In Heart Eyes, the Heart Eyes Killer, also known as HEK, has been active for two years, primarily targeting couples but willing to kill anyone. As HEK appears in a town overly enthusiastic about Valentine's Day celebrations, Ally (Olivia Holt) worries her marketing career might be over. Ally’s company is scrambling after she created an advertising campaign centered around romantic couples meeting tragic ends. They bring in a freelancer named Jay (Mason Gooding) to help devise something new and save the campaign. While secretly disliking her job, Ally is still hung up on her ex-boyfriend, who constantly shares social media posts about his new relationship. She’s bitter about love in general, while Jay is an enthusiastic romantic. Ally suspects Jay wants her job, but they begin to develop feelings for each other, putting them directly in the path of HEK's machete and crossbow attacks. Directed by Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within) and written by Phillip Murphy (Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard), Christopher Landon (Freaky, Happy Death Day 2U), and Michael Kennedy (It’s a Wonderful Knife), Heart Eyes is likely one of the silliest concepts for a slasher film in recent memory, capitalizing on Valentine’s Day within the horror genre. The movie opens with a couple attempting a perfect proposal, which quickly turns violent as HEK brutally kills them using arrows and a compression chamber that crushes its victims into a pulpy mess. Besides the mask, HEK wears an all-leather outfit and incredibly loud boots. The camera frequently focuses on HEK’s crotch area, seemingly avoiding showing their face even though they always wear a mask. Heart Eyes is essentially a romantic comedy wrapped in a slasher film, feeling like a parody of romance movies as it constantly highlights its own absurdity. The humor feels very self-aware, almost mocking the audience watching the movie rather than participating in it. Following films like Happy Death Day, Freaky, It’s a Wonderful Knife, and Amazon Prime’s Totally Killer, there's now a trend of slasher comedies that all feel somewhat similar, and Heart Eyes fits into that group. This is partly because many of the same people are involved in making these movies, but none have managed to recapture the unique comedic charm of Happy Death Day or Freaky. It seems like much of the entertainment value from Freaky came from Vince Vaughn’s performance rather than the script itself. Heart Eyes acknowledges its own silliness and leans into it. After the opening scene, the film spends roughly thirty minutes focusing on Ally's workplace drama and her potential connection with Jay. There are some creative visuals, particularly during a carousel sequence and at a drive-in theater. However, each kill and every promising development is undermined by moments of absurdity that don’t quite work. Ally and Jay take shelter in an unlocked van at the drive-in while attempting to have a serious conversation, unaware that a couple nearby is loudly engaging in sexual activity. This scene culminates in a violent sequence that Jason Voorhees would likely appreciate. The film also features a beheading with impressively slimy, goopy, and well-executed practical effects. It's strange because Heart Eyes feels like a more overtly sexual version of Friday the 13th, despite lacking any explicit nudity—a characteristic element of many horror films from the 1980s. Besides couples being HEK’s primary targets, the film’s tagline suggests that everyone has a kink or fetish. However, nothing in Heart Eyes is particularly kinky or revealing apart from the kills, which are arguably the only worthwhile aspect of the movie. Recent R-rated movies and mainstream horror have largely moved away from graphic depictions of sex and nudity, for various reasons. It’s therefore unusual to see a film set during Valentine's Day—a traditionally romantic holiday—be rated R without even hinting at any sensuality beyond loud conversations. Heart Eyes is an awkward horror movie that occasionally stumbles into unintentional humor due to its absurdity. Some inventive kills are diminished by a convoluted plot that constantly points out how ridiculous it is, and the killer’s reveal is as unsatisfying as waking up buried in a pile of greasy flesh at an unwanted party.

Source on TMDB