HEART EYES Review: This Gooey Rom-Com Slasher Really Hits The Spot

Love is in the air in Heart Eyes, the new Valentine's Day slasher from director Josh Ruben. Unfortunately for the cute couples of the world, this also means that a serial killer with a thing for young lovers is on the prowl. Scream's Mason Gooding and Totally Killer's Olivia Holt lead this wonderfully gory rom-com that proves that horror fans with a lovey-dovey streak can have their gore and cuddles all in the same sweet package.

Ally (Holt) is an ad-exec in Seattle on the verge of losing her job. After having submitted a disastrous campaign for jewelry that centers around doomed romances ending in death, her boss, Crystal – a dynamite Michaela Watkins absolutely devouring the scenery – offers her a chance at redemption: work with ad ace, Jay (Gooding) on a replacement pitch, or pack up and go home.

The pair are immediately at odds, as one would expect of a woman who is tasked with working with someone in direct competition, however, as Ally wants to remain employed, they soldier through an all-night pitch session that just happens to play out on Valentine’s Day.

Meanwhile, the nation is on high alert as V-Day has recently become notorious as the hunting season for the Heart Eyes Killer (HEK), a slasher targeting couples on the most romantic evening of the year. He’s previously struck a pair of cities in the Northeast, but this year it looks like it’s Seattle’s turn, and when Ally and Jay fake a kiss to look cool in front of Ally’s ex, HEK locks in, and the hunt is on.

Valentine’s Day is fertile ground for horror movies, from 1981’s classic My Bloody Valentine, to Valentine (2001), to 2009’s MBV remake, to the present day, it’s one of the genre’s most frequently exploited holidays. That makes director Josh Ruben’s job all the more challenging in delivering something new, but with the help of writers Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), Michael Kennedy (It’s A Wonderful Knife), and Phillip Murphy, he manages to really zero in on the heart – so to speak – of the holiday.

Heart Eyes is as much a rom-com as it is a gory slasher, which is a nearly impossible tightrope to walk, but Ruben and team manage the task admirably. Holt and Gooding share a comfortable chemistry that allows the audience to really key in on the unlikely courtship happening in what seems like real time on screen. The film takes place over the course of one crazy night, and HEK’s determination to eliminate this would-be couple pushes them to evolve their relationship at warp speed, even as they insist to the killer and anyone else who will listen that they are not a couple.

In order to succeed in the slasher space, Heart Eyes really needs to deliver with the creative kills and twisty thrills and Ruben’s history as a director comes in handy in that regard. Having previously directed the indie fan favorite Werewolves Within – another pitch perfect horror comedy – Ruben is up for the task of staging and executing (pun intended) a series of brutally violent and gory slayings that will have gorehounds howling with delight.

From a gauzily romantic proposal set piece turned epically splattery gorefest, all the way through to a number of stabbings, slashings, crossbow killings that lead to the film’s giddily gruesome climax, Heart Eyes knows what the audience wants and delivers in spades (and hearts, obvs.).

Holt and Gooding are surrounded by a small all-star supporting cast who are all home run hitters and fan favorites that really bolster the world in which they live. In addition to the scene stealing Watkins as Ally’s boss, we are also treated to the detective duo of Hobbs (Jordana Brewster, The Fast & the Furious) and Shaw (Devon Sawa, Final Destination), and Ally’s best friend and romantic cheerleader Monica (Gigi Zumbado). Every one of them putting in top notch work in pushing our leads toward the bloody conclusion they deserve.

A perfect date night film for the romantic sicko in your life, Heart Eyes is sure to sate the bloodlust of the one you love. Josh Ruben continues to prove that he understands what it takes to give the audience that precise mix of horror and comedy that is so difficult to nail, and in doing so is poised to send the audience home with a big smile on their face. No matter what you’re looking for this V-Day, Heart Eyes has you covered, come for the “ahh!”, stay for the “aww ♥️”; you’ll be glad you did.