, Lily and Dorothy subsequently receive obscene cards, each signed "JM". Lily's card comes with a box of chocolates which she finds are filled with
maggot
A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies.
...
s. Meanwhile, Dorothy's boyfriend, Campbell, loses his apartment and temporarily moves in with her at her father's large mansion.
As the girls attend the exhibit of Lily's artist boyfriend Max, they meet Campbell's bitter ex-girlfriend Ruthie, who accuses him of being a
con artist
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
. Lily becomes lost at the exhibit and the killer appears, who proceeds to shoot her repeatedly with arrows until she falls several floors into a dumpster. When they have not heard from Lily, the others assume she is in Los Angeles on a work trip. Upon contacting the police, they agree that the culprit can be Jeremy Melton. Dorothy admits to Kate and Paige that she lied to avoid being humiliated and that Jeremy never attacked her; ruining his life by causing him to be beaten and sent to reform school. Meanwhile, Kate's neighbor Gary breaks into her apartment to steal her underwear. The killer catches Gary in the act and hits him with a hot iron, then proceeds to brutally beat him to death with the object.
As Valentine's Day approaches, Dorothy is planning a
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
at her family's estate. On the morning of the party, the killer murders Campbell with an ax in the basement. The others assume he has simply left Dorothy, angering her, to which Dorothy believes that they are jealous and still look at her as the "fat girl" of the group. She confesses Jeremy never assulted her. After coming to the party to confront Dorothy with the truth about Campbell, Ruthie is thrown through a shower window by the killer, who then impales her neck on the glass. At the party, Paige is attacked and trapped in a hot tub by the killer. The killer impales her in the shoulder with an electric
drill before throwing it into the water, electrocuting her.
The party disintegrates when the power cuts out, cause Paige was killed, and Dorothy and Kate argue over who the killer is. Kate claims that Campbell could be a suspect because they do not know anything about him or where he is, while Dorothy counters by accusing Adam, Kate's recovering alcoholic on-off boyfriend, who is now a journalist. After being told by Lily's boyfriend that she did not arrive in Los Angeles as planned, Kate realizes she is also probably dead and calls Detective Vaughn who was assigned to the case. After dialing the number, she follows the sound of a ringtone outside the house and discovers Vaughn's severed head in the pond. Kate becomes convinced that Adam is actually Jeremy, disguised by reconstructive surgery, and goes back into the house, only to find Adam waiting for her. To her surprise, he asks her to dance. Kate becomes frightened and flees. She runs through the house, discovering Dorothy's room trashed and Paige and Ruthie's corpses. She locates a gun, but the Cupid masked killer jumps out from the darkness and sends them both tumbling down a staircase. The killer arises and is shot to death by Adam.
As a shocked and confused Kate apologizes profusely, Adam pulls off the killer's mask to reveal Dorothy. Adam forgives Kate, explaining that childhood trauma can lead to lifelong anger and some people are eventually forced to act on that anger, referring to Dorothy. As Kate and Adam wait for the police to arrive, they hug and Adam says he has always loved her. Moments later, when Kate closes her eyes, Adam's nose begins to bleed, revealing that he is in fact Jeremy Melton (and also the actual killer having knocked out Dorothy and put her in the costume), who set everything up to ruin Dorothy's reputation and exact revenge.
Cast
Production
Conception
While Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to the Tom Savage novel in May 1998, the project was later transferred to
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...
with producer Dylan Sellers and writers Wayne & Donna Powers, with the latter of the two writers himself initially attached to direct.
The original script had a different tone from the book and was set on a college campus.
[ The project went into turnaround to Warner Bros., was rewritten by Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts and Wayne Powers stepped down as director for the studio to find a suitable new director to take the helm for the film.] Richard Kelly was originally offered the chance to direct, but turned the offer down to work on his own film that he wrote and directed himself called Donnie Darko
''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katha ...
and was eventually replaced by Jamie Blanks
Jamie Blanks (born 29 November 1971) is an Australian film director and composer. He directed the cult slasher films ''Urban Legend'' (1998) and '' Valentine'' (2001). He later directed the horror films ''Storm Warning'' (2007) and ''Long Weeke ...
, who did his own filmmaking work for the 1998 horror-comedy film ''Urban Legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
''. Hedy Burress
Heather E. "Hedy" Burress (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She had a starring role in the film '' Foxfire'' as Maddy, and later landed roles in television shows ''Boston Common'' and '' E.R.'' In the video game world, she is best k ...
auditioned for the role of Dorothy Wheeler, and Tara Reid was considered for the role, but it was given to Jessica Capshaw instead. However, Blanks wanted Burress to star in the film and cast her as Ruthie Walker. Jessica Cauffiel
Jessica Cauffiel (born March 30, 1976) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Margot in ''Legally Blonde'' (2001) and Tori in ''White Chicks'' (2004). She is also known as a scream queen for her roles in the slash ...
originally auditioned for Denise Richards's role of Paige. In the original cast, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...
was to play Paige Prescott.
Filming
''Valentine'' was shot on location in Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, with principal photography commencing on July 10, 2000, and concluding on September 8.[ Boreanaz shot all his scenes in less than two weeks. Katherine Heigl only had three days to shoot her scenes as she was already committed to the television series '' Roswell''.][
Blanks later said in an interview: "Forgive me for 'Valentine'' A lot of people give me grief for that, but we did our best".
]
Release
In promotion of the film, Warner Bros.'s official website featured digital e-card valentines that visitors could send via email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
, and stars David Boreanaz and Katherine Heigl—both well known at the time for their roles in the series ''Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
'' and ''Roswell'', respectively—appeared at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Festival.
''Valentine'' had its Hollywood premiere at Hollywood Post No. 43, American Legion, on February 1, 2001. It earned $20,384,136 in the United States and Canada and a total gross of $36,684,136, allowing the film to surpass its $29 million budget.
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film holds an approval rating of 11% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 3.40/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Valentine'' is basically a formulaic throwback to conventional pre-''Scream'' slasher flicks. Critics say it doesn't offer enough suspense or scares to justify its addition to the genre." Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "D+" on an A+ to F scale.
Mick LaSalle of the ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' gave the film a middling review likening to a 1980s-style slasher film, but praised the performances, writing: "''Valentine'' isn't scary, but it is unsettling; not ultimately satisfying, but arresting in the moment. Part of the credit has to go to the ensemble. The actresses are vivid, and the characters they play are clearly delineated". Ben Falk of BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
gave the film two out of five stars: "Let's face it - we all know what's going to happen and director Blanks (''
'') offers up few surprises. There's the host of red herrings of which none really bite, creative deaths, girls running around screaming and then being incredibly thick, but a distinct lack of gratuitous nudity, which would have at least brightened up the landscape".
Kevin Thomas of the ''
'' gave the film a positive review, calling the film a "smart, stylish horror picture that offers a fresh twist on the ever-reliable revenge theme and affords a raft of talented young actors solid roles that show them to advantage". Dennis Harvey of ''
'' gave the film a mixed review, noting: "Looking good but lacking much in the way of personality or gray matter — rather like its characters — ''Valentine'' is a straightforward slasher pic that’s acceptably scary until a weak finale".
'' awarded the film one out of five stars, calling the film "a throwback to the formulaic, holiday-themed stalk-and-slash pictures of the early '80s — but why it took four writers to adapt Tom Savage's generic genre novel is thoroughly baffling".
In a 2015 retrospective review, the online horror publication ''Icons of Fright'' published a retrospective review of the film, defending the spirit of the film and its thematic handling of the holiday's mythological aspects.
. The soundtrack also includes the songs "Pushing Me Away" by
. This soundtrack compilation was lampooned in a sketch by ''
'', which humorously pointed out that many of the bands featured on it were not only unknown to a mass audience but have oddly nonsensical names.
by Warner Home Video on July 24, 2001.
on February 12, 2019.