Valentine (2001)

Simply Perfect

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's fair to say that 1997's 'Scream' reinvented the 'slasher' genre, breathing new life into something that was pretty formulaic and predictable. Then, four years later we have 'Valentine,' – a slasher movie that feels as if it belongs somewhere in the eighties at best. Either that or no one on the entire production staff ever watched Scream or knew about its existence.The beauty of Scream was that it listed all the clichés associated with the horror genre and did its best to subvert them. Valentine, on the other hand, seems to want to adhere to every cliché and be totally predictable.At the start of the movie we see a flashback from yesteryear where a geeky looking boy was (slightly!) bullied at a school prom by a gang of girls and then beaten up by some boys. Skip forward twenty or so years and he's out for revenge on the girls he perceived as his tormentors. Here's the first thing I noticed... I know we're hardly meant to feel empathy towards the (as yet unknown) killer, but these girls didn't really do enough to warrant their grisly executions. Perhaps that's meant to make us hate him more, I don't know. I'd have thought he'd need more of a reason towards his hated. I know there are some brief explanations regarding how he was sent away to an institution after the 'attack' but it's all pretty glossed over.So, the film is basically the adult girls being stalked and eliminated one by one. Naturally, they all hang out with a multitude of unsavoury men, designed to make us wonder which one is really the killer in 'disguise.' Another thing you may notice is the heavy marketing towards Denise Richards. I know nowadays it's a bit fashionable to hate her, but, back at the end of the nineties, she was pretty hot (commercial) property. Unfortunately, she's not really the star. This is a shame because she's actually quite fun and is by far the most memorable character on screen.The death scenes (bar one regarding the hot tub) are nothing special and certainly not imaginative and you'll probably guess who the killer is simply because you will. It's just obvious somehow, despite attempts at misdirection.You're really going to have to enjoy slasher films to really like this. Either that or just want to see Denise Richards in her prime! Otherwise, stick to Scream, its sequels and any vaguely better slasher flick.

In 1988, geeky Jeremy Melton gets rejected by every girl at the Valentine school dance. Chubby Dorothy Wheeler is the only one who reluctantly accepts. They get caught making out behind the benches and Dorothy fakes being attacked. Jeremy gets stripped and hit by the bullies. He gets sent to reform school. Years later, the girls who rejected Jeremy are getting attacked by a mask man. Shelley Fisher (Katherine Heigl) is a medical student working at the morgue. She is killed by the masked man. Paige Prescott (Denise Richards) and Kate Davies (Marley Shelton) are still best friends trying to find boyfriends. Adam Carr (David Boreanaz) tries to comfort Kate during Shelley's funeral. Lily Voight (Jessica Cauffiel) and Dorothy Wheeler (Jessica Capshaw) are also at the funeral. They are approached by Detective Leon Vaughn about the murder.None of the girls are nice enough and compelling enough for me to root for. I'm perfectly fine if they are all killed off. Even the detective is a sleaze. It's obvious who is being set up as the real killer. There is nothing surprising or original going on. There is nothing interesting or scary. There are some good talented actresses but none of them shine in this movie. The movie should center around Lily Voight. It's too scattered among the girls. The idea holds some possibilities but the movie is not imaginative enough to find them.

So I've just finished watching Valentine, and for those of you who don't like reviews that are too long - let me start off by saying it's definitely worth the watch. Good ol' late 90's Slasher/Thriller. My main problem with such films is that they are tagged/labeled as Horror. Having a killer in a film, even this kind of stalking creepy killer, doesn't make a movie Horror. There are many films that resemble Valentine in many aspects and features that weren't labeled as Horror, so why? Because it had blood in it? Just my opinion.Valentine, as I said, one of the better Slasher/Thriller films of the new millennium. It has all the makings of suspense and "on edge" sensation. I personally found the dialogues to be superb, absolutely my favorite part of the film, especially the "letter from hell" style Valentine cards and Gary's discussion with Kate. Respect to all 4 screenwriters (and of course to Tom Savage, writer of the novel). Also, great soundtrack! Really enjoyed the music.As for acting, it was also good, especially Denise Richards who really aced the role of the flirty-slutty member of the group (none of the actresses lacked good looks, and still Richards really manages to stick out). Nice work also by David "Angel" Boreanaz who really managed to get into the role of the guilt-ridden slightly neurotic boyfriend with the drinking problem, although his "drunk act" wasn't all that convincing.As for the story - nothing special about it, basic Slasher type revenge tale. It appeared that I hadn't really understood the ending before I read about it in the message boards here, but it was also good. Could have used a better, smarter and slightly more obvious twist to it, a good twist is what makes a good slasher great.All in all, Valentine is definitely a worth while film that I'm glad I got to watch, even 11 years after it's release. Recommended!

1_Group some 20 something terrible actors and actresses, to make an enough number of suspects and victims. 2_Make a mad vague unstoppable serial killer who loves, just loves, to intimidate his victims before ending them. 3_Make a frequent way of threat; phone calls, gifts, postcards, bloody lines on walls…etc. 4_Many killings going on to dispose of that cast, one after the other. 5_Write the most idiot and useless dialog (who cares ? It doesn't matter here !). 6_A big finish where many killings happen and the identity of the killer appears. 7_A zillion sequel, since the real killer will NEVER EVER be killed !This round (Valentine) does look like a spoof sometimes; the first scene at the school party, the date session, or watching a leg while wearing a pantyhose then discovering that it's for a man ! Though, it's pitiful that it wasn't made as spoof. Because despite having a good formation for a script, especially the ending's surprise, some matters made the parody, any parody, sure more watchable in comparison.The movie suffers from a die-hard TV-ish condition. The image is away from being a bit dazzling or even cinematic. No factors said that we're watching anything else the movie of the week. While we're supposed to be in a thrilling horror, there was a state of stagnancy and indolence around; which pushes you to ask who was the real slasher of the movie ?! (Denise Richards), the first name on the poster, is a major turn off. I came to believe that being her is an enough reason to be killed. I loved the moment of killing her since it meant not seeing her again. Her dull presence and awful acting ruined big part of standing the viewing !Then, the vocal cat fight between (Dorothy) and her young stepmother led to nothing, since not the stepmother or the father ended up as murdered or ever appeared again ! How (Dorothy) thought that her boyfriend left the villa near the end ? His clothes were left, being killed in his bathrobe, so he's a nudist ?! And by the way the killer's mask seemed a bit laughable, as if it was modeled after actor (Frederick Koehler)'s baby face !I find it strange why (Scream – 1996) made that horror boom, for the slasher subgenre in specific, at the middle of the 1990s. True (Scream) isn't a great movie in my book, but there must be causes for its box office success, many sequels and likes. Aside from presenting a well formula for a thriller/horror/teen movie for Hollywood to feed on, I think it met a strong sense of being unsecured for the teens of the time, and a case of distrust among the people in totally materialistic world where love is missed; notice how the first victim (played by Katherine Heigl) Leaves a disgusting possible lover to work – more satisfied – among corpses, (Dorothy)'s father cares about his new wife more than his daughter, (Dorothy)'s love isn't trustable; loving her money not her, every girl in the movie suspects her lover, the end is about trusting the wrong lover, and originally the killer is someone had nobody to love or to trust either.(Valentine) as a horror parody ignored some potential irony. And as only a horror it bores; due to not much of scary moments, no artistic dealing and predicting the formula easily. Comparing it to (Scream) proves missing the cinematic heat; namely craft and better talents. So it managed to be a slasher movie's weak copy, following the known-by-heart steps yet poorly. That's why the voluptuous beauty of (Jessica Capshaw) is the whole show here, and nothing else it ! Slasher movies are like porn without sex. Namely cheap and empty. Since the start I don't talk about the bad ones, because the thing is…almost all of them are !