Valentine’s Day is upon us once again. It was this time last year that I put together a roundup celebrating the best anti-Valentine’s Day movies to stream. My goal was to represent the other side of the schmaltzy romantic movie coin. I’m sticking to that goal this year, but this time I’d like to shine a light on a wild genre-horror-comedy mashup that’s also a romantic comedy.
A horror movie for V-Day? Hear me out. I found a title that leans into the scares and gore, while also flipping rom-com tropes and leaning into the meta-fun that made Scream such a hit three decades ago. It’s called Heart Eyes, and if you’re like me and want your Valentine’s Day entertainment filled with laughs and soaked in blood, then you’re in luck, because it’s currently streaming on Netflix.
Read more: 40 of the Best Movies on Netflix You Should Stream Now
The gist of the film is pretty simple: A masked killer is terrorizing the streets of Seattle. His target? Lovers. Or, at least, those who appear to be romantically linked. You could think of this slasher as a skewed version of Cupid, in that arrows (among other things) are shot at their target. The intended goal here is to murder these people, instead of making them fall in love. But I think you already figured that out.
This is stuff that’s already in the movie’s trailers. If you continue reading, be warned: there are major story spoilers below.
Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding star in Heart Eyes.
Heart Eyes targets a young advertising executive named Ally (Olivia Holt), who, when we meet her, is struggling personally and professionally. She’s got an ex she can’t help but stalk on social media. And, the timing of a jewelry ad campaign she heralded — one where lovers die in various cinematic scenarios — has put her career in jeopardy.
Her horrible boss, Crystal (Michaela Watkins), puts Ally on notice in front of the whole team. With one chance left to right the ship, Ally is partnered with Jay (Mason Gooding), who is pitched as the company’s secret weapon. And, to throw another complicated wrench into things, in true rom-com fashion, she bumped into him (multiple times) earlier in the film, at a cafe in what I can only describe as an eyeroll-worthy meet-cute.
Now that Ally and Jay are partnered up, they meet at an upscale restaurant to create a new marketing strategy for the product. It should be noted that they are at this restaurant on Valentine’s Day, surrounded by couples in love, and gosh darn it, they sorta fit the romantic bill themselves.
But as they keep insisting they’re not involved and not on a date, the Heart Eyes killer sees it differently. Thus, kicking off a violent rampage through the city as both Ally and Jay fight to survive, while also — you know — falling in love, in the process.
Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding star in Heart Eyes.
I suppose the movie wouldn’t work one bit if it weren’t for the chemistry between the leads. The will-they-won’t-they argumentative banter and humanity beneath all the absurdity really help to ground the movie and make for a root-worthy pair of heroes.
While there’s not really a final girl here, Olivia Holt proves her worth as a lead. She was great in the time-travel slasher movie Totally Killer, and continues to deliver in Heart Eyes. Mason Gooding is a perfect foil for her character’s dysfunction and is given much more to chew on than audiences have seen with his recent roles in the last few Scream movies.
Heart Eyes puts a group of ridiculous characters around its heroes, which works surprisingly well. Ally’s friend Monica (played by Gigi Zumbado) is the spitfire, opinionated bestie every rom-com needs. The casting of Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster as a pair of inept detectives brings some genre clout to the film. It’s clear that they’re having a blast as Zeke Hobbs and Jeanine Shaw, respectively, serving up a little in-joke about a certain Fast & Furious spinoff starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham.
Heart Eyes is streaming on Netflix.
The design of the Heart Eyes killer’s costume brings the classic slasher aesthetic to life while adding a bit of new flair (those light-up eyes are a bit iconic, no?).
The villainous killer delivers a series of gory kills that will keep the horror-loving crowd entertained. That said, Heart Eyes accomplishes something here that is not an easy feat, at least not in my eyes.
Through all of the humor, the twisting of the rom-com tropes and the creatively gruesome violence, the movie maintains a love for the genres it’s blending together. Heart Eyes pokes fun at the consumerist nature of Valentine’s Day. In the same breath, the movie succeeds at celebrating everything that makes the holiday silly, special, and, well, romantic.
