By Riley Lovering Spencer
With the start of February, and a holiday that’s highly anticipated by couples (and marketing teams alike) on the horizon, what better time than now to release a film centred around Valentine’s Day? And Heart Eyes is certainly that… if your hope for a romantic night out also involves suspense, panic and a serial killer!
Directed by Josh Ruben, Heart Eyes follows the story of Ally (Olivia Holt) a young advertising team member for a diamond jewelry company who is working out how to save her pitch idea for Valentine’s Day. (I told you the marketing teams look forward to this time of year…) Recently, Ally’s own relationship had ended, so it looked like it would be a solo day for her. However, she may be seen as lucky to be alone this year, especially considering the fact that the country has been struck with fear surrounding a series of horrific attacks the last few Valentine’s Days by a serial killer named ‘Heart Eyes’ who seems to only go after couples.
Her Valentine’s Day–and world–is quickly turned on its head after she meets Jay (Mason Gooding), a freelance top of the line marketer who Ally’s boss brought in to help save the company after Ally’s pitch idea backfired with customers. Now, Ally is forced to work alongside someone on a day she intended to spend all alone. After Heart Eyes mistakes Ally and Jay for a couple while on their “work” dinner outing, they must team up to try and survive so that they can see another Valentine’s Day next year.
This movie has everything you would want from a holiday-themed slasher. The script is funny with many moments that had the theatre (including me) laughing out loud. It has the brutal scenes that are synonymous with the genre (I will never look at a winery the same) and, of course, some good, old fashioned, Valentine’s romance!
One thing that I really enjoyed within this film was the way that it balanced of everything. Sometimes with slashers. it can feel as though the scenes rely entirely on the bgore within the film. When this happens, the entire movie becomes a relentless onslaught of tense and blood-soaked scenes. While Heart Eyes has its fair share of those scenes (and they were done well at that), there was also a healthy amount of moments that felt like you could breathe. These moments were humorous and light and spaces where you could almost forget that they are fighting a serial killer (and not just for love). This sense of pacing really helps drive the movie in a balanced and enjoyable way.
Heart Eyes also gives strong personalities to its the characters. Every single person had their own unique and exaggerated quirks that really made each one memorable in their own way. Even characters that were on screen for minimal amounts of time were funny and quirky enough that they were enjoyable!
In the end, Heart Eyes is a movie that drags you into the world of its story with suspense and humor from the very first scene and doesn’t let go. It sets its tone well at the start and continues to keep you second guessing the identity of the killer. I was both scared by the slasher scenes and, somehow, laughing the whole way. If you are a fan of slasher films, especially ones surrounding a setting/holiday not often touched by horror genres, then Heart Eyes might just be what you’re looking for.
Heart Eyes is available in theatres on Friday, February 7th, 2025.
