Standing in a field of sunflowers with each other, the couple shares the happiest day of their life having their last moments together before getting brutally murdered. With 81% on rotten tomatoes, the new movie Heart Eyes has been a hit in theaters. The movie explores the topics of romance and gore.
The plot takes place on Feb. 14, with “The Valentine Killer” going around killing any couple he finds in the worst ways possible. The Valentine killer wears a mask with glowing red heart eyes and carries around a knife with a little heart on it.
The movie introduces us to Ally McCabe and Jay Simmons who are colleagues that have a little fling going on between them. Ally Played by Olivia Holt, is a marketing executive, who is heartbroken after a recent breakup, while Jay played by Mason Gooding is a consultant brought in to help with her company’s Valentines Day campaign.
They coincidentally meet on Valentine’s Day. The two get into an argument about love when at dinner that later ends in a kiss. The movie takes a twist when the two become targets of the killer.
The movie then changes from a comedic romcom to an eerie slasher film.
Personally, I think the movie did very well with the gory shots and the filtering used throughout was perfect for the overall vibe of the movie. The close ups and slow motion shots show the chemistry between the characters while the cuts and disorienting camera angles show the suspense during the suspenseful scenes. The film also uses reflective surfaces, such as mirrors, rain-slicked streets, and even the shine of a knife to create unsettling imagery.
Besides the styling and imagery of the film, I didn’t really like the movie. The story felt very rushed, and some scenes felt unnecessary. The horror parts seemed predictable and scenes struggled to keep the same tone of romance by immediately jumping into gore. The movie often switched from soft romantic moments to harsh gory content. The movie was also very short for having a lot of plot twists and information in it.
Despite the parts I did not enjoy, the movie does have its perks and it successfully includes a mixture of romance and horror.
