Horrific Inquiry: VALENTINE (2001)

Welcome back to the newest, and at times goriest, column here at Film Inquiry: Horrific Inquiry. Twice a month, I will be tackling all things horror, bringing two films back into the spotlight to terrify and frighten once more. And occasionally looking at those that could have pushed the envelope further. Join us as we dive deep into the heart of horror, but warning, there will be spoilers.

Valentine’s – the season of love. Flowers, candy hearts, and cherubs fill our minds, line our wallets and speak to the eternal lengths of love. With 2001’s Valentine, director Jamie Blanks brings the idea of unrelenting love to the forefront, wrapped in the murder and mayhem only horror can deliver. Yet, while it does not reach the heights of previous slashers, it seems the perfect fit to celebrate this holiday season.

The Set-up

Overall, Valentine retains a Prom Night feeling throughout its entirety, a vengeful figure from the past back to right the wrongs of childhood. As the film opens, we are introduced, one at a time, to the film’s victims – yet at this moment, they are the bullies. As Jeremy Milton (Joel Palmer) asks each girl for a dance, he is turned down in a ranging stream of resentment, Kate (Brittany Mayers) the only one to politely decline.

As the evening accelerates, each of the girls is shown not only rejecting the young boy but shaping what would be the direction of his life. As a consensual make-out session is interrupted between Jeremy and Dorothy (Kate Logie), Dorothy accuses Jeremy of assaulting her, the boys that found them beating him in front of everyone at the dance. As the camera pulls away, almost mimicking a turned eye, viewers are forced to watch as no one intervenes, firmly establishing Jermey’s already crafted persona as a pariah. Never welcomed by the school, alone and defenseless, Jeremy had lost the battle before he had even begun.

What’s Valentine’s without a little murder

There is little mystery behind who the killer is. We know it is Jeremy Milton. The film’s opening effectively establishes it has to be him. That, and the constant bloody noses the killer experiences through the mask mimic that of Jeremy following his stress-induced response at the dance. The mystery is who in the girls’ lives is the man behind the mask. While the film fails to truly build the tension behind this mystery, it does find its own ways of crafting a uniqueness in the reveal.

Moving from the film’s opening, Valentine does not bring us to the girls in the future as a whole, rather embracing the first kill early on through Shelly (Katherine Heigl, one of two Grey’s Anatomy alumni within the film). She is shown on a terrible (terrible!) first date, Jason (Adam J. Harrington) constantly speaking in the third person and clearly plagued by a severely inflated ego. This will be a constant theme for the girls throughout the film, each of their boyfriends proving to be far from desirable.

As Shelly leaves her date, refusing to meet the expectations of her failed date, she spends the rest of the night with corpse Chad as she prepares for her final. Though the evening begins to take an escalating ominous turn as a Valentine threatening to slice her throat turns into a fight for life. As Shelly is cornered in the morgue, she comes face to face with the horror hidden by a cherub mask, Valentine aware of the pace it wants to set early on.

As the film brings us away from Shelly, we meet Paige (Denise Richards) and Kate (Marley Shelton) both clearly opposite personalities, but clearly close. As they embark on a speed dating venture, the idea of Valentine’s Day is maintained, keeping the framework for the killer’s return and the holiday clear in the minds of viewers. The holiday itself is the catalyst for the attack, a reason for the resurrection of the past. It is also a device used to define this slasher in an attempt to separate it from other horrors that have come before.

When word comes of Shelly’s brutal death, the girls are reunited with Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw, Grey’s Anatomy) and Lily (Jessica Cauffiel, Legally Blonde) at her funeral. While it plays out as a cliched moment of reunion and transference of information, the film establishes a continued look into the boyfriends that surround the women, as well as the addition of a person of interest. As each of the girls receives a Valentine, the cherub comes for each of them.

A Valentine Dud or Stud

While Valentine strives to reach the height of the slasher genre, it, unfortunately, falls flat, drawing little intensity from its characters, story, or murders. It lacks gore and mystery, each character to meet death severely flawed and lacking in humility. It is also highly predictable, with its obligatory shower scenes and predictable killer – and yes trust your instincts on this one.

And while its lack of quality may not scream Valentine’s watch, it has its own air of advancement, speaking to the feminine voice at times, while clearly pointing out the misogyny typically present in horror films. As Paige is hit only by Detective Vaughn (Fulvio Cecere), she is a fierce and formative female, aware of her choice in the face of authority and ever-present in her own self-worth. You may not agree with Paige most of the film, but she is anything other than a fierce female. The other girls also find themselves in situations where they speak for what they believe they deserve and for how they should be treated. Unfortunately, the film can be read as counterintuitive at times – when the female voice is heard, death is swiftly met.

Valentine challenges the final reveal of a killer, bringing a sense of awareness to the final moments. As we see the cherub-faced killer slowly pick off the girls one by one, including those around them, you may have pinned Kate’s boyfriend Adam Carr (David Boreanaz) as the killer. And you would be right if the final reveal didn’t unmask Dorothy under the cherub. And for a moment her reveal makes sense.

Literal vs. Metaphorical Masks

There is a sense of jealousy and pain when Dorothy speaks to the other girls. While they do not compare her to themselves, Dorothy sees herself in a severely drastic light in her own comparisons. Defining herself only as the fat girl, she is unable to find herself at the same level as her friends, always ostracizing herself emotionally. Her reveal does make sense to the killings and their increasing brutality, especially as we find Dorothy reeling from the loss of her boyfriend Campbell (David Morris).

As the film closes out, however, we see Kate’s boyfriend holding and comforting her. As the camera takes in his face one last time, we see blood dripping from his nose, confirming not only that he is Jeremy Milton, but also the film’s true killer. It is a clever twist, leaving savvy viewers doubting themselves for just a moment, yet also leaving much unexplained.

There is revenge that is at the core of the film in Adam/ Jeremy’s behaviors and murder – and protection. But there is little revealed as to why this Valentine’s Day he snaps into a murderous rampage. We are left to infer that it could be because Kate is leaving him, but it seems like it should be something deeper than that. We are left wondering about his alcoholism, was it always existent? Or was it a ploy? This question especially comes into play as we see him drinking at the party and drunk, yet remember the vicious and coordinated attacks on Paige and his complete coherence by the film’s end.

As the film proves, Adam is not just a masked killer to be revealed by the film’s end, but a displays the various masks we have don. The masks too many wear on a regular basis, where a cherub mask is far from a necessity to hide one’s true self or true intentions. Where a name change and time can allow us to become someone new, all while retaining who we once were all the same.

Conclusion

Valentine was never meant to be a deep well of thought within a slasher, but it does, even when it leaves much to be desired. Yet, with Valentine’s Day just here, it seems a fitting time to return to the cherub-induced slasher. It is enjoyable if you don’t expect much, and a fitting tale for the holiday.

Have you seen Valentine? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!