​Heart Eyes: A Slasher Worth Loving or Just Another Stab in the Dark?

If you’ve read my reviews before, you most likely know I’m a huge horror fan, but what you might not know is that slashers don’t generally do much for me. Sure, there are some exceptions, like the Scream franchise and the fantastic 2006 slasher parody Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, but by and large, a bare-bones slasher doesn’t excite me the same way that, say, a bare-bones haunted house flick does. So unsurprisingly, when I first heard about Heart Eyes, I didn’t plan on seeing it. But then something happened. The film started to get rave reviews, so I had to check it out for myself. I bought a ticket for opening weekend and hoped for the best, and now that I’ve finally seen the movie, I’m happy to report that it deserves every bit of praise it gets.

Heart Eyes was directed by Josh Ruben, and it stars Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Devon Sawa, and Jordana Brewster. In the film, a mysterious murderer known as the Heart Eyes Killer has terrorized the nation for the past few years. Every Valentine's Day, he chooses a different city and massacres couples unlucky enough to cross his path, and now that his favorite holiday has come again, the entire country is on high alert as they wait to hear where (or even if!) this homicidal maniac will strike again.

This year, the HEK has chosen Seattle as his target, and he seems especially intent on killing Ally and Jay, a pair of new coworkers who have undeniable romantic chemistry. They’re not quite a couple yet, but apparently they’re close enough, so once they find themselves in the villain’s crosshairs, they have to do everything possible to stay alive until Valentine’s Day is over.

On the surface, that may sound like little more than a holiday veneer put over the same generic slasher plot we’ve seen countless times before, but I can assure you that it’s not. At its core, Heart Eyes is actually a romantic comedy, and after the customary opening kill sequence, the horror takes a back seat until around the forty-minute mark or so.

In the mean time, the movie focuses on the characters of Ally and Jay and their budding relationship, and they’re an utter joy to watch. Lead stars Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt have amazing chemistry together, so you won’t just believe their attraction. You’ll root for them to find true love together, and you’ll enjoy seeing their young relationship blossom before your eyes.

In particular, I have to give special props to Mason Gooding. His work in the two most recent Scream films already put him on the map, but he was always a secondary character in those movies. Fans weren’t sure if he could carry an entire feature on his own, but after seeing him in Heart Eyes, I’m happy to report that the answer is a resounding yes.

His characteristic smooth charm makes him immediately likable, and it doesn’t wear off until the credits begin to roll. He’s just one of those people you can’t help but love, so he’s perfect for a role like this. He seems like he was made to lead a romantic comedy, and when the horror comes to the fore, you desperately want him to defeat the killer and make it out alive.

On top of all that, Gooding and Holt also work really well together as a comedic duo. They perfectly play up the hilarity that can ensue when a couple is first getting to know each other, and that humor adds yet another layer to what could’ve easily been just a cliched, paint-by-numbers genre flick.

All of that great romantic comedy carries Heart Eyes until the killer makes his presence known again, and when that happens, the film doesn’t lose any steam. Like I said, I’m not a huge slasher fan, but even I enjoyed the horror in this one. Unlike some of his slasher peers, this murderer doesn’t waste time crafting ridiculously elaborate kills. He carries out his work quickly and efficiently, so the movie generally avoids lingering on the deaths longer than it has to.

Along similar lines, I also found the gore in Heart Eyes to be surprisingly restrained. Sure, the film features a decent amount of blood and guts, but this isn’t Terrifier 3. For the most part, there’s just enough gore to make the deaths realistic, so again, apart from a couple of exceptions, the movie never feels like it’s reveling in its gruesome special effects.

Instead, Heart Eyes keeps the focus firmly on Ally and Jay, and it allows the Heart Eyes Killer to be an obstacle they have to overcome, not the star of the show. In other words, this film does what the best slashers often do. It tells a simple good vs. evil story with a villain who happens to be a homicidal maniac, and if you enjoy that kind of horror, I think you’re going to have a great time with this movie.

Last but not least, I want to say a few words about the way this story wraps up. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I will tell you that the final scene highlights the value of marriage in a great way. It’s not often that a Hollywood film emphasizes the importance of getting married rather than simply cohabiting, so when I saw that ending, I was very pleasantly surprised. It’s the cherry on top of this awesome experience, so Heart Eyes more than earns its status as an exception to my general dislike of slashers.