Holiday slasher movies are a well-worn genre at this point, having resulted in numerous classics in the genre, from Halloween to Black Christmas to My Bloody Valentine, and for good reason— in what other subgenre can you see typically cheerful holiday iconography surround scenes of tense cat-and-mouse chases and gruesome, meticulously designed death scenes? There’s an enjoyable irony to the genre that’s granted it enough success that it’s still alive today, which is more than can be said about many horror subgenres. Which leads us to the latest addition to the subgenre in the form of Heart Eyes, a horror-comedy slasher which centers around a serial killer who targets couples on Valentines Day. It’s an absurd premise that is fittingly helmed by CollegeHumor alum/occasional Dropout cast member Josh Ruben in his sophomore film (following up 2021’s Werewolves Within, also a horror-comedy). With a legacy of films ranging from top-of-the-genre to good plain fun and a director primed in the world of absurd comedy, Heart Eyes seems like it should be another great success, but does it manage to live up to expectations?

The answer, ultimately, is yes, though that comes with a few necessary clarifications. First off, I may have been a bit misleading when describing what genre Heart Eyes really is: yes, it’s a horror comedy, but more specifically, it’s a horror romantic comedy,  centering on two employees of a jewelry marketing agency (Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding, both slasher film alums) who have to run from the “Heart Eyes Killer” on Valentines Day as they continuously try to convince the killer, and themselves, that they’re not a couple. It’s a premise immediately loaded with rom-com cliches, from the rival co-workers forced together in chance circumstances, to a job that forces the protagonists to consider the true meaning of love, to the whole “will they, won’t they” dynamic of the protagonists, and the film doesn’t even stop there. There’s a coffee shop meet cute, a love lost cynic and a hopeless romantic, a misunderstood kiss, a chance run in with an ex— in fact, Heart Eyes seems set out to hit every genre trope it can, in both the rom-com and slasher genre, which could very well seem hopelessly corny and overdone to some. On top of that, the film often overloads its characters with quirk, from the leads to the best friend characters to the cops who are working on investigating the titular killer’s gruesome acts, which can often feel at odds with the horror side of the film. Ruben just barely makes it work by doing the same with the horror tropes, loading it with all of the long chase scenes, red herring, and third act villainous monologues present in slashers since the first Scream film. It’s very winking in its knowledge of all of the cliches of slashers and romcoms, and yet totally sincere in its indulgence of both; it’s “cheesy” in the way any good, pure example of genre tropes is, and that leads to an extremely fun example of both genres that isn’t afraid to lean into their most well-worn aspects. The leads are charming, it’s funny, the love story works, the set pieces are creative, and the kills are gnarly— what more do you really need for a good time?