Heart Eyes ★★★½

For the past two years, the “Heart Eyes Killer” has slaughtered couples on Valentine’s Day, choosing cities seemingly at random and launching all-day assaults on lovers. This year, he has come to Seattle, turning a couple’s engagement into a gory mess. News reports warn of where Heart Eyes has struck, all while Seattle prepares for a night of love, affection, and bloodshed. Local resident Ally (Olivia Holt) should be just fine. After all, she is single and not likely to be a target of this couple killing psychopath. She has other issues to worry about, namely her job security with her demanding boss Crystal (Michaela Watkins) incensed over Ally’s latest marketing campaign. A meet cute at her favorite coffee shop with the attractive (and single) Jay (Mason Gooding) may be fortuitous romantically, but after a clumsy encounter, Ally hurries off to work…only to discover that Jay is a freelancer who has been hired by Crystal to fix Ally’s campaign. He invites her to dinner on Valentine’s Day to brainstorm some ideas, only for the pair to wind up mistaken for a real couple and have Heart Eyes hot on their trail, no matter how much they try to convince him they are not really together.

Director Josh Ruben turns Heart Eyes into an unusual combination of slasher and romantic comedy, while he and writers Phillip Murphy, Michael Kennedy, and Christopher Landon never shy away from references to films that influenced the story, characters, or tone of Heart Eyes. The title card and credits use the same font as Sleepless in Seattle, 10 Things I Hate About You and Notting Hill are name-dropped, the characters watch His Girl Friday at a Valentine’s drive-in marathon, and the detectives on the case are named Hobbs (Devon Sawa) and Shaw (Jordana Brewster), though both remain ignorant of their Fast & Furious pop culture parallels. The Scream franchise proves a natural tonal forerunner for the film, while Ruben has spoken of the influence of the Friday the 13th franchise. It knows it is ridiculous on every front and it knows many of these films are ridiculous in their own way. This metatextuality gives Heart Eyes a strong satirical edge, while never sacrificing the simple pleasures of both genres. It is gory, romantic, and thrilling, delivering an uncomplicated and highly satisfying experience.

Heart Eyes’s success as a slasher often rests in the crew’s clear affinity for the genre. It hits all of the trademarks with a story of a maniac killer on the loose picking off characters one-by-one. There is a sadistic pleasure to the killer’s motivations – described by Shaw as a “kink” in the opener – while seemingly capable of always being in the right place at the right time to attack, defying all logic and reason in the process. It may heighten these elements, but this does not hold back how startling and thrilling Heart Eyes is on its own terms. Even outside of its bloody chaos, Ruben’s film can be nerve-jangling, though one does come to a slasher for the kills. The very first kill will have some squirming in their seats, while the end result for his fourth victim is both inventive and genuinely nauseating. As cruel as that kill is, it is the second-to-last death that is the most brutal in the film, a moment best experienced unspoiled but suffice to say, it is very befitting the holiday of St. Valentine. The close-ups and cuts in that moment really draw it out into a bloody mess, a disturbing encounter worthy of the slasher genre. In borrowing heavily from Scream, there is a familiar whodunnit element that builds with a few clues and misdirection and a celebrity following for the killer that adds complications to the investigation, while the eventual reveal is hilariously over-the-top. In other words, it is a perfect whodunnit element for a tongue-in-cheek take on the genre and exemplifies how Ruben shies away from none of its excesses, finding the appeal in every absurdity, logical inconsistency, and cliché. 

Pairing this with a send-up of a romantic comedy may seem ill-advised on the surface, but Heart Eyes threads the needle of this tonal balance with ease. The initial meet cute has one swooning already, while even Ally and Jay’s later encounters have one convinced of their natural chemistry, benefitted by the chemistry shared by Holt and Gooding. Ally is more jaded, having come off a tough break-up that has her enviously scrolling social media for updates on her ex. Jay is a hopeless romantic who will stop at nothing to sweep Ally off her feet. They are a classic pairing with Heart Eyes embracing all of the rom-com sentimentality. It is so quaint and saccharine at times that one can be lulled into a false security, forgetting that they are in mortal danger. However, Heart Eyes is always there to pull them and the viewer out of this fantasy. Capably flipping from romantic to edge-of-your-seat terror at a moment’s notice with some comedic notes sprinkled on top of both, Heart Eyes delivers tonally nimble and smartly crafted scenes. Ruben’s pacing is especially crucial, allowing everything to slow down just enough in the romance to give Ally and Jay space to explore their new feelings for one another, only to then rapidly launch this “final couple” into increasingly perilous encounters with Heart Eyes.

Heart Eyes weaves a wry comedic touch throughout both of its pursuits with many encounters with Heart Eyes eliciting some genuine laughter. Even its gory opener has bits of levity to it that set the impressive tonal pitch of the film that never lets up. It can be brutal at times, but it is marked with a macabre gallows humor and an irreverence that is quickly endearing. The script, overall, is impressive in its comedic success rate, hitting the right notes to ensure the film’s violence never overwhelms the mood. Blending some hilarious or awkward actions – such as a vibrator thrown in a panic at a hiding Heart Eyes – right into scenes of abject terror, too, prove an effective tool for the film aside from outright jokes. Gooding has a strong deadpan delivery that really works, while he and Holt are able to flex some of their acting talent in the comedic rapport they establish. Michaela Watkins owns the few scenes she gets as Crystal, nailing the comedic vibe of a culturally aloof but demanding boss. Ally’s best friend Monica (Gigi Zumbado) serves as a fantastic comedic relief with her skillful comedic delivery and timing, as well as her vivacious persona. 

Heart Eyes is ridiculous. If one thinks about its story too much, it will fall apart. If one expects plenty of thematic heft and higher considerations, they will be left disappointed. Instead, it is a simple and highly enjoyable film, a true slasher and romantic comedy that is easy to fall in love with thanks to its gory kills, charming romance, light and consistently funny comedy, and willingness to own the cheesy implausibility of its genre influences.