heart eyes movie review — Sony Pictures Releasing

A Slasher Romcom

Heart Eyes is either the world’s goriest romcom or the most romantic slasher movie ever made. The movie does a reasonably proficient job at managing these disparate genres. It doesn’t have big scares or any real depth to its central romantic relationship, but mixing a facile romance with cartoonish gore is enough to keep it interesting.

Ally (Olivia Holt) is a marketer for a Seattle-based jewelry company. She has recently been through a breakup, and her job is in jeopardy after her new ad campaign is poorly received by management.

She meets Jay (Mason Gooding), a fashion designer who is supposed to mentor her. Ally fears that Jay will end up taking her job. Their relationship gets off to an awkward start, but anyone who has seen those cheesy Hallmark movies knows where this is going.

The country is being plagued by the exploits of the Heart Eyes Killer, a mysterious maniac who attacks a different city each Valentine’s Day. As luck would have it, the psycho has chosen Seattle for this year’s rampage. He mistakes Ally and Jay for a couple and targets them for elimination.

Meanwhile, Hobbs and Shaw, a cop duo played by Devon Sawa and Jordanna Brewster, investigate the killings. They become suspicious of Jay due to circumstantial evidence that seems to connect him to the killings.

Heart Eyes takes a page out of the Scream playbook, except that it spends more time spoofing romcom tropes than horror clichés. Of course, Mason Gooding appeared in the last couple of Scream movies, so he’s right at home.

All the typical romcom stuff is sent up here: the awkward “meet cute” where the guy and girl bump heads, the part where they almost kiss only to be interrupted at the last second, the mad dash through the airport to try to reconcile before their love interest leaves town, etc. Of course, Mason Gooding appeared in the last couple of Scream movies, so he’s right at home here.

Holt and Gooding have sparkling chemistry together. This, and the badass costume that the killer wears, is what ultimately lifts this movie above mediocrity. Heart Eyes doesn’t really have time for character development or emotional depth, but Ally and Jay just naturally seem right as a couple. It’s hard to define why certain people have chemistry together, but you know it when you see it.

Heart Eyes vs. My Bloody Valentine

There have been a handful of horror movies about a killer going berserk on Valentine’s Day. Prior to Heart Eyes, the most well-known of these are the two My Bloody Valentine movies – My Bloody Valentine (1981) and My Bloody Valentine 3-D (2009). Those films feature a killer in a miner costume, Harry Warden, who stalks a small blue collar town.

Heart Eyes and My Bloody Valentine both feature plenty of over the top gore. Each has a romantic subplot as well. But My Bloody Valentine is more of a full-fledged horror movie. It isn’t a spoof like Heart Eyes. In terms of quality, I’d say the films are about equal, so it depends on what you’re looking for.

A battle between the two killers would be interesting. I’d give Harry the edge with his pickaxe. Plus, it’s tough to hurt him with all his miner gear on.