Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Monica Tribeca A group of female friends (around 25 years old) are being stalked by a man who seems to be a boy they bullied at 12. People start dying, a detective tries to solve the mystery, and the girls start having differences between them. The main idea, despite simple, is not bad. But the script is actually dull and ridiculous. And the acting, as you can imagine with that casting, is painfully poor. The "monster" of this movie, is a character about which we know nothing. This means there are no fascinating psychic features in his personality neither strange behaviors, an interesting lifestyle, strong and weird motivations, not even curious aesthetic aspects. He is a standard man wearing a ridiculous Cupid mask, without breaks, grime or anything to make it sordid. Among the girls there are no attractive psychic profiles or intimate conflicts either. And, of course, there are some extremely soft erotic moments (no nudity neither sex involved) around Denise Richards' character (her neck is the wildest thing you'll see and that's why this Review's Title), completely gratuitous and disconnected with the plot. The killing scenes are pathetic. Victims behave stupidly like Carmen Electra's character in Scarie Movie. The killer has no sinister behavior. And the act of killing itself is often physically absurd and visually not depicted. To sum up, there is nothing terrifying, sinister or even dark in this movie. It's basically a dumb "horror" flick for kids to watch a Sunday at 9pm with mom and dad at the living room. Of course, shooting, sound design, cinematography, editing, wardrobe and locations are not interesting, sharp or expressive either. By the way, it is absurd that this film got Certificate 16 at the USA. It's one of thousands of examples proving that the MPAA must seriously revise their labeling criteria.

bowmanblue 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.

Dom Nickson Spoiler Alert! OK I get it, slasher movies died down around this time and to be honest this film sort of sucks! I liked most of the creative kills and the mask the killer wears, this film just flat out sucks. The acting from the girls are just plain horrible and I didn't really care if a single one of them died! The deaths are really just over the top and yet creative. I think the thing that really makes this film stick out from the rest is the mask and the creative kills. The story is sort of stupid because if a psycho really wanted to kill somebody that hurt them I don't think they would wait a whole 10 years until they come after you. Overall I give it a 4 out of 10.

Nitzan Havoc 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!