Product Details

• Actors: Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Cauffiel
• Directors: Jamie Blanks
• Writers: Aaron Harberts, Donna Powers, Gretchen J. Berg, Tom Savage, Wayne Powers
• Producers: Bruce Berman, Dylan Sellers
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 24, 2001
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (215 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXUP
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,827 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Valentine" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Five comely and well-to-do female friends receive dire threats inside anonymous valentines. When two of them meet violent ends, the remaining trio suspect that the killer may be a nebbishy former classmate whom they spurned years before at a school dance. Their solution: Throw a lavish Valentine's Day party, all the better to distract them from the hulking, cherub-masked killer...

As the above suggests, Valentine is the absolute nadir of the post-Scream slasher film. Australian director Jamie Blanks (whose previous effort was the equally dismal Urban Legend, 1998) obviously had lofty goals for his film, given his bald-faced homages to John Carpenter and Dario Argento. But he hasn't a clue as to how to generate suspense, and his frequent reliance on well-worn shock effects (hands dropping on shoulders, etc.) suggests more contempt for the genre than affection. No less than four writers (including two writer-producers for Roswell, which explains the appearance of series star Katherine Heigl) contributed to the screenplay, which fails to generate the twentysomething drama and hip, cutting dialogue required for this brand of horror. As the five friends, actresses Marley Shelton, Denise Richards, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Caufield, and Heigl have little to do other than alternately look attractive or afraid; Richards, in particular, looks weary of playing the man-eater. As Shelton's dipsomaniac boyfriend, David Boreanaz (Angel) lumbers through each scene with an embarrassed scowl.

Warner Bros.' DVD includes commentary by Blanks, as well as cast and crew interviews and a video for Orgy's contribution to the noisy, new-metal soundtrack. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Five comely and well-to-do female friends receive dire threats inside anonymous valentines. When two of them meet violent ends, the remaining trio suspect that the killer may be a nebbishy former classmate whom they spurned years before at a school dance. Their solution: Throw a lavish Valentine's Day party, all the better to distract them from the hulking, cherub-masked killer... As the above suggests, Valentine is the absolute nadir of the post-Scream slasher film. Australian director Jamie Blanks (whose previous effort was the equally dismal Urban Legend, 1998) obviously had lofty goals for his film, given his bald-faced homages to John Carpenter and Dario Argento. But he hasn't a clue as to how to generate suspense, and his frequent reliance on well-worn shock effects (hands dropping on shoulders, etc.) suggests more contempt for the genre than affection. No less than four writers (including two writer-producers for Roswell, which explains the appearance of series star Katherine Heigl) contributed to the screenplay, which fails to generate the twentysomething drama and hip, cutting dialogue required for this brand of horror. As the five friends, actresses Marley Shelton, Denise Richards, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Caufield, and Heigl have little to do other than alternately look attractive or afraid; Richards, in particular, looks weary of playing the man-eater. As Shelton's dipsomaniac boyfriend, David Boreanaz (Angel) lumbers through each scene with an embarrassed scowl. Warner Bros.' DVD includes commentary by Blanks, as well as cast and crew interviews and a video for Orgy's contribution to the noisy, new-metal soundtrack. --Paul Gaita

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My bloody valentine October 11, 2002

By Daniel Jolley HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I think Valentine is a vastly underrated, thrilling horror movie. At its root, it is obviously a slasher film, but this movie features great pacing, true suspense, quite effective musical transitions, and, most importantly, a terrific finish. Valentine not only has a recognizable plot, it incorporates some dandy instances of symmetry that really help tie everything together in the end. I wish I could tell you just how satisfying the ending is. I had my suspicions about the identity of the killer, but several late twists made me doubt my theory, change it, and finally just applaud the filmmakers for essentially keeping me in the dark up until the very end. I know the clues are there all along, and many people may discover the secret well before the final revelation, but this experienced horror fan was kept off-balance throughout. I also have to admit that this movie made me jump a couple of times (and I can't say that about very many horror movies). With significant help from the musical score, suspenseful scenes were really presented well-just long enough to make you grit your teeth but not long enough to become tiresome. In trailers, the movie looks like another Scream (and there are definite similarities), but Valentine stands head and shoulders above the great majority of slasher films.

A lot of horror films feature attractive women, but Valentine is in a class all by itself. What you get here is Katherine Heigl, Marley Shelton, Jessica Cauffiel, the charming Jessica Capshaw, and-drum roll please-Denise Richards. Denise Richards is absolutely stunning in this movie-the smoldering, sultry looks, the prayer-answering hot tub scene, and the bedroom scene I won't even attempt to describe. Watching the creepy old detective put the moves on her is rather comical, but you can't blame the guy for trying.

I must say I really love the killer in this movie. While the concept of the masked killer is far from original, the cherub mask is a cool, creepy look. This killer also enjoys variety, employing a number of different, equally effective implements of death. He works his way up from your basic knife across the throat and crossbow to broken shards of glass and a couple of really innovative weapons. No two deaths are remotely alike, and you can just tell how much the killer enjoys his/her work. The DVD's energetic club reel of Orgy's song Opticon is great, but I would caution you not to watch it before watching the movie because it does give a little away in terms of who lives and who dies.

Valentine has almost everything I want in a horror movie-a creepy killer, gorgeous actresses, all manner of killings, miscellaneous laughs, an actual plot of some complexity, nail-biting suspense, and a less than obvious ending that totally satisfied this horror fan. I would not have objected to some nudity, but this movie really doesn't need it. It's hot, it's sizzling, it's sexy, it's smart, it's a carnival of murderous delight. You won't find many slasher films better than Valentine.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The perfect movie when you're dateless on Valentine's February 15, 2005

By Meesha

Format:DVD

This seemed 'appropriate' to watch on Valentine's. I keep getting told it's 'appropriate' to watch certain movies at certain times. The only movie I've ever tried that with (apart from Christmas movies), is Sweet November, which is the perfect movie to watch in November. This seemed appropriate to watch alone (gimme some sympathy please) on Valentine's night.

During the first few minutes, it very obviously steals ideas from a few other movies: the Halloween-style score at the beginning; a guy getting a red liquid thrown over him, similar to the infamous pigs blood scene from Carrie and the young guy's character being called Jason. There are also quite a few, probably unintentional, references to other teenie movies, particularly Scream.

I am not the biggest fan of Denise Richards, as her eyebrows are a little overpowering, and definitely need plucked. Plus, she's too perfect - hopefully not anymore, considering at the time of writing, she has one kid, and another on the way! The rest of the characters were your stereotypical teen slasher cast: the fat girl, who's now thin; all the girls wear tight revealing tops, with everything pushed up around their necks; and the guys look suitably easy on the eye.

However, the movie left you guessing right to the very end, and ends in such a way, that you're still looking confused as to who the killer really was when the credits are rolling. Everyone is thrown in the frame at one point, as it is with all slasher flicks. You're wondering at the end, how some people ended up being there though.

In one scene, Kat tells Dorothy that her boyfriend, Adam Carr (David Boreanaz), is 'no angel'. This is, of course, referring to Boreanaz's hit TV series, "Angel".

The movie looks glossy enough, however it was filmed in only 42 days. David Boreanaz shot his entire character role in less than two weeks. Katherine Heigl had only 3 days to shoot her scenes. She was already committed to TV's "Roswell". And at a cost of $10 million this is the cheapest film to ever have a Superbowl spot.

Jessica Cauffiel's character Lily is set to go to Los Angeles the day after she's killed. In Urban Legends Final Cut (done by the same director?), Cauffiel's character is also set to go to Los Angeles the day after she's killed.

The order in which Jeremy asks the girls to dance is also the order in which they die. The girls' responses to Jeremy's asking them to dance foreshadows their fates. Lily acts disgusted when asked to dance, and is later disgusted when she bites into a chocolate with maggots inside. Paige says she'd rather be boiled alive, and is electrocuted in a hot tub. Dorothy ends up blaming Jeremy for her actions, and Jeremy/Adam later frames her for the murders.

This is an instantly forgettable movie, apart from Denise Richards' (Paige) scene in the hot tub. I will not be setting foot anywhere near a hot tub after watching that. Not that I ever would, but you never know when it might arise. It's your typical teen slasher flick, with no surprises, and a subtle twist at the end. Not mind-blowing, but not falling in the god-awful category either.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars VALENTINE May 11, 2001

By Tom Patrick

Format:DVD

VALENTINE is a new horror-thriller about five young girls who are being stalked by a Cupid mask wearing killer who could possibly be the same guy they all rejected back in middle school. There are many plot twists, lots of action, lots of action, many suspects, and a high body count. This movie turned out to be much better than I expected, and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of horror movies!