Heart Eyes Review: A Reasonably Fun, Though Could-Be-Better Mashup of Rom-Com and Slasher Tropes

Heart Eyes joins the list of Valentine’s Day-themed horror subgenre seen from 1981’s My Bloody Valentine and its 2009 remake to 2001’s Valentine. In this movie, director Josh Ruben tries to offer a Scream-like irony in its horror execution but instead of the former’s deconstruction of the slasher genre, it leans more on the cutesy rom-com with a gory slasher twist.

The movie doesn’t waste time getting down to business with an unfortunate couple’s marriage proposal that turns… well, bloody. You might never listen to Lonestar’s “Amazed” played in the background the same way again as the notorious Heart Eyes killer in a mask with distinct heart-shaped eyes slashes them in a brutal way possible. It’s an ultra-violent fun that is also gleefully over-the-top as Ruben gets off to a promising start during the pre-credits opening sequence.

Soon, we learn this isn’t the first time the Heart Eyes killer a.k.a. HEK’s murder spree. The killer has been stalking and slashing couples for the past two years. Being a rom-com, it wouldn’t be complete without a meet-cute moment. The setting is a coffee shop in Seattle and we are introduced to these two young strangers: Ally (Olivia Holt), a marketing executive who is still reeling over the break-up with her ex-boyfriend, and Jay (Mason Gooding).

Both of them happen to share the same order combo and choice of beverages and here, Ruben takes his advantage to parody one of the most familiar rom-com tropes: the accidental head-bumping moment. As it turns out, they are coincidentally working at the same company, except that Jay is a new hire to salvage Ally’s disastrous ad campaign.

So, there go the love-hate relationship moments often found in the rom-com tropes until one crucial night changes everything. The two were supposed to meet for a fancy dinner that is actually more about discussing their jobs and later, an unexpected kiss where the Heart Eyes killer happened to be there at the same time. That kiss means a death sentence for Ally and Jay, even though the two subsequently insist they aren’t a couple, but reasoning just doesn’t work on the Heart Eyes killer.

Ally: We’re not together!
Jay: Go kill somebody else!

The two grow frustrated at one point as the seemingly unstoppable Heart Eyes killer keeps hunting them down till they are both dead. The movie runs at 97 minutes and while it does meander around in some scenes, Ruben is having fun here in meshing the two distinctly different genres. It does work, though not entirely successful, with some of the jokes that tend to try so hard to be funny. A hit-or-miss affair, to be exact, such as the too-obviously-for-its-own-good Hobbs & Shaw movie reference because, well, the two detectives played by Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa shared the same names. There are enough kills, gore and violence in Heart Eyes, but nothing particularly memorable here.

What really keeps me watching, though, is the way Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding gamely played their roles with a straight face while displaying enough likeable charm, albeit their characters’ love-hate relationship angle. However, the Scream-like inspiration isn’t as slyly clever as Ruben wants it to be, with the guess-who’s-the-killer whodunit narrative lacking the much-needed crafty surprises.

By the time the real identity of the killer is revealed during the third act, it feels sadly underwhelming. The movie is credited to three screenwriters, including Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy, but it is the second name that gets me interested the most. Landon, of course, is a genre veteran behind horror movies like Happy Death Day and its 2019 sequel and Freaky. His creative input in writing a horror comedy is what he does best, but it’s a pity he isn’t the one calling the shots here. Ruben’s direction is competent but there’s so much potential in Heart Eyes that he could have done better. Do remember to stick around for the mid-credits scene.