Its inherently ludicrous, yet thats somehow exactly why it works.
WhileScreamnaturally voices criticisms about the horror genre,Heart Eyesdrills more into the rom-com side of its premise.
The similarities betweenHeart EyesandScreamdont end there.
Both movies also wring jokes out of killers springing to life after having seemingly been killed.
Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, and John Malkovich also star.
Amid humorous and supernatural events, Anton must confront this demonic force threatening his way of life.
Decades beforeHeart Eyesand just a year beforeFinal Destination, actor Devon Sawa appeared inIdle Hands.
Essentially, its as 1990s as a teen horror comedy could get.
Admittedly,Idle Handsgot significantly worse reviews thanHeart Eyes, but it did accrue something of a cult following.
1996’s Scream follows a teenage girl who is targeted by a masked killer a year after her mother’s murder who uses horror movies as a deadly game against her and her friends.
The film blends elements of slasher horror with dark humor, creating a unique entry in the genre.
Both films could also be said to take horror-themed approaches to completely different movies.
WhileHeart Eyesis director Josh Rubens third time blending horror with comedy, his first such feature was 2020sScare Me.
Almost any viewer who appreciates what hes done withHeart Eyesshould immensely enjoy seeing where the director got his start.
When mysterious deaths occur, tensions escalate, and suspicions rise.
As the situation spirals out of control, Finn uncovers hidden agendas and a deadly secret lurking within Beaverfield.
One year after releasingScare Me, Ruben directed an adaptation of the 2016 gameWerewolves Within.
There is, however, one key difference.
Thanks to the presence of werewolf attacks,Werewolves Withinis a decidedly bloodier experience.
Seeing the director evolve so much in such a short time only makesHeart Eyesthat much easier to appreciate.
But even ifLisa Frankensteinmore closely resemblesHeart Eyesdue to a stronger slasher influence, one particular difference is worth noting.
Another holiday-related horror comedy,Its a Wonderful Knifefocuses on Christmas rather than Valentines Day.
Based on a novel and inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Warm Bodies stars Nicholas Hoult as R, a zombie living in an abandoned airport who falls in love with a living girl despite his undead status. As R works to protect the girl, Julie, from his fellow zombies, her presence begins to help him remember what is was like to be alive. Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, and John Malkovich also star.
When four teenagers are found dead, the Blissfield Butcher’s re-emergence has made the town somewhat on alert.
With a script by both Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy,Freakyshares the strongest creative connection toHeart Eyes.
But what really setsFreakyandHeart Eyeson the same level is that the mash-up of comedy and horror never feels unbalanced.
Happy Death Day and Freaky are apart of the same universe.
Here’s how their shared universe opens up the potential for an incredible crossover movie.
Idle Hands is a horror-comedy directed by Rodman Flender. Released in 1999, the film follows 17-year-old stoner Anton, whose lack of ambition leads to unexpected chaos when his hand becomes possessed. Amid humorous and supernatural events, Anton must confront this demonic force threatening his way of life.
Totally Killer is a 2023 comedy horror film by director Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe) created for Prime Video. Jamie, a seventeen-year-old, plans to head out for Halloween night thirty-five years after the murder of her mother’s three friends by a serial killer. When Jamie ignores her mother’s pleas and heads out for the night, she becomes targeted by the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer.” However, the chase ends with her being sent back in time to the year it all began- and now Jamie will have to team up with her teenage mother to stop the killer and return home before it’s too late.
Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy film directed by Christopher Landon. Released in 2017, it follows college student Tree Gelbman, played by Jessica Rothe, who is forced to relive the day of her murder repeatedly until she can identify her killer and stop her death. The film blends elements of slasher horror with dark humor, creating a unique entry in the genre.
Scare Me, released in early 2020, focuses on two strangers, Fred and Fanny, who engage in telling scary stories during a power outage in a Catskills cabin. As their narratives intensify, the boundary between story and reality blurs, leading Fred to face his deepest insecurity: Fanny’s superior storytelling prowess.
Forest ranger Finn Wheeler arrives in Beaverfield, a town divided over a proposed pipeline. Amidst colorful locals like mail carrier Cecily and couple Trisha and Pete, a blizzard strikes, plunging the town into chaos. When mysterious deaths occur, tensions escalate, and suspicions rise. As the situation spirals out of control, Finn uncovers hidden agendas and a deadly secret lurking within Beaverfield. With danger lurking around every corner, Finn must navigate the treacherous landscape to uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Lisa Frankenstein is a comedic fantasy-horror film by first-time director Zelda Williams and is a twist on the classic Frankenstein formula. Set in 1989, a high school outcast named Lisa accidentally revives a handsome corpse from the Victorian era and resolves to rebuild him into the perfect man.
It’s a Wonderful Knife is a Christmas-centric comedy/horror film by director Tyler MacIntyre, released in theaters and on Shudder in 2023. A spin on the holiday classicIt’s a Wonderful Life, the film follows Winnie Carruthers, a woman who saved her hometown from a serial killer one year prior. However, her life spirals downward, leading her to wonder how the world would be without her - and that wish coming true. Now trapped in a world where she didn’t exist, the killer runs rampant, and she must find her way back while saving the town once again.
Freaky is a film directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day 2U) and centers around a young girl in high school that swaps bodies with a deranged serial killer. When four teenagers are found dead, the Blissfield Butcher’s re-emergence has made the town somewhat on alert. While waiting for her ride home at the end of a football game, Millie Kessler is attacked by the butcher with a mysterious dagger called La Dola, which then swaps the two into one another’s bodies in a Freaky Friday-like fashion. Millie discovers that to get back to her original body, she needs to get her friends and family to believe that their bodies have swapped - and she needs to reverse the ritual in twenty-four hours, or the switch will remain permanent.
