‘Heart Eyes’ review: Cupid’s arrow hits its mark

Heart Eyes slashes into our hearts with all the love, cheesiness, and gore you’d want on Valentine’s Day.

Holiday-themed slashers aren’t new to the horror world. Between the tried-and-true Halloween classics (Halloween, Trick ‘r Treat) to the winter festivities (Black Christmas, Krampus), there’s a touch of scares peppered throughout the year. The same can be said even for the most romantic day of the year: Valentine’s Day. After all the chocolate hearts and Cupid’s arrow, Heart Eyes is a new rom-com slasher ready to give horror fans a bloody treat for their next date night.

Blending both modern horror nuances with comedic rom-com tropes, Heart Eyes tries to be a self-referential take on a “Valentine’s Day horror movie.” In many ways, the film succeeds in balancing both sides of itself: the bloody, scary slasher cutting through its body count, and a parody of Hallmark movies/rom-coms that embraces its cheesiness and absurdity. Heart Eyes knows it’s a slasher set on Valentine’s Day. However, while the fun concept carries the film throughout most of its short runtime, its questionable ending pulls its rose-colored glasses off leaving you trying to piece together the night (for better or worse).

Roses are red, Blood is too

Heart Eyes is a slasher film, first and foremost. Right from the opening scene of a couple getting butchered at a winery, the movie delivers one fast-paced kill after the next. Heart Eyes stands out from its slasher counterparts thanks to its visually stunning set pieces and chase sequences. The winery, the abandoned botanical garden, the merry-go-round, and the drive-in theater are some locations where our unsuspecting couple find themselves running from the killer. Heart Eyes uses these scenes to pack an emotional and surprising punch, like a bloody fight with the killer or a shocking jump scare.

Though, with its relatively small main cast, the number of victims tends to fall into the “fodder” category (mostly minor characters added to rack-up the body count). And Heart Eyes relies on this trope a little too much for the sake of having deaths. In Heart Eyes, we follow reluctant coworkers Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding) as they’re being hunted down by the Heart Eyes Killer who mistakes them as a real couple. When the film builds tension and goes for an inventive kill, those moments shine as a memorable set piece. But the Heart Eyes Killer loves to slash anyone that gets in their way. Without giving any major spoilers, prepare to mourn horror archetypes instead of fully fleshed-out characters more than once.

Think of it closer to 2009’s My Bloody Valentine 3D as opposed to 2001’s Valentine. The emotional horror journeys we’re focused on are primarily on the couple instead of a connected group. Everyone outside that couple is expendable and doesn’t get the same level of character development or nuance. That’s not a bad thing per se, it just depends on what you prefer from your horror experience.

Romance is alive, until the killer finds you

Weaved throughout the movie’s spooky atmosphere are the rom-com undertones and nods. Director Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within) does an excellent job of balancing the core horror with the lightheartedness of romance. From Ally and Jay’s meet-cute to relying on one another for survival, Heart Eyes sets its narrative up similarly to romantic films before pulling the rug from under its characters.

Part of its fun comes from the romantic movie nods and tropes thrown into the mix. For instance, Ally’s best friend Monica (Gigi Zumbado) gives Ally the iconic ‘rom-com monologue’ meant to inspire her and urge her to get her man. Cheesy? Absolutely. It’s these types of moments that inject so much fun and absurdity into the narrative, but their inclusions serve as a point to capture the film’s spirit. Ultimately, these characters are what it would be like to have a first date set in the world of a horror movie. The drawback, however, is that if you’re not a fan of rom-coms, the mix of these tones into the horror may feel too sweet and cringeworthy at times.

The bottom line.

Heart Eyes is a fast-paced and bloody slasher that’s here for a good time, not a long time. The main cast commits to the outlandish fun of its horror and rom-com tone, giving plenty of scares and camp along the way. Holt and Gooding serve as two strong leads who capture their characters’ chemistry while channeling their horror archetypes. And the Heart Eyes Killer is a formidable foe that drives the action across many visually spooky settings and kills.

While the majority of the film keeps up with its heart-pounding pace, the climax would’ve benefited from another round of edits. Heart Eyes falls into the same trap as many slasher films do by the weight of its killer reveal. Without giving any spoilers, more information would’ve helped to explain the Heart Eyes Killer’s entire body count. But if the “How?” of it all isn’t a priority for you, Heart Eyes packs plenty of punch to become another Valentine’s Day watch for horror fans.

Heart Eyes is now playing in theaters everywhere. You can watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures. Read more reviews by Justin Carreiro here.