Heart Eyesslays the Valentine’s Day box office by skewering romantic comedies with bloody slasher fun. Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding co-star as Seattle advertising executives targeted for slaughter after a chance meeting. Kismet proves to be a death sentence as they run for their lives while hilariously still flirting.DirectorJosh Ruben, known forScare Meand his fantastic adaptation ofWerewolves Within, started his career in sketch comedy andCollegeHumorshorts. Speaking to MovieWeb, Ruben credits these early experiences with establishing a good working relationship with his terrificHeart Eyesensemble, which also includes Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa:
“I attempt to speak to my actors as I would like to be spoken to. That all starts with a vibe. You have to be confident as the cruise captain, but you also need to set a precedent, or create the kind of playground where actors feel like they can take risks.”
Ruben recounted how Sam Richardson, the star ofWerewolves Within, told him he “subtly mimics” his cast. Ruben doesn’t know “how or why” he does it, but the result is a “gentle nudge” where he puts himself in the actors' shoes. Ruben admits he “doesn’t have all the answers” but believes his actors “appreciate it when it’s an example of something that I think is theoretically well-executed.” The results are clear on screen, with Holt and Gooding having fantastic interactions that poke sly fun at rom-com tropes:
“Their monologues are quite genuine and vulnerable, but there’s something else happening in the scene to kind of undercut or subvert that interaction. Then there’s one that is very outwardly comedic and probably the most winking to my rom-com influences. Both of those were last-minute ads. Both of those were late decisions, and definitely influenced by my comedic background and admiration for the genre.”
If You Liked ‘Heart Eyes,’ Check Out This 2001 Slasher Film
In 2001, ‘Valentine’ gave audiences a taste of ’80s-inspired slasher thrills mixed with a deadly dose of the lover’s holiday gone horribly wrong.
Creating the Heart Eyes Killer & Making a Sequel
Heart Eyeshad a “minimaldescription of the killerin the script.” Ruben imagined “a twisted version of the heart eyes emoji” with “a machete and a crossbow.” He fashioned the character asJason Lives(the sixth entry in the Friday the 13th franchise) with a Batman twist — “Why don’t we give him a full on utility belt with more tools of death?” He continues on crafting his serial killer:
The light-up eyes were completely my addition. He did not have night vision. One of the first things I said was the dude has these heart-shaped eyes. It’s a Valentine’s Day movie. We are begging for that imagery. We are begging for red eyes in the dark. I am a horror fan, and I’m a member of this community. I like buying the t-shirts and the figurines. Let’s give people merch. Let’s give people a reason to cosplay and dress up like this dude for Halloween.
‘Heart Eyes’ Review: A Grisly Laugh Riot Skewers Valentine’s Day
Ally (Olivia Holt) and her co-worker Jay (Mason Gooding) are targeted by an infamous serial killer in Seattle.
Ruben believes there’s so much more ground to cover “that was not included in the film.” He was “immediately on the same page” about a sequel withHeart Eyeswriters Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy. “There are easily more toys. There’s easily more stuff that he can do. There’s more action to be done,” confirmed Ruben, adding:
“You can almost take any rom-com setup, fromPretty WomantoBridget Jones’s Diary, and have Heart Eyes intercept it. So long as we never let up on the genuine feels, on the delivery of the rom-com element. You never wink at it too much, and floor it on the horror. I think we’re cooking if you make it just as good as anything Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan ever did, and just as good a horror as anything Wes Craven ever could. Then that’s the real success of it.”
