Love is a Battlefield

The slasher genre is well worn, and one could argue that it’s all but impossible to come up with a fresh take for a slasher film. How many different ways can you have cute coeds get stalked by a creepy killer in a mask? The kills can get varied, and you’ll still find the occasional new ground in the ways the killers are set up (a Hatchet here or a Terrifier there), but by and large the idea of the slasher genre has been done, and done many different ways. Finding any way to actually stick out takes a lot of creativity, and there are plenty of films that couldn’t manage the task

Christopher Landon has made something of a name for himself working to find creative twists on horror material. His biggest success was certainly 2017’s Happy Death Day, the humorous mash-up of a Groundhog Day-style time loop story against the kill-or-be-killed formula of the slasher genre. He’s had further successes since, with the likes of Happy Death Day 2U, Freaky, and My Best Friend’s Exorcism, as well as, on the serious side of horror, practically every Paranormal Activity film that’s been made. He has the horror chops to understand the genre and has put in the work to show he can handle it.

Heart Eyes is his newest film. He served as writer and producer on the film, with Josh Ruben (another up-and-comer in the horror scene with Scare Me and Werewolves Within under his belt) directing. It’s, as you would expect from Landon, a horror mash-up combining romantic comedies with the slasher genre. And it was released for Valentine’s Day (although it took another three weeks to finally arrive at the tiny theater near me). The film subverts both genres to find something that tidily fits in between them, strange as that sounds, and it really works. Because of its conceit it’s likely not for everyone, but if you can get into its groove it’s a very entertaining film that knows exactly what it wants to be.

We’re introduced to Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt), who dumped her boyfriend six months prior only to see him immediately move on and get engaged in that time. Love lorn, and stalking her ex on social media, Ally questions if she made the right decision, or if anything she’s done with her life was the right choice. Plus, her job is falling apart, with an over the top (but, honestly, quiet artsy) ad campaign for the jewelry company she produced falling very, very flat. She’s worried she might lose her job, even if she hates what she does, and that worry is only compounded when an advertising specialist, Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding), is hired onto the team.

Ally and Jay had actually met earlier in the day, at a coffee shop, where they had something of a meet-cute, one that Ally immediately ran from. But now, forced to work together, Jay decides to schedule a work meeting, on Valentine’s Day, so that they can hash out a plan. Ally agrees, begrudgingly, but when she gets the sense Jay wants it to be more than a work dinner, it all falls apart. Only a few different occurrences in a row keep it looking like, maybe, there’s something special going on between them. Certainly it’s enough to grab the attention of Heart Eyes, the Valentine’s Day killer that stalks and kills couples (and anyone else that gets in their way). Now Ally and Jay have to run lest Heart Eyes kills them (even though they swear they aren’t together).

Heart Eyes is a very smartly put together film. It opens with a murder, a couple getting engaged outside a winery who get slaughtered in decently graphic fashion, before shifting gears and starting up the romantic comedy side of the film. Honestly, even the murder side of the film is funny, with the movie getting a lot of mileage early on having the killer take out the couple, making both of them obnoxious enough that you really do want to see them die. But it uses the setup to keep the threat of the killer alive. Without it, you’d think you were watching a normal rom-com and then the genre smash cut into horror might be too much (like how it works in From Dusk Till Dawn or Predator). Here you’re ready for it, expecting it, and I think that makes it more fun.

The film uses the early kill to build tension. While the possible lovers are having their meet-cute, their first spat, and the other beats you might expect, that looming threat of the killer is in the background, waiting, ready to go. It colors everything and lets the tension build, even has a fairly funny and oftentimes effective rom-com plays out first. These are two people who both, in their own ways, want love but don’t know how to get it, and you do get invested in watching them try, and fail, to find a connection with each other. But there’s also a killer and you know, somehow, he’s going to latch on to them.

The first two acts of the film work really well. The genre shift from horror to rom-com and then back to horror is done really well. The tension builds, and then released, with a great set piece that moves from Ally’s apartment to an abandoned building, and then over to a fairground, and that all is really solidly plotted. I do think the film loses a little steam in the back half, especially once a large massacre scene takes place. This should be a point where the film is able to up the ante and really increase the gore and horror but, for some reason, the film pulls back and doesn’t commit like I had hoped. Where early scenes were extra gory and really gross, in the best possible way, this massacre feels safe, almost afraid to show too much, which is the opposite of what I wanted or expected.

It does course correct when it comes to gore in the denouement, the killer reveal scene. Of course, there’s a killer reveal scene, every film has one, especially in the modern slasher genre. But this time around I don’t feel like the reveal is all that impactful. Frankly, the film goes with two characters that don’t feel all that connected to the heroes, or each other, more like they’re the only ones (aside from our new lovers) left standing so, naturally, it has to be them. That’s a bit of a let down, but the sequence makes up for it with a riotous amount of gore, which I appreciated. That makes up for slightly weaker plotting, all told.

Still, on the whole, this was an effective and fun slasher comedy. I know some reviews of the film weren’t kind, in large part because people were expecting a straight-up slasher film and they got something different. They clearly didn’t recognize that Christopher Landon is the guy behind so many horror comedies and they just saw, “Valentine’s Killer,” and made their own assumptions. But if you know what you’re in for and can enjoy a film that’s both slasher and comedy, Heart Eyes works very well.

Honestly, I didn’t even know what it was beyond, “slasher kills couples on Valentine’s Day,” and I enjoyed it just fine. I hadn’t read anything about it or watched the trailers. But I’ll see anything if it says “horror” on it, regardless of the concept, so I’m not the one to rely on there. As someone that really likes the genre, though, I thought this film was a lot of fun. It certainly gives me a film to watch around Valentine’s Day, now, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all.