I remember I got this movie on VHS at a dollar store along with Book of Shadows: Blair
Witch 2 (2000) and Ready to Rumble (2000). I was not expecting it to be much. However, I ended up with three very cool movies. Valentine (2001) is from 1998 Urban Legends Director Jamie Blanks. Donnie Darko (2001) director Richard Kelly was given the chance to direct but passed. The film is a great movie to watch if you are single on Valentines day and seeing people getting murdered will cheer you up. The film is very dark yet has a very sweet romantic vibe. The film tells of a secret admirer type, who wears a cherub mask to kill a group of close friends. The film leads you on much like Cherry Falls (2000) to a killer from the past seeking revenge. The film has a great cast of strong female actors. Playing the lead male is Buffy/Angel star David Boreanaz, an actor who is better known for television rather than film.
The Cast
The film stars one of my favorite actresses: Marley Shelton. Better known for her roles in Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror (2007), Bubble Boy (2001), Sugar & Spice (2001), Trojan 
War (1997)and for her role as Wendy in 1993’s The Sandlot. Shelton plays Kate, she is dating a recovered alcoholic Adam played by Boreanaz. In one scene, Kat says Adam is “no angle”, a direct reference to the actor’s vampire role from the Buffy and Angle television shows. Originally, Luke Wilson and Jeremy Sisto were considered for the role of Adam. Canadian Boreanaz shot his entire role in less than two weeks. At the time he was filming Angel (1999). Kat’s friend pre-med Shelley played by Katherine Heigl was also filming her show Rosewell (1999) at the time of the movie’s production. Because of her obligations to the show she had only 3 days to film her part. Hiegl’s future Grey’s Anatomy co-star Jessica Capshaw plays Dorothy, a rich girl looking for love. Wild Things (1998) star Denise Richards plays slutty bitch Paige. Legally Blonde (2001) co-star Jessica Cauffiel plays Lily; she originally auditioned for Paige’s character. Cauffiel is also from the Urban Legends sequel Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000). In both films Cauffiel plays a character who is set to leave to Los Angeles before she is killed. She dates artist Max played by 1995’s Empire Records actor Johnny Whitworth. Cauffiel’s role was tailored to her specific range of acting skills. Originally, Urban Legends co-star Tara Reid was cast to play Dorothy and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) star Jennifer Love Hewitt was to play Paige; Love co-stared in I Know with Boreanaz’s Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The murderer is believed to be a boy who all the girl’s went to school with and denied to dance with. The murder’s and revenge acts even coincide with the way the girl’s turn him down and in order; 
Lily acts disgusted then she is disgusted when she eats maggot chocolate, Paige says she “would rather be boiled alive” she gets electrocuted in a hot tub, Dorothy (who dances with him) blames him for her poor judgment he later frames her for his murders, Kate says “maybe later” past the credits you can hear her screaming. There was strong potential for the film to be more psychological based but it is just a simple revenge killing story. The deaths are creative and I love the twisted Valentines Day cards they all receive.
Trivia
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Much of the violence was removed because the MPAA believed it to be to bloody since 9/11 made viewers very sensitive to violence in films.
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The film was shot in 42 days.
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At a cost of $10 million this is the cheapest film to ever have a Superbowl spot.
Final Thoughts
The actual mask worn at the end of the film
Valentine is a good little film to sit and watch with a significant partner. It is a demented love story with silly but nice death scenes. The ambiance of the film is very red, due to the theme of the film. There is a lot of drama going on from each character that makes the story get kind of lost. I do however love the funny cross dressing neighbor who sneaks into Kat’s apartment to put on her clothes. If he ended up being the killer, I would have been much happier. I do also like the mask theme, the cherub is actually pretty creepy.
Buy it on Amazon! Valentine
THE FANATIC 