"VALENTINE"
(2001) (Marley Shelton, Denise Richards) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Heavy	Extreme	*Extreme	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Heavy	Extreme	*Minor	Heavy
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	None	Minor	Mild	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Horror: Some longtime friends begin receiving threatening Valentine messages and then start falling prey one by one to a masked figure that could be anyone they know, including a former junior high classmate they once mocked.

PLOT:

Kate (MARLEY SHELTON), Paige (DENISE RICHARDS), Dorothy (JESSICA CAPSHAW) and Lily (JESSICA CAUFFIEL) are a group of single women in their twenties who've been friends since at least junior high school. All are looking for or trying to sort out love in their lives, which is appropriate since Valentine's Day is nearing.

When another friend of theirs, Shelly (KATHERINE HEIGL), is murdered and they begin receiving bizarre and threatening valentine cards and gifts, the focus of the women's attention shifts into trying to figure out who might be responsible. While an innocent boy they mocked and accused of attacking Dorothy in the sixth grade is mentioned, the cop investigating the case, Detective Vaughn (FULVIO CECERE), thinks the culprit might be someone else, including someone they might be seeing.

As such, the women try to figure out whether it might be Adam (DAVID BOREANAZ), Kate's recovering alcoholic boyfriend; Campbell (DANIEL COSGROVE), an Internet entrepreneur who's moved into Dorothy's place; or maybe Max Ives (JOHNNY WHITWORTH), an avant-garde audiovisual artist who's interested in Lily, all while the masked killer continues killing various members of their group and others.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're into slasher type horror films or are fans of anyone in the cast, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For strong horror violence, some sexuality and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

In order to keep the ending as a surprise, the killer's identity won't be revealed in the following descriptions.

MARLEY SHELTON plays a woman who must deal with the killer while trying to figure out whether to get back together with her alcoholic boyfriend with whom she makes out. She uses some profanity.

DENISE RICHARDS plays her sensuous friend who's always drawing the unwanted attention of various men due to her sultry looks and behavior (including making out with some of them). She briefly uses strong profanity and drinks.

JESSICA CAPSHAW plays their friend who still has a chip on her shoulder about battling her constant weight problem. She allows Campbell to move into her home after only knowing him for a month and apparently tries to have sex him, but it seems that they weren't successful. She also uses some profanity.

JESSICA CAUFFIEL plays another friend who briefly makes out with a guy at a party.

KATHERINE HEIGL plays their former friend, a premed student who becomes the first victim. She uses some strong profanity.

DAVID BOREANAZ plays Kate's recovering alcoholic boyfriend who wants to get back with her and promises he's not drinking any more (although he does). He uses strong profanity.

DANIEL COSGROVE plays Campbell's friend/lover who apparently fails at trying to have sex with her. He moves into her home after sinking all of his money into an Internet startup.

FULVIO CECERE plays the detective working on the murder case who briefly comes on to Paige.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. As in most "slasher" pictures, this one contains an extreme amount of violence where the killer dispatches the victims in various and brutal fashions, often with rather bloody/gory results. Another person is shot and killed, while a flashback shows various junior high boys kicking another boy on the floor.

Those scenes and plenty of "Look out!" and "jump" scenes are present throughout the film and may be unsettling, suspenseful and/or downright frightening to viewers (all while accompanied by an extreme amount of scary/suspenseful music). Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes - including the killer who obviously has an extreme case of that - while others drink (and a character is noted as being a recovering alcoholic).

Profanity consists of at least 8 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is also present, while a man amorously exposes himself to a young woman, hoping that something sexual will result (while it appears that it will and has the look and feel of a pending sexual encounter, in the end, the woman simply puts the man in his place). Another encounter nearly takes place and other instances of passionate kissing are also present.

Finally, several photos/videos of topless and scantily clad women are briefly seen, as are views of the film's main female characters in cleavage-revealing and/or tight-fitting clothing, etc. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for anyone in your home who might want to see it, we suggest that you more closely examine our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what occurs in the film.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Paige reminds Kate that Adam is a drunk.

Kate has a beer.

Kate sees a bottle of tequila in Adam's car, but he states that it's for someone else and that he's been dry/sober for several weeks.

Various people have drinks at a party including Paige and Kate. As Kate tells her about finding her door open, Paige reminds her that she probably left it that way since they were "so looped" after some event. Later, we still see various people drinking and Kate orders a drink, but then changes that to just a club soda (to go along with what Adam is having since he's a recovering alcoholic).

People have drinks at a different party, including Paige and Dorothy. Later, we see various people still drinking, including Adam who's now fallen off the wagon and appears a bit intoxicated.

Paige later grabs a bottle of champagne for herself and drinks some of it while in a hot tub.

BLOOD/GORE

We see some blood run from a boy's nose at a dance.

We see a dead and somewhat discolored body lying on a table ready to be dissected, and then see various corpses in body bags (some of the bodies have large stitches running along them).

Some blood runs out of the nose hole of the mask the killer wears and does so on several more occasions.

We see blood run out of a tube and into a pan (after a person is killed on the table the tube is attached to).

With no running water in her place to rinse the shampoo (or other substance) out of her hair, Kate resorts to dunking her head in the toilet to do so.

Lily bites into a piece of chocolate only to discover that there are maggots/worms inside it.

We see a little bit of blood on a man's face after he's been beaten with an iron.

We see some blood on a person's back after they've been struck there with an ax (and it looks like there might be some on the floor around their head as well).

A woman sees a dead and bloody body near her.

We see some blood on a shower wall after a woman is thrown against it and see lots of blood on her head from the impact. Later, we see a pool of blood on the floor next to her (from the killer pushing her head/neck down onto some shards of glass sticking up from the floor).

Blood pours out of a woman's arm that's underwater in a hot tub (after a power drill bit strikes her there).

We see some bloody bullet holes in a person's shirt after they've been shot, as well as some blood from their mouth.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

In a flashback, we see various junior high students, including our group of girls at that age, being mean to and making fun of a boy who asks them to dance at a Valentines Day social. Among them is Dorothy who accuses the boy of attacking her (he didn't) because she was embarrassed about being caught by others kissing him. We then see various boys pouring punch onto him, stripping off most of his clothes and then kicking him in a circle (we don't see the actual impact).

The killer obviously has extreme cases of both types of attitudes.

Shelly goes out on a date with a guy who turns out to be a creep. When he realizes he won't get anywhere with her, he makes her pay her portion of the dinner bill and then still expects to get a kiss from her.

Dorothy and her quite young stepmother don't get along, and the two get into an argument where the former calls the latter a "mail order bride from Hell."

As an adult, Lily makes fun of the boy from the above flashback, making an exaggerated face with buckteeth.

Vaughn comes on to Paige, going so far as to putting his hand on her thigh.

A woman from Campbell's past goes through his belongings, stealing the watch that Dorothy gave him.

Dorothy shows that she has a chip on her shoulder in relation to her friends about her previous/current weight problems.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence" and "Blood/Gore" may also be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to some viewers, especially those who are young or who have low tolerance levels for this sort of traditional mayhem.

Most of the scenes listed below are also accompanied by standard scary/ominous/suspenseful music.

A premed student prepares to cut into a cadaver when she hears a noise at night in a dimly lit room. She then slowly walks through various dark rooms and hallways. When she returns to her body, it suddenly moves as she's about to cut into it and she then encounters the corpse behind a door (it falls to the floor when she opens the door). She then runs from a masked killer and ends up in a room filled with body bags. The killer then enters the room and methodically beings stabbing through the bags, searching for this young woman.

While showering, Kate hears a noise and then gets out, slowing walking through her place and then out into the hallway - wearing just a towel - to investigate. There, she sees her creepy and leering neighbor.

Lily bites into a piece of chocolate only to discover that there are maggots/worms inside it.

A woman can't find her way out of a bizarre, audiovisual maze and then has a lethal encounter with the killer.

We see that the killer is back at Kate's place and she later hears a sound coming from her bathroom (but it turns out to be Paige).

A person goes into a basement to re-light a gas pilot light, and we see that killer is lurking nearby.

A woman sees the killer dragging out a body and then tries to hide from him in a several minute scene.

A woman gets out of a hot tub after thinking she's heard someone. After a few moments of tentatively looking around, the killer grabs and throws her into the hot tub, closing the transparent cover down on top of her. He then takes an electric drill with a long bit and repeatedly tries to strike her with it by drilling down through the cover, all while she tries to avoid it as best as she can.

A woman tries to get away from a man she believes to be the killer in a several minute sequence where she slowly makes her way through a house, looking for that man.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Knives/Arrows/Ax/Power drill: Used to kill various people.

Handgun: Worn by Vaughn, with another used by a person to shoot and kill another person.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Stop f*cking around," "F*cking perfect," "Get the f*ck out," "You scared the sh*t out of me," "This is bullsh*t," "Loser," "Frickin," "Dyke" (lesbian), "Jeez," "Bite me," "What the hell are you doing?" "Sleaze ball," "Idiot," "Screwing/screwed up," "You don't have to be bitchy," "How about up your ass?" (where Paige tells Vaughn he should put his hand after he asks where he should put it), "Scumbag," "It blows," "Suck," "Bitch," "This party sucks," "Where the hell is..." "Why the hell not?" "Screw all of you" and "What the hell is going on?"

Some kids might get the idea to send macabre and/or threatening Valentines to others as a joke (or threat).

The killer sends Lily some chocolates with maggots/worms inside them.

JUMP SCENES

A person suddenly pops out by another person (as accompanied by sudden music on the soundtrack as is the case with some of the other examples listed below).

The killer suddenly grabs a woman.

A person suddenly opens a door and surprises a woman.

Adam suddenly puts his hand on Kate's shoulder.

The killer grabs a woman.

The killer grabs another woman.

A person's face suddenly floats up to the surface of a pond.

A person suddenly pops out of the darkness.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

An extreme amount of ominous, suspenseful and traditionally scary music plays throughout the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

A song has the lyrics, "The honeymoon is over, the champagne is gone," while other songs contained lyrics that couldn't be understood (thus offering the possibility that they might contain objectionable material).

PROFANITY

At least 8 "f" words, 12 "s" words, 5 damns, 5 hells, 1 ass, 1 crap, 5 uses of "Oh God," 4 each of "Jesus" and "Oh my God," 3 of "God," 2 of "G-damn," and 1 use each of "Christ" and "For God's sakes" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

The various young women show varying amounts of cleavage in the various outfits (many of them low-cut) they wear during the film. In addition, several - most notably Paige - also wear very tight-fitting tank tops that accentuate their large breasts.

In a flashback, we see a sixth-grade boy in his underwear after some other students have stripped off his clothing to be mean to him.

We hear a miscellaneous man complain that he didn't fulfill a previous woman's "sexual needs." He then adds that it's obvious that she must have been a "dyke."

Kate reminds Adam that the last time she went out for dinner with Adam, they ended up staying in a hotel room for three days.

Dorothy gets into an argument with her very young stepmother who mocks her by saying, "You have a sex life?" Dorothy responds that she does, but then adds, "But I don't charge by the hour like you."

We see a silhouette of Kate through her shower curtain, but don't see any details. Moments later, we see her with just a towel wrapped around her.

In the midst of some bizarre, audiovisual maze, we see various photos and video images of scantily clad women and men (some women partially covering their bare breasts with their hands), and then the same of various topless women.

During that, we see Lily passionately making out with a guy (standing with her leg up alongside his body and some nuzzling on the neck) and then another woman showing up and becoming aroused (and starting to unbutton her shirt) while watching them (Lily then gets mad at the man's veiled suggestion of a ménage a trios).

Kate briefly talks about her creepy neighbor who steals her underwear. We later see him wearing them.

Adam and Kate passionately make out on the steps of her building, but he decides not to come up to her place (so that she won't feel like she made a mistake if they then slept together).

After Paige comments on Dorothy letting Campbell move in after only knowing him for a month, Dorothy reminds Paige that she's let guys, whose last names she didn't know, "into your pants."

Vaughn thinks that there's sexual tension between him and Paige and puts his hand on her thigh, but she then leaves.

Dorothy and Campbell passionately kiss and we then see them in bed under the covers. However, it seems that he couldn't perform since she tells him, "Don't worry about it." Later, she invites him to join her in the shower, but he declines, stating he'd rather get a workout in before an upcoming meeting.

Kate teasingly tells Adam that she's looking for a stud so that she can "get some action."

After briefly dancing with Paige, a man tells her that he'd much rather take her upstairs. When she asks what's up there (after they kiss), he tells her that it's a surprise he wants to show her. In a bedroom, we then see them kissing some more and she asks about that surprise. He then lowers his pants and says, "Surprise." She looks at his crotch (which we don't see) and sarcastically says, "You brought me up here to show me your penis. That's so sweet." He then tells her, "What are you waiting for honey, wax it" (referring to his penis) but then convinces her that it will be fun as she starts to walk out. She then tells him to take off his clothes (we see his bare chest) and get on the bed where she straddles and kisses him (she's still clothed). She then ties his hands and feet to the bed (causing him to comment on her being kinky) before pouring hot wax onto his crotch (after asking "Do you still want me to wax it?" but we don't see the impact) as a way to put him in his place.

We see various shots of Paige in a skimpy, high-cut (on the bottom) bikini.

SMOKING

None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Dorothy and her quite young stepmother don't get along, and the two get into an argument where the former calls the latter a "mail order bride from Hell."

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

The repercussions of making fun of/being mean to others.

Alcoholism.

The stupidity of various female characters hearing something odd, and then walking around in the dark or in dangerous looking, dimly lit areas, trying to figure out what it was (while only wearing towels, etc.).

VIOLENCE

In a flashback, we see a group of junior high boys stripping another boy of most of his clothes and then standing in a circle kicking him (we don't see the actual impact).

The killer grabs a woman and she stabs back at him with a medical scalpel. The killer then chases after her and stabs a large knife into various body bags, looking for the woman he believes is hiding in one. When he finds her, he slits her throat with the knife (we don't see that through to graphic completion, but do see the action and hear the related gurgling sounds).

Dorothy's rather young stepmother grabs her by the arm (in a pinching manner) when the two get into an argument.

The killer fires several arrows into a woman's body, eventually sending her falling over a railing and down through a stairwell to a trash dumpster several stories below.

The killer strikes a man on the head with a hot iron and then holds it against his face. The killer then repeatedly strikes the man with the iron (using the cord to swing it into him, but we don't see that last impact).

The killer strikes a man in the back with an ax, killing him.

A woman spots the killer dragging along a maid's body. When he starts to come at her with a knife, she hits him over the head with a pool cue, knocking him to the floor. Moments later, and while hiding, she sees a dead and bloody body on the floor near her.

The killer grabs a woman, throws her through a glass shower door (shattering it) and into the wall (resulting in her head being very bloody), and then takes her head/neck and drives it down onto the shards of glass sticking up from the floor, impaling and killing her.

The killer grabs and throws a woman into a hot tub where she bangs her head, and then closes the transparent cover down on top of her. He then takes an electric drill with a long bit and repeatedly tries to strike her with it by drilling down through the cover, eventually hitting her arm, with the resultant wound turning the water red from all of the blood. He then opens the cover and throws the drill in, electrocuting her.

We see that another person has been killed (their face pops up to the surface of a pond).

A woman knees a man in the groin when she thinks he might be the killer. Moments later, she smashes a large bottle of champagne against his head. She then busts the glass on a display case to retrieve a handgun.

A person suddenly comes out of the darkness and runs into another person with both of them tumbling down a staircase.

A person repeatedly shoots another person, killing them.

It's implied that another person is injured or killed as we hear them scream.

Reviewed February 1, 2001 / Posted February 2, 2001

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