Finally, a movie that can please all Valentine’s Day movie fans: those who hate the saccharine holiday, those who adore it, those who want romance in their Valentine’s Day movies, and those who prefer their gushing to be more gory. Every section of that particular Venn diagram can be satisfied by “Heart Eyes,” a fun and irreverent seasonal horror film from director Josh Ruben.
Writers Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy (who co-wrote with Phillip Murphy) are the brains behind some of the most entertaining high-concept horror films of recent years, including “Happy Death Day,” inspired by “Groundhog Day,” and “Freaky,” a take on “Freaky Friday.” They apply their genre-blending skills to “Heart Eyes,” delivering a classic ’90s-style horror film remixed as a romantic comedy, while paying homage to the greats along the way.
Director: Josh Ruben
Writers: Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy
Stars: Jordana Brewster, Olivia Holt, Devon Sawa
Every good romantic comedy has to have killer chemistry at its center, from Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in “It Happened One Night,” to Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in “His Girl Friday,” to Meg Ryan and just about anyone. Fortunately, “Heart Eyes” has Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt, two veterans of recent teen horror hits (“Scream” sequels for him; “Totally Killer” for her). The pair have a sparkling charm together, and while there’s a certain nod to these kinds of self-referential genre exercises, they know how to play it straight — both the flirtation and the fear.
Holt is Ally, Gooding is Jay; they meet very tenderly during their identical, very specific coffee order, and then later, at a work meeting, they discover they’ve been pitted against each other in an ad campaign for a jewelry designer (a hilarious Michaela Watkins in the funniest, utterly comical role). Their growing, awkward connection is set against the backdrop of a series of murders blamed on the “Heart Eye Killer,” a serial killer who has targeted happy couples in various cities across the United States every Valentine’s Day. Ally and Jay never take it for granted that they’ll be targeted, as they’re not a couple, but HEK (and the audience) can clearly see the spark that unites them, and they team up to fight the knife-wielding maniac (who wears a mask with glowing eye holes shaped like hearts, like the emoji).
The film follows a classic screwball comedy formula: prickly rivals fall for each other over the course of a madcap adventure, with the kind of Scooby-Doo twist that usually comes at the end of a horror movie, where the killer is unmasked and they would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids, who are falling in love.
There may be some plot twists and the mystery is nothing to write home about. But that’s not what really matters in “Heart Eyes,” in which Gooding proves to be a very funny lead and Holt a final girl of steel, but vulnerable. The story isn’t all that compelling, but their love story is.
While Ruben delivers some impressively gory and innovative kills, “Heart Eyes” is a love letter to romantic comedies, with references to “Clueless,” “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” the aforementioned “His Girl Friday” and many, many more, referenced in a cheeky monologue by Ally’s best friend Monica (Gigi Zumbado). It’s also, oddly, a love letter to the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, with Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa (of “Final Destination” fame) playing a pair of detectives named Hobbs and Shaw.
“Heart Eyes” reminds us that stories of love and death have always been intertwined in the popular imagination. Ally’s (misguided) Valentine’s Day ad campaign features doomed love stories like “Romeo and Juliet,” “Titanic,” and “Bonnie and Clyde.” There are elements of these famous love stories woven into “Heart Eyes,” from teamwork to the willingness to sacrifice for the survival of one’s love. Big statements and life-or-death pathos are as much a part of these high-stakes narratives as sparkling banter and longing glances. Love and death are inextricably intertwined in a symbiotic relationship, and “Heart Eyes” brings that out with wit, good humor, and plenty of blood.
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