By Mo Moshaty

*Contains first act spoilers*

Heart Eyes delivers exactly what slasher fans crave: a relentless killer, a sick mask, and enough carnage to keep the blood flowing. For all the avoidant attachment folks out there, congratulations! Representation has arrived! (Kidding… mostly.)

A brutal opening scene for a newly engaged influencer couple sets the stage for where we’re headed and that’s stalk, slice, burst, kill, leave calling card. Turns out the Valentine’s menace is back…ol’ Heart Eyes, and their ready to get back to slicin’ and dicin’ folks that share a Facebook page…naw I’m just kidding, but hey, maybe. Couples beware – you’re the prey Heart Eyes craves!

We settle on our main character Ally (Olivia Holt), a pitch designer currently under the iron fist of the brand’s owner, Crystal (Michaela Watkins, the sensational Chachi owner in Ruben’s Werewolves Within). Ally’s pitch of celebrating the deaths of famous lover duos during Valentine’s isn’t settling with the recent local killings vibe so she’s got a short turnaround to produce soemthing amazing or she’s out on her ass. Lucky for her, Crystal has sent her a helper from heaven, mastermind marketer Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding). Jay’s sunshine and rainbows approach to love has Ally cringing – oh yeah, she’s a woman scorned, skeptic and scared for anyone to break the boundaries she’s set for herself out of past heartbreak.

A heartbreak she further shatters by keeping up with her exes social media with his new flame. Under the guise of getting down to work, Jay invites Ally to a work dinner. At the nudge of her punchy and much less square bff Monica (Gigi Zumbado), Ally decides to join him, and as the “work dinner” ends, an innocent kiss turns the tables on the evening, and Ally and Jay are now caught in the cross hairs of a killer.

Getting stalked by Heart Eyes, when you’re wired, tired and about to be fired is a freakin’ drag and the night unfolds in glorious, bloody fashion. Heart Eyes embraces classic slasher elements with style and comedy, blending a fresh urban legend with the return of ‘90s teen horror icons Devon Sawa (Det. Zeke Hobbs) and Jordana Brewster (Det. Jeanette Shaw) as the local bad cop/bad cop duo. The extensive red herrings keep the mystery alive (as all the best whodunits do), and while the character development feels a bit front-loaded, it ultimately pays off when the chaos begins.

With its potential for sequels, Heart Eyes could easily become a new horror franchise. Fingers crossed we get to see this legend grow.