“˜Valentine’ sends creepy story to audience

  Warner Bros. Pictures (Top) Marley
Shelton and David Boreanaz star in
"Valentine."

By Emilia Hwang
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Hey dude, where’s my cadaver?

Scarier than the talking serial killer doll Chucky but not as
frightening as the inarticulate dudes who can’t find their
car, “Valentine” is a fun and freaky flick for fans of
the WB network.

David Boreanaz (from the popular WB shows “Buffy the
Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”) and Katherine Heigl
(“Roswell”) star in the new Warner Brothers film about
a murderer with a wicked agenda.

Armed with blood-red roses, worm-filled chocolates and a cherub
mask, the killer threatens the lives of five beautiful friends.

Shelly (Heigl) finds a mysterious valentine in her locker late
one night. The young and healthy medical student cannot escape her
slow stalker and she quickly becomes the first victim of the masked
slasher.

Though the premise of the movie is nothing new, director Jamie
Blanks (“Urban Legend”) gives “Valentine” a
new dimension that sets it apart from other teen horror films.

Blanks makes creating a scream-inducing world look easy. From
gruesome killings to scary blind dates, the film examines how far
people are willing to go to find a worthwhile relationship.

Looking for love in all the wrong places, the women in the film
encounter men with the potential for romance. But do these beaus
have the potential to commit murder?

Lily (Jessica Cauffiel) is enamored with Max Ives (Johnny
Whitworth), an artist with a knack for creating celebrated
pornography. Trusting and insecure, Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw) has
just been swept off her feet by Campell (Daniel Cosgrove), a
handsome man with a dark past.

  Warner Bros. Pictures This film also features friends
(below) Lily (Jessica Cauffiel), Dorothy
(Jessica Capshaw), Paige (Denise
Richards), and Kate (Marley Shelton).

Kate (Marley Shelton) has been in and out of a relationship with
a recovering alcoholic, Adam (Boreanaz). Rounding off the drop-dead
gorgeous cast is Denise Richards, as the over-sexed Paige.

Scenes replete with paranoia and brimming with uninspired
dialogue furnish the movie with its cake. The frosting, however is
not the gratuitous shower scene, but a surprise ending that keeps
audiences in the dark till the very end.

Though the film works well as horror lite, it has its high
points that keep audiences on its toes.

The beginning of the movie is a flashback to a junior high
school dance. An awkward and geeky Jeremy Melton is longing for
just one dance, but receives nothing but rejection from his female
classmates and scorn from his male peers.

Years later, a detective investigating Shelly’s death
links Melton to the murder. The film vividly deconstructs the
would-be killer, breathing life into the otherwise elusive
Melton.

Unable to trace the suspect down, the detective goes to
Shelly’s friends for help. After receiving threatening
valentines, Kate, Lily, Dorothy and Paige realize that
they’re the killer’s next victims.

Based on the novel by Tom Savage, “Valentine” does
exactly what it sets out to do ““ scare young audiences out of
their seats.

Even with a well-executed story, however, the film has its
unconvincing moments ““ like the murderer suffering a massive
nosebleed after each kill.

Clearly an easy target for film critics, “Valentine”
has its childish and lackluster moments, but overall proves that
making an inventive and fun scary movie is far from child’s
play.