“Heart Eyes,” a story about a twisted Valentine’s Day serial killer who sends couples to a horrid death, was released theatrically on February 7. “Heart Eyes” was produced by the same talent as the beloved “Scream” series.
The director, Josh Ruben (“Scare Me”, “Werewolves Within”), along with the screenwriters Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon (“Happy Death Day”, “Freaky”) and Michael Kennedy, craftily orchestrate a sweetly sinister genre mixup. They really know horror and comedy and have the ability to combine the two elements, which is rarely an easy task. Instead of just producing another generic slasher movie, they decided to create “Heart Eyes” to be a romantic comedy, using inspiration from the parody film “Scary Movie.”
To set the scene, the main character, Ally (Olivia Holt), has a cute run-in with Jay (Mason Gooding) at a coffee shop on Valentine’s Day morning. It turns out that Jay is the “fixer” that Ally’s boss brings in to fix the massive damage she caused from creating a terrible advertisement for the Jewelry store she works for. She begrudgingly agrees to a dinner date in order to save her job that was now on stake.
Things turn upside down when Ally ropes Jay into posing as her boyfriend in front of her ex, constructing a powerful connection between the two, and turning the “couple” into unwitting targets of Heart Eyes.
Despite the premise and the marketing, “Heart Eyes” is a horror-comedy with a certain degree of self-awareness about its genre that permits an extra layer of humor. Despite its foray into comedy, the movie hardly skimps on the gore. Within the first sequence, there’s a horrendous murder scene in which a person is squished, and their guts pour out of the side vents.
With that said, the movie allows a lot more time for viewers to get to know the two main characters, as they get to know each other as well. Because of this focus, at certain points throughout the film, viewers let down their guard, adjusting to the lighter tones and romance when Heart Eyes appears again. All of it is truly jarring.
To be honest, the ending kind of made me hate the whole film. It was a full-circle moment that I did not connect with as a viewer. It may have been more surprising if I had not watched the “Scream” films whose twists kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
The romance in the film was actually very well played out. Even while running and fighting for their lives, the couple formed connections and had chances to interact through deep conversations. To me, the romance between the two of them was much more enjoyable than the slasher part.
In my opinion, nothing can be as iconic as the “Scream” films, with the rating of “Heart Eyes” being 6.5/10, leaving “Scream” to remain a higher rating. For anyone who loves gags and romance though, I definitely would give “Heart Eyes” a watch.
