A deranged masked killer with glowing hearts for eyes stalks the sweethearts of a randomly chosen American city each Valentine’s Day in this exuberantly grisly horror-romcom mashup (or slashup, to be precise). Technically, Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding) shouldn’t be targets for a killer whose USP is getting triggered by other people’s public displays of affection. They’re work colleagues rather than lovers, having only met that morning, and during their first encounter Ally accidentally headbutted Jay in the face. But there’s enough of a spark between them for the film to work as an adorable odd-couple romance, in between all the impaling, decapitation and eye-socket trauma. And it’s this undeniable chemistry that makes them a target for the stab-happy romance-phobic Heart Eyes.

It’s all fairly predictable. Anyone who has seen more than a couple of serial killer movies will have no problem assembling a list of possible masked murderers. But Josh Ruben’s film goes above and beyond when it comes to squelchy, visceral gore.

• In UK and Irish cinemas