Is Heart Eyes a True Story? Is Heart Eyes Based on a Real Killer?

Directed by Josh Ruben, ‘Heart Eyes’ tells the story of Ally, a pitch designer at a jewelry company who is struggling to rekindle her love life following a breakup. When her organization hires a new consultant named Jay to advise on her work, she realizes that it could be a blessing in disguise as they both start developing chemistry beyond their professions. However, things take a dark turn when the duo is targeted by the Heart Eyes Killer, a masked serial killer with glowing red eyes who embarks on a murder spree every Valentine’s Day. With their lives at stake, Ally and James must navigate the perils in their path while also learning more about each other in the process. The romantic comedy slasher film combines two seemingly disparate genres to craft a unique thriller with intrigue, excitement, and heartfelt messages at its center.

Heart Eyes Touches Upon the Anxieties of an Unsuccessful Date

Written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy, ‘Heart Eyes’ chronicles a madcap horror journey set across one night as a romantic duo tries to dig deeper into their relationship. According to director Josh Ruben, the idea for the story came to Murphy while he was having a bad time during a date. “He (Murphy) said it was so bad that … he began to wonder what would happen if a masked maniac came in and started just hacking everybody to pieces,” the director said in an interview. As part of the thought process, Murphy began to imagine what would happen as a result of a serial killer attack, including the potential for him to grow closer to his date. While heightened in its take, the movie’s version of events captures the basic premise listed by Murphy.

Following the initial discussions, the project was conceptualized as a slasher horror movie in its first draft. Subsequently, Landon and Kennedy went ahead with modifications of their own, which brought a funny and gory edge to the overall narrative. As part of the development and production process, Ruben acknowledged the importance of other filmmakers in his work, such as Wes Craven, Nora Ephron, Garry Marshall, and Rob Reiner. The director stated that he was equally moved by profoundly romantic movies while also enjoying typical slasher movies that go over the top with their action scenes. To that end, it was vital to him to bring both sensibilities into the mix while directing ‘Heart Eyes.’ The film deliberately walks a tightrope between two distinct genres, often poking holes in established conventions and tropes laid down by other stories.

Ruben explained, “I wanted it to be Nora Ephron in earnest and Wes Craven in earnest. Both filmmakers have characters within their filmographies… that exist on heightened planes, that are whackadoo. Sometimes, if anything, those characters get caught being a little too villainous or a little too big, and sometimes that’s warranted. Sometimes, maybe not…” The movie personifies the best elements of its specific genres in a grounded manner while also sprinkling a good dose of exaggeration into the mix. It brings an aloofness to the narrative and helps it feel slightly distant in the larger-than-life action set pieces while simultaneously operating on an intimate basis during the romantic scenes. This duality is vital in helping it stay thematically relevant and closer to real-life situations.

The Heart Eyes Killer is Partially Inspired By Other Slasher Villains

The central piece of ‘Heart Eyes’ is the masked, emoji-wearing killer who brutalizes people in macabre and creative ways. While the character is fictional like the rest of the story, his inspiration partly came from Phillip Murphy’s bad date and also from a desire to craft a memorable villain in the line of other slasher movies. His terrifying presence is made all the more sinister due to the motivations behind his actions. Scriptwriters Michael Kennedy and Christopher Landon made slight changes to the original script by aligning the HEK (Heart Eyes Killer) with more sexualized motivations, including the propensity to explore kinks associated with dark subject matters. It also went hand-in-glove with the movie’s romantic themes, counterbalancing the wholesome bond between Ally and Jay.

The character’s distinct look is one of his main identifying characteristics. However, the initial ideas for his appearance were far from the final result. Murphy said in an interview, “It was supposed to be Chuck Woolery but rest in peace, he recently passed away. But it was a Chuck Woolery mask, and I thought I could probably do better than that. Nobody really knows who he is, outside of ’80s kids.” Thus, to revitalize the character’s connection to contemporary culture, the writer was inspired by the heart emoji, which was then incorporated into his look. Director Josh Ruben also played a hand in the character’s development, especially in his functional aspects. He suggested the use of night-vision goggles, which makes the HEK even more of a terrifying predatorial presence in the film.

Another point worth discussing is the innovative ways in which the HEK goes about killing people. Landon was one of the foremost intellectual capitals who devised creative murder methods the character utilized in several scenes. Kennedy shared his thoughts on the process by stating, “I always credit Chris; he’s come up with the elaborate ones on this. I’m the stabby-stab writer, and Chris is like, ‘No, no, no, we should cut him in half with a table saw. ‘Oh, okay.” Therefore, a combination of factors played a role in defining HEK as a notorious and intimidating screen presence while also fleshing out his backstory from a personal angle. Although he seems largely irredeemable and brutal, his villainous antics help provide a direct external opposition for Ally and Jay in their romantic journey.