By George & Josh Bate
Halloween and Christmas have quite the monopoly over the holiday subgenre of horror movies. Halloween most notably has John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher classic, which sparked a seemingly endless stream of horror movies set on and around October 31 ranging from Trick ‘r Treat to House of 1000 Corpses. The seminal Christmas horror film, meanwhile, is probably 1974’s Black Christmas, but there are a number of well-known others, including Silent Night, Deadly Night, Krampus, and, most recently, Terrifier 3. Largely left out of the holiday subgenre of horror though is Valentine’s Day, a holiday that celebrates love and intimacy and, as such, makes for the perfect juxtaposition to the sort of terror horror films are known for. Although there have been a few Valentine’s Day-themed horror movies, most of which did not receive theatrical releases and created little buzz. The exception to this is My Bloody Valentine, a 1981 Canadian slasher film that developed a cult following over the years. Fast forward 44 years and Heart Eyes, a new slasher film from Werewolves Within director Josh Ruben, attempts to take advantage of the dearth of Valentine’s Day horror films and, like My Bloody Valentine, show that horror on a holiday all about love can make for a romantic and terrifying time at the movies.
Heart Eyes takes place on Valentine’s Day, three years after a serial killer named the Heart Eyes Killer emerged and began killing innocent couples on Valentine’s Day every year. On the fateful holiday, Ally (played by Cloak & Dagger’s Olivia Holt) and her new co-worker Jay (played by Scream’s Mason Gooding) are mistaken for a couple by the Heart Eyes Killer and soon find themselves in a relentless pursuit for survival on the year’s most romantic night.
The core idea of Heart Eyes is: What happens when a slasher movie meets a cheesy romantic comedy? In other terms, what if a traditional slasher flick plays out within the confines of a romantic comedy? Think Scream meets The Proposal, for instance. Making this core idea even better is having it unfold in a Valentine’s Day horror movie and thus really playing up the association between romance and horror. With a brilliantly designed slasher in the Heart Eyes Killer, who has an immediately intriguing aim of killing couples every Valentine’s Day, one can’t fault Heart Eyes for its abundance of interesting ideas, ambition as a crossover of two genres that seldom crossover with one another, and attempt to (finally) make a great Valentine’s Day horror movie. Unfortunately, the film fails on all three accounts.
Resoundingly squandering any ingenuity in its genre fusion and creatively designed killer is a woefully mismatched tone. Heart Eyes awkwardly hovers somewhere between a self-referential parody of romantic comedies and a more straightforward, grounded film. The film is simultaneously not enough of a wink to the audience and far too much of a wink to the audience, instead playing out awkwardly with a plot and characters with one foot in a heightened tone and another foot in a grounded tone. Braver filmmaking, or a more cohesive direction, such that the film leans in one direction or another more heavily, is desperately needed as what results is a film that simply never quite feels right.
Confused in its tone, Heart Eyes further stumbles with its handling of tropes of romantic comedies. If you can think of a trope from a romantic comedy movie (whether it be a last minute run through an airport to profess one’s love or two eventual lovers who initially don’t get along), it is integrated in some way in Heart Eyes. And yet none are cleverly incorporated in the movie. Again, it is not the ideas at play here that are the issue, but, rather, the execution of them. Poking fun at romantic comedies in a rather overt manner would work, although this is not the case in the film as there is little substance to the inclusion of genre tropes beyond merely recognizing their presence in the movie.
At times, there seems to be some potential for Heart Eyes to pull a Hot Fuzz and ultimately become the very thing it is poking fun of. That is, similar to how Hot Fuzz ridiculed over-the-top action movies and then eventually became an over-the-top action movie, Heart Eyes has the potential to ridicule cheesy romantic comedies before eventually becoming one itself. Unfortunately though, this is not the case as the film never becomes a full-fledged, enjoyable romantic comedy, even if the central romance becomes more endearing.
Similarly lacking in wit is the film’s misguided and, at times, downright cringe-worthy sense of humor. It is not an exaggeration to state that almost every single joke in the 90-minute film falls flat. This was perhaps most glaringly evidenced by the fact that there was deafening silence among the audience we saw the film with every time a joke was told. A particular example of this misfired sense of humor involves an intimate scene between two characters hiding in a van while a couple moans as they have sex in the back of the van. Not only does the scene botch any effectiveness of the intimacy by clouding it with painfully unfunny moans in the background, but it also once again highlights the film’s continued difficulties with tone. A misplaced Fast and Furious joke and tired references to dating apps are among the film’s other failed attempts to elicit laughs.
Like any romantic comedy, much of the success comes down to the chemistry between the two leads, something that Heart Eyes achieves with mixed results. For much of the first half of the film, Olivia Holt’s Ally and Mason Gooding’s Jay share an awkward, almost uncomfortable energy. The filmmakers were obviously going for the romantic comedy trope in which the two eventual romantics don’t get along right away, but their interactions in the first half of the film are often more off-putting than they are funny and endearing. Holt and Gooding often appear like they are acting in two separate movies, with Gooding’s over-the-top charm awkwardly contrasting with Holt’s seriousness. As the film progresses, these issues somewhat ameliorate as Holt and Gooding’s chemistry improves, although their relationship never feels particularly genuine or compelling.
As for the ‘horror’ part of this romantic horror movie, Heart Eyes is about as standard as a slasher can be. The kill sequences are serviceable, albeit run-of-the-mill. The exception to this is an extended sequence set at a drive-in theater (which is eerily like an idea from an unused script for Halloween 4), which represents a rare moment of ingenuity for the film. The mystery as to who is the person behind the Heart Eyes mask plays out somewhat predictably and is hindered by a major plot convenience. The explanation for Heart Eyes’ motive is just silly and squanders the initial promise and great potential of a serial killer who kills couples on Valentine’s Day. Predictable outcome to the mystery (with a major plot convenience) . Explanation for killer’s motive is silly, and again squanders the great potential of a serial killer who kills couples on Valentines Day.
All of this being said, Heart Eyes consistently maintains one’s interest and is always engaging and watchable, even if it’s not riveting. The jokes may fall flat, the tone may be mismatched, the genre fusion of romantic comedy and horror may not entirely work, and yet there’s still some entertainment to be had with the film. Much of this likely has to do with the strong ideas at play, which, even when not executed well, are still admirable in conception. This also is likely attributable to the film’s rapid pacing that continuously moves the audience along without ever boring or overwhelming. Mason Gooding also proves to be an enjoyable co-lead, who does the best with the muddled material at his disposal, even if the rest of the cast fails to impress.
VERDICT: 4.5/10
One can’t fault Heart Eyes for its abundance of interesting ideas, ambition as a crossover of two genres that seldom crossover with one another, and attempt to (finally) make a great Valentine’s Day horror movie. Unfortunately though, Heart Eyes fails on all three accounts. Attempts to couch a slasher flick in a cheesy romantic comedy are bundled by a tone that awkwardly hovers in between a heightened, self-referential parody and a more grounded film, never committing to one side wholly enough and, as a result, feeling tonally mismatched. Cleverness of the film’s ideas are not met with cleverness in the execution of these ideas in a film distinctly lacking in wit and with a flat and, at times, painfully cringe-worthy sense of humor. Those seeking slasher thrills will likely be disappointed by the mundanity of the film’s horror elements and the poor resolution of the mystery, although an extended sequence in a drive-in theater is fairly well done. Nonetheless, Heart Eyes still manages to engage and is certainly watchable, even if it is never riveting, primarily due to its strong concepts/ideas and brisk pacing. With Heart Eyes falling short of its substantial potential and wealth of intriguing ideas, Valentine’s Day is left to still cry out for a seminal horror movie of its own for contemporary movie goers to fall in love with.