Box office The film collected $10 million during its opening weekend, ranking in second place behind
The Wedding Planner. It earned $20,384,136 in the United States and Canada and a total gross of $36,684,136, allowing the film to surpass its $29 million budget.
Critical response Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D+" on an A+ to F scale.
Mick LaSalle of the
San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a middling review likening it to a 1980s-style slasher film, but praised the performances, writing: "
Valentine isn't scary, but it is unsettling; not ultimately satisfying, but arresting in the moment. Part of the credit has to go to the ensemble. The actresses are vivid, and the characters they play are clearly delineated". Ben Falk of the
BBC gave the film two out of five stars: "Let's face it — we all know what's going to happen and director Blanks (
Urban Legend) offers up few surprises. There's the host of red herrings of which none really bite, creative deaths, girls running around screaming and then being incredibly thick, but a distinct lack of gratuitous nudity, which would have at least brightened up the landscape". Dennis Harvey of
Variety gave the film a similarly mixed review, noting: "Looking good but lacking much in the way of personality or gray matter—rather like its characters—
Valentine is a straightforward slasher pic that’s acceptably scary until a weak finale."
Michael Gingold of
Fangoria felt that the film was undistinguished among other slasher films, and described the screenplay as "so underwritten (or perhaps overwritten—four scripters are credited) that [director Jamie Blanks is] hard-pressed to bring much in the way of emotional investment to any of the demises."
Elvis Mitchell of
The New York Times also felt the film was formulaically structured, writing: "The worst kind of mystery is one in which nobody cares who the killer is. Even the cast of
Valentine doesn't seem that concerned, and their fictional lives are at stake. When it's hard to hear the dialogue because the audience is laughing, it's clear that
Valentine doesn't even succeed on its own limited terms." Bruce Westbrook of the
Houston Chronicle was similarly unimpressed by the film, deeming its screenplay contrived and formulaic. John Hazleton of
Screen Daily gave the film a favorable assessment, writing: "What makes
Valentine... stand out, though, is the way it spreads suspicion from the obvious suspect to every other male in the movie. Gradually, the women's relationships are polluted by fear, leading to a nicely staged climax that leaves the slasher's identity wide open. Interwoven into the guessing game is a look at male-female dynamics that gives the cast, particularly Capshaw, something to bite on."
Kevin Thomas of the
Los Angeles Times similarly gave the film a positive review, calling it a "smart, stylish horror picture that offers a fresh twist on the ever-reliable revenge theme and affords a raft of talented young actors solid roles that show them to advantage".
Salons Andrew O'Hehir felt that, while "not serious or scary," the film was no less entertaining. In 2007, Blanks stated in an interview: "Forgive me for [
Valentine]. A lot of people give me grief for that, but we did our best".
Reappraisal (pictured) Writing in his book
Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (2004), academic Jim Harper notes that, while the plot of the film is predictable, "
Valentine manages to stand out from the post
Scream crowd because of the persistent cruel streak that colours the film," and notes that many of the film's murder sequences appear to be inspired by those in the works of
Dario Argento. In a 2015 retrospective review for
Icons of Fright, BJ Colangelo defended the spirit of the film and its thematic handling of the holiday's mythological aspects, calling it "a lot of fun and definitely one I think more people should give a chance." Ryan Larson, reappraising the film in 2021 for
Bloody Disgusting, also wrote of it favorably: "It seems
Valentine perhaps suffered from a generation riding the high of the post-
Scream meta slashers that wasn’t ready for such a tongue-in-cheek wink at the foundation of the slasher genre. Two decades later,
Valentine has received a small, welcome and deserved resurgence as a fun and charming hack and slash in a decade that was overall lacking in the subgenre." In 2026, Peter Gray of
The AU Review wrote about
Valentines complex treatment of women, describing the film as "a
cult gem, an early-2000s relic that has aged far better than many of its louder peers, and a film whose themes about gender, harassment, and the everyday dangers women navigate feel startlingly modern. What was once labeled 'formulaic' now reads like something far more intentional: a slasher film that was ahead of the curve in its portrayal of women and the social dynamics that threaten them." Dan Tabor, writing for the film blog
Cinapse similarly assessed
Valentine as a "
feminist slasher film," noting: "I know when I first saw
Valentine I was lukewarm to it, and now I know why: this film wasn’t aimed at post-pubescent teenage males, but female horror fans."
Accolades == References ==