‘Heart Eyes’ Review: Girl vs. Murder

Romance and horror are blended together to create a genuinely gory and romantic time at the theater. Heart Eyes follows Ally, played by Olivia Holt, a down-on-her-luck love hater. Every Valentine’s Day, the Heart Eyes killer strikes, killing not just couples but anyone in its path. On a business dinner, Ally and her coworker, played by Mason Gooding, are hunted by the killer. Heart Eyes does not take itself too seriously, making for an overall fun killing spree. Read our review for Heart Eyes below. 

This review contains spoilers for Heart Eyes. 

Heart Eyes is almost two movies in one. It is half romcom and half slasher. It handles these tonal shifts the best it can. There is about a forty-minute stretch after the cold open that is just romcom, which I can see losing some people. But I was not even mad at the film for this. The romance is actually quite charming, all thanks to the chemistry of the two leads. Mason Gooding was particularly endearing, which makes me eager to see him take on a full rom-com one day. The two can carry the horror-action side of the film as well. They are not given a lot to work with, and their characters lack a lot of substance, but the film seemed more interested in entertaining anyway. Without the commitment of the two leads, I do not think I would have liked the movie as much.

The most surprising part for me was the amazing moments of gore. They were few and far between but were a welcomed surprise. I was delighted to see how much thought and care was put into the killer, Heart Eyes. The mask looked cool, and his murder weapons of choice were very on-themed. The killer was also extremely ruthless when it served the plot. There were moments that require a disposition of belief because the killer is given multiple moments to kill the main couple but, at the last moment, does not. This is a typical horror faux pas that the film fell into. Heart Eyes does not do anything new in the slasher or romance genre, making the blend of the two the most interesting part. 

The ending was the biggest misstep for me. There was a moment that I was convinced was the end, but it turned out we had around twenty minutes to go. It felt like the writers had three endings and just decided to throw them all in. The movie does overstay its welcome despite only being 97 minutes long. I had a good time, but I do not see this as a new horror classic. ‘My Bloody Valentine’ still reigns as the definitive Valentine’s Day horror flick. 

I was skeptical going into Heart Eyes. I was excited to see Olivia Holt on the big screen and hoping for some good kills, and I was not disappointed. The film is not perfect, but it is serviceable with the correct expectations. The film has some cheesy moments and actual amusing horror, so I came out of the theater pretty satisfied. As a one-off Valentine’s Day slasher, it shines, but I do not think it would work again. I am really hoping for no sequel to this one. 

Sony Pictures’ Heart Eyes is directed by Josh Ruben starring Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding. The film hit theaters on February 7th. 

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