Valentine is a 2001 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks and starring Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, and Katherine Heigl.
Jeremy is expelled and transferred to reform school and juvenile hall, due to Dorothy, Shelley, Lily, Paige, and Joe all testifying for unwanted sexual advances; he then ended up in a mental institution.
Thirteen years later, Shelley, now a medical student, receives a threatening Valentine's card and is attacked by someone in a trench coat and Cupid mask.
Detective Vaughn calls Kate to let her know that they let Jason Marquette (Shelley's date from the beginning) go due to lack of evidence, and encourages the friends to stay in groups until he arrives.
Dorothy accuses Adam, Kate's recovering alcoholic boyfriend who is a journalist, of being Jeremy, unrecognizable due to plastic surgery.
Valentine was shot on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, with principal photography commencing on July 10, 2000,[5] and concluding on September 8.
[6] In promotion of the film, Warner Bros.'s official website featured digital e-card valentines that visitors could send via email,[8] and stars David Boreanaz and Katherine Heigl—both well known at the time for their roles in the series Angel and Roswell, respectively—appeared at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Festival.
The website's critics consensus reads: "Valentine is basically a formulaic throwback to conventional pre-Scream slasher flicks.
[13] Ben Falk of the BBC gave the film two out of five stars: "Let's face it — we all know what's going to happen and director Blanks (Urban Legend) 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".
[14] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times 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".
[15] Dennis Harvey of Variety 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".
[16] Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times also felt the film was formulaically structured, writing: "The worst kind of mystery is one in which nobody cares who the killer is.
[18] In a 2015 retrospective review for Icons of Fright, BJ Colangelo defended the spirit of the film and its thematic handling of the holiday's mythological aspects, calling it "a lot of fun and definitely one I think more people should give a chance.
The soundtrack also includes the songs "Pushing Me Away" by Linkin Park, "God of the Mind" by Disturbed, "Love Dump (Mephisto Odyssey's Voodoo Mix)" by Static-X, "Superbeast (Porno Holocaust Mix)" by Rob Zombie, "Valentine's Day" by Marilyn Manson, and "Opticon" by Orgy.
This soundtrack compilation was lampooned in a sketch by Saturday Night Live, 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.