Movie Review: Heart Eyes

When it comes to the wild world of genre mashups, romcom and slasher isn't exactly the most obvious or natural pairing. What could possibly be romantic or funny about a masked serial killer being on the loose? Well, Heart Eyes has arrived to prove that these genres are capable of complementing each other quite well.

The way that Heart Eyes goes about melding these two genres together is pretty straightforward as it places a bloodthirsty maniac in the middle of a classic romcom setup. Following a cold open that depicts the first victims of the latest killing spree from the titular "Heart Eyes Killer"-a masked individual who travels around the United States and murders couples on Valentine's Day, we're introduced to Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding) as they have an awkward meet cute at a Seattle coffee shop. This embarrassing encounter becomes even more mortifying when Ally-who works in advertising-learns that Jay is the freelance marketing guru that her boss (Michaela Watkins) has brought in to help fix her classic literary tragedy-themed jewelry campaign that was widely criticized on social media. Yet another uncomfortable series of events occurs during and immediately following a business dinner between the pair later that evening that leads to them entering the crosshairs of HEK-who mistakes them for a couple and will stop at nothing to kill them before February 15th rolls around and they put away their murder instruments for the year.

What becomes clear from the opening moments of Heart Eyes is that this is a film that's really going to embrace being corny and tongue-in-cheek. Director Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Scare Me) assembles the film in a way that regardless of what is happening on the screen, it feels like everybody on screen is constantly winking at the audience to let them know that they know God damn well that they're in on the joke. As shameless and exhausting as its ever-present meta self-awareness can be at times, cheesiness is the only common thread that exists between these two genres and the commitment to the bit is really admirable. Holt and Gooding do a good job of playing out the classic romcom trope of polar opposites who soon realize they're perfect for each other as they frantically run around for an hour or so trying to evade Heart Eyes, the slasher sequences are overflowing with cartoonish energy/gore, and the closing minutes go from repulsive to ridiculous to sweet and back again at warp speed. It's absolutely saccharine bullshit, but its saccharine bullshit coming from a place of pure love and that's something that's always worth celebrating in the cinematic artform.                

Grade: B