Philophobia, or the fear of falling in love will be the theme carrying us through February which is American Heart month. Valentine (2001) is a slasher film loosely based on the novel of the same name which received mixed reviews upon its release. Find out if this holiday horror had enough scares to make our subject’s heart passionately flutter with fear.
SYNOPSIS:
Five women are stalked by an unknown assailant while preparing for Valentine’s Day.
Test Subject: Leah
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Fears: Drowning
Resting HR: 62-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
Within the first thirteen minutes, the film quickly built suspense and introduced minor gore. But several lulls early on were responsible for dragging excitement to a screeching halt. A moment at 28:00, however, crawled it’s way under our subject’s skin escalating her heart rate from a resting average. The killer’s mask, which would give Happy Death Day a run for chubbiest cheeks, induced chuckles in our subject but the childish face seemed to grow creepier as the film unfolded. A gradual increase in clever kills and gore can be seen in the scale as her numbers intensified. The final act brought about our subject’s highest peak of 92bpm when a traditional slasher turned into a cat and mouse thriller.
CONCLUSION:
Valentine (2001) was a formulaic horror film which relied heavily on jump scares. This built anticipation in our subject prior to many of the kill scenes. A simple premise combined with an attractive cast made for a clean cut and enjoyable mystery. Unfortunately there were too few moments of extreme fear to raise her numbers to truly terrifying heights. If you and your special someone decide to watch Valentine this Valentine’s Day, we recommend a low calorie fruit bouquet rather than the traditional chocolates.
Valentine: Burns an average of 186 Calories
Solid Milk Chocolate Heart: Burns an average of 220 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Valentine? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
