Josh Ruben’s horror comedies likeHeart Eyeshave all been great, but one of them stands above the others as his best film so far. A seasoned comedy actor who spent years establishing himself with College Humor (now known as Dropout), Josh Ruben has found critical success as a feature-length director. His debut film,Scare Me, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and quickly gained a following among critics and horror fans alike. His subsequent films,Werewolves WithinandHeart Eyes, continued a trend of fusing Ruben’s comedic sensibilities with different tropes and archetypes of the horror genre.
Thecharacters fromHeart Eyes,Werewolves Within, andScare Meare all consistently funny and surprisingly nuanced, leading to movies that are compelling even when there’s no gags or gore on screen. The result has been three stand-alone movies that perfectly highlight what makes horror and comedy work so well together.All three of Ruben’s films have been certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with similar critical scores for all three. However, there’s one of them that stands out as the best of his films so far.
Scare Memay be the weakest of Josh Ruben’s three horror comedies, butit’s still a fantastic movie that highlights what makes Ruben a strong filmmaker.Scare Mefocuses on an aspiring actor and writer named Fred Banks, who finds himself alone in a cabin with acclaimed horror author Fanny Addie. Their conversation about stories is frequently funny and quietly unnerving, with the film’s blend of short stories and character beats serving as a clever deconstruction of the horror genre and the concept of sole authorship as a whole.
84%
58%
86%
80%
87%
N/A
Scare Meis a relatively tight film that works very well, benefiting from an impressive script by Ruben. However, the film’s focus means it lacks the larger comedy dynamics and ambitious genre swings of his later films.Scare Meis an impressive feature debut for Ruben as a director, with the technical aspects of the film only enhancing the surprisingly mesmerizing performances from Cash, Ruben, and Chris Redd as the enthusiastic pizza delivery worker, Carlo.Scare Meis a terrific little movie, and only suffers in comparison to the more ambitious movies Ruben has subsequently directed.
Heart Eyesis a self-aware genre fusion of traditional rom-coms, with the conventions of a slasher flick fitting neatly alongside a parody of love story tropes.Heart Eyescenters on Olivia Holt’s Ally and Mason Gooding’s Jay, two advertising writers who are forced to work late on Valentine’s Day. This leads them to be mistaken as a couple by Heart Eyes, a masked killer who targets relationships.Heart Eyesis a deeply self-aware comedy, with a lot of the biggest laughs coming from clear twists on traditional slasher movie beats.
However,what elevatesHeart Eyesis the authenticity Holt and Gooding bring to the film. While Ruben has already proven to be an adept director when it comes to scary scenes and funny moments, the romance beats between Holt and Gooding works incredibly well. The fact thatHeart Eyescan tackle all three of those genres with ease is a testament to the filmmaking, from Ruben and the cast’s work to the technical aspects and script. While the broadly silly moments ofHeart Eyesdoesn’t always reach its full potential, the film is a hilarious and heartfelt film.
Werewolves Withinis hilarious and surprisingly tense, making it the most ambitious and engrossing of Josh Ruben’s three horror-comedies released at the time of this writing. An adaptation of the video game of the same name with a script by Mishna Wolff,Werewolves Withinfollows forest ranger Finn Wheeler as he tries to combat interpersonal chaos — and potentially a werewolf — in the small mountain town of Beaverfield during a blizzard.Werewolves Withinis consistently hilarious, but never loses sight of the horror that people can bring upon themselves.
8 Reasons Heart Eyes' Reviews Are So Positive
The Valentine’s Day slasher horror comedy Heart Eyes has already earned rave reviews from critics for its script, cast chemistry, genre mix and more.
The cast is perfectly game for the story of flexible morality and surprising killers, especially Milana Vayntrub as the seemingly friendly Cecily Moore and Harvey Guillén as the wealthy Joaquim.Werewolves Withinis the ideal of a horror/comedy fusion, a movie that’s frequently funny but can shift back into terror with a single well-executed editing cut or plot twist.Werewolves Withinis one of the most critically acclaimed video game movies ever released, and a great showcase of the kind of tonal mastery that Ruben has brought to his other films likeHeart Eyes.
