Heart Eyes: This Rom-Com/Slasher Mash-Up is a Surprise Crowd Pleaser

By Thom Ernst

Rating: A-

Heart Eyes begins with a clear nod to its horror film roots, only to quickly switch gears and make audiences forget it’s a horror film altogether.

Despite some impressive kills and a respectable body count, Heart Eyes is more romcom than slasher. However, it's a genre mishmash that creates a wholly unexpected delight. Imagine Jason Voorhees stumbling onto the set of Sleepless in Seattle or an entry in the Scream franchise directed by Garry Marshall.

While director Josh Ruben tends to play it safe by sticking to the slasher format, he lets the romance shine, making Heart Eyes one of the best romantic comedies in years. Ruben has crafted a film that perfectly fits the seasonal Valentine’s Day market: a counter-romantic yet undeniably romantic comedy-horror, ideal for both lovers and cynics.

For years, the Heart Eyes killer, named for the heart-shaped infrared eyeholes in their mask, has appeared in a different city every Valentine’s Day, stalking and slaughtering loving couples and anyone who gets in their way.

This Valentine’s Day, the Heart Eyes killer arrives in Seattle, where Ally (Olivia Holt), freshly single and vehemently cynical about love, encounters the handsome and suffocatingly romantic Jay (Mason Gooding). As with most classic romcoms, Ally and Jay are at odds on nearly every topic, despite the obvious attraction that the audience is acutely aware of.

Further complicating matters is Jay’s profession; he’s a superstar in the advertising world, coming to Seattle to salvage an ad campaign created by Ally, which, featuring romantic death scenes, goes horribly wrong in the wake of the Heart Eyes killings. (Personally, I found the campaign effective, which is likely why I’m not in advertising.)

Meanwhile, a second arguing couple, tough yet lonely Detective Shaw (Jordana Brewster) and her macho partner, Detective Hobbs (Devon Sawa), are hot on the trail of the Heart Eyes killer, whose presence is evident through the brutal murders of a newly engaged couple.

As Heart Eyes stalks another couple (ironically, Ally’s ex), they spot an impromptu (and non-committal) kiss between Ally and Jay. Heart Eyes, practically psychic in their ability to recognize true passion and love connections, even if Ally and Jay are oblivious to it, shift their murderous focus to them.

Thus begins a chase through Seattle as the bickering couple tries to flee the killer while vehemently insisting they are not a couple, inadvertently getting innocent people killed along the way.

Certainly, the film has its flaws. The final confrontation scene goes on for too long, and there are plot holes that, before being adequately addressed, impede the film’s flow as one attempts to piece together the inconsistencies. However, Heart Eyes is overall a winner, a crowd-pleaser, and likely to secure its place among seasonal classics.

Ruben, who also directed the lesser-known yet equally hilarious Werewolves Within (2021), might be carving out his own niche in the comedy-horror market. If this is the case, Heart Eyes is already solidifying his status as one of the best in the field.

Heart Eyes. Directed by Josh Ruben. Starring Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Jordana Brewster, and Devon Sawa. In theatres February 7.