Within the past eight years, we have been blessed with a plethora of solid horror-comedies, but did “Heart Eyes,” the latest film to follow the horror-comedy formula, live up to its peers?
Directed by Josh Ruben (“Scare Me”), “Heart Eyes” centers around stars Olivia Holt (“Killer Queen”) and Mason Gooding (“Scream VI”) as they flee a killer who targets couples on Valentine’s Day.
The movie was number 2 at the box office for its opening weekend. It grossed $8,305,156 , falling between Valentine’s themed action movie “Love Hurts,” which grossed $5,800,440, and animated children’s film “Dog Man,” which came home with $13,807,775.
The movie’s writer Phillip Murphy (“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard”) told Bloody Disgusting he imagined the story after a bad date.
The script evolved once co-writers Christopher B. Landon (“Happy Death Day”) and Michael Kennedy (“It’s a Wonderful Knife”) joined Murphy.
But when Ruben joined the team, Landon told Bloody Disgusting, the script “leveled up even more.”
Ruben said in an interview with Forbes that Kennedy had texted him, saying, “I’m working on something and we’re looking for a director. I think you’d be great for it.”
Ruben told Forbes he was initially skeptical about doing something “brighter,” but he decided to pitch a cross between “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives” and “Sleepless in Seattle.”
As a comedy, “Heart Eyes” falls short. Its jokes go through weird stretches of being terribly unfunny and then suddenly become funny for a while. That cycle repeats throughout the film’s runtime.
The scares, however, deliver. Ruben really brought his direction to the next level with “Heart Eyes.” He makes every sequence, with the exception of one that I will get to, memorable and enjoyable.
The kills are fun and gorier than I anticipated. A problem I’ve noticed with a lot of modern horror comedies is they lean too heavily in the direction of comedy. They lack in gore or any significant horror setpieces.
“Heart Eyes” has the opposite problem. The horror sequences elevate it over a lot of similar movies, but it loses a lot of enjoyability because of its inconsistent comedy
This movie commits a cardinal sin that made a solid 15 minutes of it very unenjoyable, the flashing lights chase sequence.
This godforsaken trope has haunted me for over a decade at this point. As an avid horror fan, I am begging filmmakers to please stop putting these in movies.
If you’re unfamiliar, the flashing lights chase sequence is exactly what it sounds like. The killer chases the fleeing victims while the lights flicker on and off, creating a borderline strobing effect that hurts my head, stomach and sense of decency.
It bogged the movie down and kept it from really packing a punch.
Holt and Gooding have amazing chemistry. Gooding has so much charisma that it puts every other man to shame. I mean that as a compliment.
Holt is so clearly meant to work in horror that it blows me away that she hasn’t been a final girl before this. While she’s played side parts in genre movies, this is her first outing as the female lead, and I think she’s great.
This movie also revealed Ruben clearly has a future ahead of him. He’s proved he deserves to tackle greater projects – and with a bigger budget.
I think Ruben would be a great pick for an “Evil Dead” sequel or a remake of Sam Raimi’s “Darkman.”
And if James Gunn is interested, I think he would make a killer “Zatanna” movie.
Honestly, I think there are much worse ways to spend 90 minutes than “Heart Eyes.” The way that Ruben directs the scares and chases makes it worth a watch.
News Reporter Malone Farmer can be reached at james.farmer674@topper.wku.edu.
