Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" gave the film a positive review, calling the film 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." Dennis Harvey of "Variety" gave the film a 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." Maitland McDonagh of "TV Guide" awarded the film one out of five stars, calling the film "A throwback to the formulaic, holiday-themed stalk-and-slash pictures of the early '80s — but why it took four writers to adapt Tom Savage's generic genre novel is thoroughly baffling."