Love is (not) in the air this Valentine's Day when the boy no one liked in Junior High decides it's time for revenge. Valentine, starring David Boreanaz (Angel), Marley Shelton (Sugar and Spice), Denise Richards (The World is Not Enough), and Katherine Hiegl (Roswell) is the latest release from Warner Brothers pictures.

Valentine centers on childhood friends Kate (Shelton), Paige (Richards), Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw), Lily (Jessica Cauffiel), and Shelly (Hiegl) and their Valentine's Day from Hell. Things start off innocently enough, with a bad blind date and dating service nightmares, but soon escalates to threatening poems ("Roses are red, violets are blue. They'll need dental records to identify you") and death.

The group thinks it's all a sick joke, but they aren't laughing when the first body is found. During the course of the investigation, they realize the killer is a boy they tormented in Junior High- the only problem is, he can be anyone. While all this is going on, Kate is trying to deal with her off and on relationship with Adam (Boreanaz), a recovering alcoholic. The threats lead to the inevitable confrontation at a Valentine's Day party, where the killer behind the Cherub's mask is revealed.

I had the opportunity to do a phone interview with some of the stars of the movie before its release: Boreanaz, Hiegl, Shelton, and Richards. The interview was a conference call, with several other schools participating. First up was Katherine Hiegl, who plays med student Shelly. She was thrilled to take on a different role. Said Hiegl, "I just wanted to play an older character, and I thought the 'love hurts' theme was great". Heigl could also relate to some of the themes expressed in the Junior High scenes. "I had a hard time in Junior High. I decided I was either gonna have lots of friends, or no friends. I was tired of playing the game." Hiegl, who also stars as Isabel Evans on the WB series Roswell, said her character is "not one to be sitting in the corner and take stuff. I'm very much like that."

After Katherine, came David Boreanaz, who is best known as the title character of the WB series Angel. He was also happy for the chance to try a different kind of role. "I liked being able to show Adam's different personalities. It was challenging to keep him from getting stagnant." One of the things that I found most impressive about Boreanaz was his seeming disinterest in the Hollywood thing. He says of the town, "Hollywood is a beautiful town with dirty underwear. You have to be secure". He commented one of the most important things he's learned in the course of his career is "not letting your personal life affect your work. Be focused, strong and work it out."

Next up was Denise Richards, who plays Paige, the wild one of the group. Denise got her big break in the movie Wild Things and recently starred in the Bond film The World is Not Enough. Richards said of her character, "Paige doesn't put up with anything and she goes after what she wants. I'm very much like that." She admitted she can relate to Jeremy Melton (the boy her character tormented in school). "I was that guy in Junior High". Richards can be seen next in the movies The Third Wheel and Tail Lights Fade.

Finally, came Marley Shelton, who plays Kate, the heroine of the movie. She described her character as "investigative by nature. In a horror movie, you want to get past the back story and to the killing." Shelton also enjoyed the exploration of the adolescent years in the movie. "They're awkward years. I think I learned a lot about the social hierarchy then, for better or worse." She added that she was drawn to the movie "because I have always loved suspense and I'm a sucker for dark comedy."

As for the movie itself, I found it entertaining, although there were some disappointments. One of the bright spots for me was Katherine Hiegl as med student Shelley. She really nailed the scenes she was in. Too bad she isn't the heroine... Shelley was easily the most entertaining character. One of the best sans-Shelley moments was the cat fighting between rich girl Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw) and her stepmother (who may or may not be younger then her). The movie got many of the horror standards right: Characters with questionable intelligence, a killer who slowly stalks as they run, some grisly death scenes, funny dialogue, etc. Where it's lacking though, is in the execution. It tells us too much, too soon. By the time the opening credits are done, we know why the killer is targeting them, and what his relationship to them is. We just don't know who he is all grown up, and the ending left me with one thought in my mind: "huh?" Believe me, I wasn't the only one.