Heart Eyes: Movie Review

Cast: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa

Director: Josh Ruben

Meshing romance, comedy and horror, Heart Eyes is a curious beast that involves gnarly kills and the kind of characters who wouldn't be out of place in a YA TV show.

For the past few years, a serial killer known as Heart Eyes (because of the shape of his eye-slits on his mask) has been stalking couples on Valentine's Day and dispatching them with disturbing glee in various states.

When the killer moves into Seattle to strike again, Olivia Holt's winsome Ally and puppy-dog eyed Jay (Gooding) find themselves targeted after an accidental kiss at a restaurant. Racing against time and to try and save their own lives, they have to fight off the killer - and their growing feelings for each other.

Heart Eyes knows what it wants to do - and it does it with relative glee.

As the main protagonists continue to shout that they're "not together" each time the killer heads for them, there's a real sense of tongue in cheek about the film - and one that doesn't betray the gore of its genre.

From the Heart Eyes Killer's resemblance to the Shape and Jason's mask, the homage is deliberate, but the clever design of the mask somehow manages to make him emerge as a potential candidate for a franchise - even if the conclusion of the film and the killer's MO makes any sequel potentially feel like a redo.

But whether it's lines mocking the detectives Hobbs and Shaw (including one of Fast and Furious' own actors) or the Terminator-style shenanigans of the killer in his unending quest to murder, the film's brief 90 minute run-time serves it well for a piece of throwaway entertainment that does exactly what you'd expect - and nothing more.