Don Reviews "Heart Eyes"

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and while most people think it is named after a person, they are partially right.  Its origins actually come from two different people that were both named St. Valentine: one from Rome and the other from Terni.  The thing that they have in common is that they were both martyred, which is interesting given the events of Heart Eyes.

This film is directed by Josh Ruben (Scare Me) and stars Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa, Gigi Zunbado, and Michaela Watkins.  Ally (Holt) is an advertising executive for a jewelry company and is dealing with the issues of a recent breakup as Valentine’s Day approaches.  A serial killer nicknamed “Heart Eyes,” known for their killing sprees on that day for years and targets couples, ends up focused on Ally and her new co-worker, Jay (Gooding), who are out to dinner and mistaken by the killer as a couple.  As the night progresses, their efforts to avoid the killer get more and more complicated as they try to thwart being the next victims.

Just to get this out of the way: as a horror film, it meets all criteria for a good slasher flick, with a solid look and shooting style. From a drive-in movie theater to restaurant row, this film really captures the intensity of the cat-and-mouse game that is being played between the killer and the main characters.  Holt and Brewster are good, and the cast overall is fine for this type of film.  Holt and Gooding do a good job as the leads and have great chemistry together.

Now to the plot overall: I did like this film with its mix of horror and comedy (which helped break the ice considering they were done at the right times and not too often) along with the innovative ways a couple of characters met their demise.  I will again warn you that this film is loaded with brutal scenes along with a few very adult situations, but that did help in my enjoyment of the film.   If there is a drawback, there are a couple times they made the “wrong slasher film decisions” that are tropes here, but in some cases were surprising, so there is a balance. If your looking for a fun time and a new attempt at horror, I will recommend Heart Eyes as a weekend matinee showing in the theaters.