The mask worn by the villain in this slasher is certainly great. The rest of the movie? Not quite so much.
The antagonist in this film shares the name of the movie itself. Heart Eyes is a serial killer who has been on a rampage the last few years, killing several couples on Valentine’s Day. The film picks up again on Valentine’s Day in the present, centering on a Seattle-based marketing professional named Ally (Olivia Holt).
Because of trouble at work and her single status, she’s not too excited for the holiday. Things only get more complicated when she meets Jay (Mason Gooding), a new colleague she has chemistry with, but sees as a work rival. Unfortunately, the two are mistaken as a couple by Heart Eyes and now have to go on the run from the killer.
“Heart Eyes” has two things going for it that are real strengths when it comes to slasher flicks. First, the movie is properly rated R and offers quite a few gruesome kills. It’s nice when the movies in this genre reject a PG-13 rating and go for the R to ramp up the blood, it’s what the category was built on.
Secondly, the mask is really great. Masks are a big deal for slashers, and considering how many face coverings have come and gone since the slasher craze of the 80s, it’s nice seeing an inventive one. Here, it’s a full head covering with, as the name implies, eyes shaped like hearts, and they glow red!
And, uh, that’s really all the movie has in terms of positives. The rest of this flick is a largely underwhelming experience that feels like it wastes its premise. That’s not to say it’s an entirely original piece, with the likes of “My Bloody Valentine” in existence. However, the holiday offers a simple reason for people to be in vulnerable situations for a killer.
Unfortunately, the execution causes “Heart Eyes” to be a disappointing watch. Most notably, it’s the tone and the writing at play. The filmmakers attempt to mesh the slasher genre with a romantic comedy, but the latter is poorly handled.
Much of the comedy is played up to such a goofy, absurd degree, while the romance comes across as so self-aware that it’s unnatural. That’s not to say there shouldn’t have been a mix of comedy or tongue in cheek moments. However, it’s all dialed up to a point where it’s hard to appreciate the slasher elements or the romantic comedy bits.
It doesn’t help that the major “twist” in the flick was not only a complete disappointment, but also needlessly dragged the movie out to a longer runtime. The twist just plays into the “Scream”-like reveals that have become popular in slashers in the last couple decades, too. It’s disappointing that this couldn’t just be a killer on the loose, especially when a lot of the film is so messy.
Character-wise, the leads had potential in concept, but aren’t quite memorable. A makeshift couple being chased on Valentine’s Day isn’t a bad idea, but the writing isn’t quite strong enough to pull it off. Additionally, Olivia Holt is fine in her role but Mason Gooding falls short as the co-lead.
“Heart Eyes” is a weak slasher effort, with a sloppy script and mismanaged tone. The picture has some good kills with plenty of blood, but everything around it, from the main relationship to the attempts at comedy, and especially the later reveals, fall flat. 2.25 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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