Valentine

“Remember that kid everyone ignored on Valentine’s Day? – He remembers you.”

A film released during the slasher revival of the late ‘90s/early 2000s, Valentine boasts a star-filled cast including David Boreanaz, Denise Richards, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, and Katherine Heigl. Even with this cast, the film relies on tropes that were played out way before this movie was released, a mystery with little to no surprises, and scares that barely make you shift in your seat.

At a school’s Valentine’s Day dance, a young boy with traditional nerd attire, Jeremy Melton, goes from girl to girl asking for a dance and gets rejected in a plethora of ways. Upon reaching out to a girl sitting alone on the bleachers, he is not only given a positive response, but is brought under the bleachers by the girl for what is presumably his first make-out sessions (ah young, nerdy love). The two are discovered by classmates and once they are ridiculed, the girl accuses Jeremy of attacking her. Jeremy is stripped and then beaten up by his classmates and the film fast forwards to the present day.

Here we are slowly introduced to young women who are the adult versions of the girls from the dance. Their characters/personalities are quickly established and one by one they begin to receive Valentine’s cards that deliver messages of death. As their friends begin to die, the girls put together blatant clues that lead them to recall Jeremy Melton and their 6th-grade dance. While they suspect Jeremy Melton is behind the messages and deaths, the police cannot find much about him or where he is currently. They don’t even have a recent photo. This leads to the girls suspecting everyone that is close to them. As Valentine’s Day grows closer, the deaths really pile up.

As a slasher film, Valentine attempts to hit all the correct points to make a classic horror film, but either falls short or makes poor decisions in story development. We get all the elements, but they never elicit any feelings of fear, fun, or nostalgia.

With many slasher films of the ‘80s, the one thing that makes your film memorable is the killer. This is one of the major missteps Valentine makes. Jeremy Melton gets a good (albeit quick) backstory right at the beginning. He experiences a traumatic event at the hands of his classmates and is seeking revenge. This is quite simple, but we do learn more occurred to him due to the event a bit later in the film which boosts his motivation for revenge.

However, the design of the killer falls flat. While he does sport a memorable cupid mask and gets an occasional nosebleed, nothing else about him stands out. His modus operandi of sending his victims deadly messages as Valentines was done better in films like My Bloody Valentine and even in the closely released I Know What You Did Last Summer. While watching this unfold my thoughts were “we’ve been here before.” This killer really needed something of his own to help him stand out. Perhaps a commonly used weapon for the kills or, being a cupid-mask-wearing killer, perhaps more deaths with Valentine themes (the only death loosely connected this way is a strange, ill-suited bow and arrow death). There is a veiled connection to the girls’ deaths and the way they rejected him, but it is never directly mentioned in the film.

The death scenes of the girls are where the creativity of the film does shine. Not as gory as some other slashers, Valentine does make each death unique. [SPOILER] The most cringe-worthy being an impalement onto a large piece of broken glass. Then there is a bit of humor in a kill that is off-screen when the killer is seen dragging the dead body of a maid. He just drops the body right in the middle of the room and chases after the witness. Yeah, let’s just hope nobody else walks into that room until he chases the other victim down [END OF SPOILER].

The plot of the film is centered on the girls finding the killer before he eliminates them all, but they don’t even take the threat that seriously. After the first of their group is killed and they are warned about a possible killer, they mostly shrug and continue on with their lives. Even the inept detective investigating the case derides them for receiving threatening Valentines and not notifying him about them. So, while there is an active investigation going on. The threat of the killer doesn’t seem to sway them much besides a minor inconvenience.

The mystery of Jeremy Melton (a huge plot point of Valentine) is also not handled well. A few secondary characters are introduced into the film. These plus some of the main girls are suspects, but it is quite easy to figure out the killer fairly early in the movie. Being able to do this negates a lot of the weak red herrings that the story tries to throw at you.

While the story has its faults, the performances by the actors in the film are quite good. Each character had specific personality quirks and roles for the story and each actor made it clear what those were. Jessica Capshaw’s (Minority Report, View from the Top) first-rate portrayal of a girl with self-confidence and self-image troubles stood out against the other actors. David Boreanaz (The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Ghost Writer) as Adam Carr really developed his character quickly towards the end of the film. A recovering alcoholic whose drinking caused his relationship with Kate (Marley Shelton; Pleasantville, Planet Terror) to dissolve, he spent most of the first part of the film just playing a good guy trying to get back in his ex’s good graces. [SPOILER] It is after a small relapse into his drinking habit that David really is able to give the character depth and variety [END OF SPOILER]. I really don’t have anything too bad to say about any of the actors in Valentine. If you are a fan of any one of them, that may make this film enjoyable enough to grab a copy.

Focusing away from the music played at the Valentine’s Day party towards the end of the film, the incidental and tension building music was nothing that hasn’t been done before. When the killer was about to strike or was chasing his victims, there are tons of striking cords and deep bass sounds to indicate the danger and hopefully help take a scare to another level. It didn’t really accomplish this for me though. There was a bit of standout music at the beginning. During the opening credits and the scenes where Jeremy asks for dances, there was this alternation of soft piano music and long pulls on stringed instruments. This blend actually accomplished pulling me into the scene and had me hopeful for the rest of the movie.

And speaking of that opening scene, it was a fine element to the movie. It hooked my attention and established a major part of the movie while creatively tying in the credits for the movie. With the addition of the previously mentioned music, I really thought this film was going to surprise me in a good way.

The home release of the film I watched for this review is the DVD by Warner Home Video from 2001. The picture and sound quality of the movie are quite good for the DVD format. Special Features include a director commentary for the film, a music video of the song Opticon by Orgy, Cast profiles, and a small behind the scenes featurette. Scream Factory has also released a Blu-Ray version of the film with a lot of extras including never-before-seen footage, deleted scenes and a group of interviews with some of the cast and crew. While I have not yet seen the Blu-Ray version of the film, based on Scream Factory’s reputation for quality and if it is as good in quality as the DVD, then I would say grab the Blu-Ray for the extra features that the DVD is missing (also the DVD is out of print). If you just want to watch the film, then either format will get you there. There are links at the bottom of this review for each version.

Valentine is definitely a mixed bag of elements that keeps what could have been a classic slasher from really reaching its potential. The performances, kills, and some plot elements keep the film enjoyable, but the sections of the plot that fail and the lackluster killer also holds Valentine back from being notable in the sea of slashers available. If you are a fan of the ‘90s slashers like Scream, Urban Legend, and I Know What You Did Last Summer, then you will probably enjoy Valentine. If you are more into the ‘70s and ‘80s slashers, then Valentine may bore you. You won’t really know until you watch it. So pop this into your player, relax on your couch next to your valentine, and save me some popcorn!

Rating:

Jack Savage:

While having a strong cast, Valentine falters in story development and gave me only one or two jump scares. It has gained a small following since its release. If you are a fan of similar slashers of the same era you may want to check it out. For others, you can still watch and maybe enjoy the film, just don’t expect anything special.

Trailer:

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