A new romantic, gory, terrifying horror movie has landed in cinemas with a huge Rotten Tomatoes score, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Heart Eyes follows recently single Ally (Olivia Holt) who is struggling at work when she’s forced to work with freelancer Jay (Mason Gooding) to fix an ill-timed marketing campaign.
Unfortunately for the pair, they are mistaken for a couple by the Heart Eyes Killer – a masked serial murderer who targets couples celebrating the most love-filled time of the year – and face a deadly race to survive.
Olivia and Scream star Mason lead the star-studded cast alongside Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa, Michaela Watkins and Gigi Zumbado, while Josh Ruben serves as director.
The scare-fest landed in cinemas in the US today, before it comes to the UK on February 14.
It already commands an impressive 85% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, who branded it a ‘blood soaked, campy nightmare’ and the perfect mix of Scream and 10 Things I Hate About You.
FlickDirect’s Allison Rose shared: ‘Heart Eyes fuses clever comedy and brutal gore to deliver the perfect Valentine’s Day horror movie for a thrilling date night experience.’
‘Heart Eyes seems destined to become a Valentine’s Day favorite, that rare horror movie with a great and charming love story, and that even rarer romantic comedy with a great and savage serial killer,’ The Wrap’s William Bibbiani agreed.
Jen Yamato of the Washington Post praised: ‘Directing this lively date night slash-’em-up… Ruben wields the conventions of rom-coms and retro slashers like weapons, spilling blood and guts galore while also setting the mood for love.’
As Richard Crouse added: ‘Is it a violent rom com? Yup. Is it a googly-eyed slasher flick? Also correct.
‘Director Josh Ruben has throws teen comedy, rom coms and slasher flicks into a blender, and whips up a tasty cocktail of Scream and 10 Things I Hate About You.’
X users were equally enthusiastic, with @Jfcdoomblade writing:
‘HEART EYES absolutely RULES. A mishmash of cheesy romance and over the top gore that has such a huge payoff in the third act. Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are perfect! Rejoice! We have a new slasher ICON!’
@theBurk3nator agreed: ‘#HeartEyes is so purposefully insane and equally entertaining. The tone had me nervous throughout the first act, but it slowly settles in and becomes a surprisingly fun (and almost satirical) time, even when our killer is not on screen for a lengthy period. The chemistry between Gooding and Holt is on point, and the kills will be satisfying for genre fans… A nice surprise!’
@MaffManJones added: ‘HEART EYES is sneaky clever in how it balances cute romantic comedy and gory slasher thriller. There’s a shot of the killer’s silhouette on a drive in movie screen while the camera pushes forward that was absolutely baller.’
The official synopsis reads: ‘For the past several years, the Heart Eyes Killer has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine’s Day, no couple is safe…’
Mason, who famously saw off Ghostface twice in Scream, was clearly not put off by the slasher genre and jumped at the chance of filming yet another horror movie.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he described Heart Eyes as a ‘rom-com that gets hijacked by a horror’.
‘For a while, I felt insecure about the idea that my rom-com tendencies — what tries to make a character likable or affable — would make the horror bits not land as well,’ he said.
‘But at the end of the day, you have to trust your director. I have to trust the fact that Olivia’s a seasoned vet and incredible in her own right.’
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Touching on whether the Heart Eyes Killer could become a new Valentine’s Day tradition with future instalments, he added: ‘I hope so. That’s the goal.
‘That’d be fun. [Would] love to do it again. Any opportunity to work with Olivia is one I’m going to take 10 times out of 10. Josh, as well.’
Heart Eyes is in cinemas now in the US, and will be released in the UK on February 14.
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