Heart Eyes, directed by Josh Ruben (Dropout TV, Werewolves Within) is an unusual genre mash-up of romantic comedy and slasher set on Valentine’s Day, where a masked killer with hearts for eyes terrorises couples across North America annually. 

 

There could be people who write-off Heart Eyes prematurely based simply on its premise and unwieldy genre, however such people would miss out on a fun, pitch perfect comedy that captures just the right amount of the slasher genre to be interesting to horror fans without alienating everyone else too much. Fair warning however, that Heart Eyes isn’t hesitant to indulge in gore, it’s just that when the film does so, it tends towards silliness - which feels just right for Heart Eyes. 

 

The film follows Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt), a marketer for a jewelry company, who is struggling to get over her ex, at risk of losing her job, and usurped in her career by handsome newcomer Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding). Following a tough meeting with her boss, Jay suggests to Ally a dinner date to work on pitch ideas. A souring of the dinner date is followed by an awkward encounter with Ally’s ex and his girlfriend, which gives Ally the idea to kiss Jay passionately in her ex’s view. Watching from a distance is the masked killer Heart Eyes, who after witnessing Ally and Jay’s kiss, interprets their connection as true love and decides to make them his next target.

 

Gigi Zumbado plays Ally’s friend Monica is great as an encouraging yet challenging figure for Ally, bringing an endearing humor to a film whose humor is otherwise centred around skirting the line of preposterousness, to the film’s benefit. Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are both excellent as the films’s leads, both with great comedic timing and a power to sell this film to the audience, making them a key part of its success.

 

Heart Eyes may be the start of a new genre trend in film with its successful pairing of romantic comedy with slasher horror, thanks to the talent of leads Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding and the comedic chops of director Josh Ruben. Heart Eyes is a fun, gross and satisfying novel experience.