Heart Eyes

Heart Eyes
Starring Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Devon Sawa, Jordana Brewster
Directed by Josh Ruben

Romantic comedies are some of my least favorite movies - maybe because I'm jaded when it comes to love, or maybe because they're the same ole story: two mismatched people meet, fall in love, have a falling out, and fall back in love by the end. Their mileage runs heavy on the actors' chemistry, and if it's there (such as in films like "Crazy Rich Asians," "The Princess Bride" and "10 Things I Hate About You"), then the film is actually enjoyable and decent. But too often they throw in two actors who have no romantic chemistry whatsoever and try to make you believe they love one another, and no matter the caliber of actor ("All About Steve," "What Happens in Vegas," "Failure to Launch"), the movie is just not good. On the flip side, horror is my favorite genre, and when these two genres collide, the result is a surprisingly enjoyable film that pokes fun at both genres while also maintaining a delightfully gory gooey center and two charismatic leads that make you feel their connection through it all.

Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) is still getting over a former relationship, and working for an agency that sells jewelry, she gets her personal feelings mixed into her job, threatening it when she makes an advertisement for Valentine's Day centering on death. It's not a good aesthetic considering for the last two years a killer known as the Heart Eyes Killer has been killing couples throughout the country, and hasn't been uncovered yet. The agency brings in Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding), a young, attractive go-getter to help with the campaign, putting Ally's job in danger. After the two have a meeting at a local restaurant on Valentine's Day to discuss work, Ally runs into her ex and shares a fake kiss with Jay to make him jealous, but inadvertently she draws the attention of the Heart Eyes Killer who picks them to kill that night, leading them on a wild chase through Seattle that actually brings them closer than they would've expected as they fight to survive Valentine's Day.

"Heart Eyes" is a film that tonally shouldn't work. A romantic comedy mixed with slasher horror? It really hasn't been done before, or at least done well, so going into it I was hesitant on how good it was going to be. To my delightful surprise, I found myself laughing out loud and enjoying both aspects of the film, bringing both genres together in strikingly tender ways as the body count piled up. The chemistry between the two leads is intense, the kills are gory, violent, and animalistic, and in-between is a passionate love story in the making, something Taylor Swift would've written about.

Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding give off traditional Hallmark vibes, with Holt's Ally serving as the cynical heartbroken lovelorn bachelorette who eats tubs of ice cream while strolling through her ex's Instagram, and Gooding's Jay being the knight in shining armor who swoops in to sweep her off her feet, or at least help her with her ad campaign. There's even the supportive best friend Monica (played wonderfully by Gigi Zumbado) who is the archtype best friend who pushes Ally to find love again. There's numerous moments in this film where I was actually pulled out of the horror and was drawn to this mismatched couple, due to their great performances and chemistry, along with how director Josh Rubin and writers Christopher Landon, Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks both skewers and pays homage to the romantic comedy genre.

But then the kills resume, and my bloodlust overtook any romantic lust there might've been and I was instantly more drawn in than before. The killer's mask is unique in that the eyeholes are two hearts, which matches the theme of the movie but I couldn't help but think it was highly inefficient because it severely affected their peripheral vision, and reminded me of a mix of masks from "The Collector," "In a Violent Nature" and, most appropriately, "My Bloody Valentine." Still, the ruthlessness is intense, the kills are graphic, bloody, and sometimes even humorous (such as using an American flag, or the hippie couple in the trailer), and it doesn't make the tone any less striking considering the mix of the genres. All in all, this isn't just a great Valentine's film, it's a great horror/comedy as well.

The Score: A+