If you’re a slasher fan, there are many reasons to be happy right now.
After being looked down upon for years, the subgenre is surging back thanks to recent releases likeThanksgivingandtheTerrifiertrilogy.
When the killer choses Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding) as his (her?
Image by Jefferson Chacon
He was also inspired by silly and sweet rom-coms likeSleepless in Seattle.
The comparison toJason Livesis an unusual one, because that film is barely a horror-comedy at all.
And, truthfully,Heart Eyesoften feels more like a post-Screamfilm than an ’80s slasher.
In Heart Eyes, two co-workers working late on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the infamous Heart Eyes Killer. Directed by Josh Ruben and written by Michael Kennedy and Christopher Landon, the film stars Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt.
But whereas bothScreamandJason Livesknewhow to blend genres,Heart Eyesmisses the mark.
The first scene gets that right.
Maybe sex doesn’t always equal death in horror?
Some of thosecute romantic comedy tropescould have been woven in organically.
But the problem is the movie tries to throw inallof them.
Olivia has to run after Jay in an airport … and on and on and on.
When that mask is on, the Heart Eyes Killer is creepy.
It’s everything else that’s a joke.
And if they’re not scared of the killer, why should the audience be?
