This Slasher Rom-Com Is not Scary, However It Is Fashionable And Candy

Slasher motion pictures appear to be having a revival nowadays, supplied they’ve a neat little hook that provides some flare to the subgenre. This new wave of slashers aren’t simply slasher motion pictures — they’re slasher motion pictures with a twist. Enter “Coronary heart Eyes,” a brand new flick that asks, “What if a slasher film was additionally a rom-com?” So as to add some gasoline to the fireplace, “Coronary heart Eyes” additionally matches into the “vacation horror” sub-genre — whereas Christmas appears to reign supreme right here (much more so than Halloween, oddly sufficient), there are many different holidays on the calendar to show into days of mass homicide. “Coronary heart Eyes” makes use of Valentine’s Day as its backdrop, becoming a member of the likes of the 2 “My Bloody Valentine” movies and the considerably forgotten 2001 slasher “Valentine.” 

As a plus, “Coronary heart Eyes” has some proficient individuals on the helm: it hails from indie horror filmmaker Josh Ruben, who directed great little fright flicks like “Scare Me” and “Werewolves Inside,” and has a script co-written (with Phillip Murphy) by Christopher Landen (the filmmaker behind wonderful neo-slashers “Glad Loss of life Day,” “Glad Loss of life Day 2U,” and “Freaky,” among the finest fashionable slashers) and Michael Kennedy, a author who appears to specialise in fashionable slashers with a hook (he wrote the body-swapping slasher “Freaky,” the Christmas slasher “It is a Fantastic Knife,” and the current Netflix time journey slasher “Time Minimize”). 

All of that is promising. And certainly, “Coronary heart Eyes” has a enjoyable, humorous script and a few surprisingly fashionable route — Ruben has a great eye, and takes his time together with his photographs, even throwing in a break up diopter second for good measure. To sweeten the deal, “Coronary heart Eyes” additionally has two charming, likable leads in Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding, who play a mismatched couple simply making an attempt to stay by the evening whereas a masked killer hacks and slashes their method by hordes of individuals. There’s rather a lot to like right here. And but … “Coronary heart Eyes” finally ends up feeling barely inert. I had enjoyable with most of this flick, however by the point the third act rolled round and sure characters began rattling off seemingly infinite monologues, I felt my eyes glazing over. It additionally would not assist that the movie appears fully bored with being scary. In terms of this horror rom-com, “Coronary heart Eyes” is heavy on the rom-com and intensely mild on the horror.

After an amusing, gory prologue, “Coronary heart Eyes” reveals that for the previous two years, a serial assassin often called the Coronary heart Eyes Killer (or HEK for brief) has terrorized {couples} on Valentine’s Day. The killer, who sports activities a cool fetish-like masks with glowing crimson eyes, first slaughtered of us in Boston one 12 months, then the next 12 months set his heart-shaped sights on Philadelphia (side-note: I screened the movie in Philadelphia, and my viewers hooted and hollered on the mere point out of the Metropolis of Brother Love). Now, Valentine’s Day has come alongside once more, and nobody is aware of the place the killer may find yourself subsequent. 

In Seattle, Ally (Olivia Holt) finds herself dreading Valentine’s Day, and never due to the Coronary heart Eyes Killer. For one factor, she’s not too long ago damaged up together with her boyfriend, and might’t cease his frequent social media posts together with his new girlfriend. For one more, her job as a advertising and marketing whiz for a jewellery firm is in peril after her newest advert marketing campaign — which hilariously recreates demise scenes between lovers in movies — has been met with backlash. To avoid wasting the corporate, her boss has introduced in a sizzling shot freelancer named Jay (Mason Gooding) to set issues proper. Jay could also be straightforward on the eyes and intensely charming, however Ally desires nothing to do with this man, frightened that he is gunning for her job. So when Jay insists they’ve a enterprise dinner on Valentine’s Day, Ally instantly refuses — however finally ends up aquessing when it looks as if she has no selection.

All of this has the markings of a normal rom-com. Jay and Ally also have a humorous meet-cute at a espresso store earlier than she finds out who he actually is. And as so many enemies-to-lovers romances have taught us, it can solely be a matter of time earlier than these two loopy youngsters fall for one another. In fact, “Coronary heart Eyes” throws within the added wrinkle of a serial killer, who begins stalking Jay and Ally all through the night, racking up a heavy physique depend alongside the best way. 

The table-setting moments of “Coronary heart Eyes” work like gangbusters, and it helps that Holt and Gooding make for a pair of charming leads. They’ve a beautiful back-and-forth patter and legit chemistry that goes a good distance. Gooding specifically is so clean, humorous, and likable right here that I left the movie desirous to see him in additional issues, instantly (critically, make this man a star). The early moments the place Ally and Jay get to know one another and begin falling in love, solely to be interrupted by Coronary heart Eyes, are the perfect of the movie. Certainly, although I am a horror man, I’ve to say that the horror parts are the least fascinating issues about “Coronary heart Eyes.” I discovered myself wishing this was only a rom-com by itself — it would not really want the slasher angle. It definitely would not assist that the movie appears to expire of steam somewhat shortly.

After Ally and Jay discover themselves in Coronary heart Eyes’ crosshairs, “Coronary heart Eyes” begins to spin its wheels. You get the sense that the filmmakers did not assume this by — that they had a terrific set-up (a slasher rom-com) however did not know the place to take it. Consequently, the narrative begins to sag closely. A repetitiveness units in: Jay and Ally transfer to at least one location, get chased, watch individuals get killed, repeat. To liven issues up, the movie throws in two bumbling cop characters — the clueless Hobbs (Devon Sawa) and the lovelorn Shaw (Jordana Brewster), and sure, the movie makes a flat joke about their names being Hobbs and Shaw, ya know, just like the film? (Brewster, after all, is already a part of the “Quick & Livid” franchise, which provides an additional meta aspect to the gag, however would not make it any funnier). 

That is all a bit disappointing. I used to be completely charmed by the primary forty or so minutes of “Coronary heart Eyes,” and was excited that I had a brand new slasher pic to embrace. However after its successful set-up, the movie by no means fairly finds its footing once more. There are some enjoyable bloody kills right here and there, however I saved eager for the film to reclaim the power of its early scenes, and it by no means did. Even at a brief 97 minutes, “Coronary heart Eyes” finally ends up feeling too lengthy, like a brief movie thought stretched to function size.

“Coronary heart Eyes” is strong sufficient to entertain. The jokes land, the leads are nice, and the romance storyline is surprisingly candy — I totally believed that Jay and Ally have been falling for one another, which is not any straightforward feat (should you do not consider me, simply know there are about 100 made-for-Netflix rom-coms the place the 2 leads have completely zero chemistry collectively). Ruben’s route retains all the pieces collectively properly, and the kills will doubtless illicit (intentional) laughs from the gang.

And but, by the point “Coronary heart Eyes” reaches its finale, all of it feels considerably forgettable. I am glad new slasher motion pictures proceed to reach, and I give “Coronary heart Eyes” credit score for making an attempt to mash-up rom-coms with horror. However because the movie’s totally clunky third act arrives and offers us an all-too-obvious reply about Coronary heart Eyes’ identification, the joys is gone. Nonetheless, as Valentine’s Day counter-programming goes, “Coronary heart Eyes” has its charms.

/Movie Ranking: 6 out of 10

“Coronary heart Eyes” opens in theaters on February 7, 2024.