Heart Eyes
Writer: Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy
Director: Josh Ruben
Cast: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa, Jordana Brewster
Horror and romance share a lot. Culturally, we tend to keep the genres on opposite ends of the video store. But the more you look closely at each, the more common ground you'll find. They're both all about devotion to and subversion of classic tropes. They both feature careful emotional pacing. And, whether it's a sex scene or a murder, they're both all about building to a good payoff.
So, why is it so hard to do both at the same time? Many have blended romance and horror well, so well that it's a tradition stretching back to horror's Gothic roots. But too often when the genres are combined, we're left with either a romantic film that's cynical about its horror, or a horror film that's cynical about its romance. Attacking both sides of the mash-up with the same earnestness takes commitment, talent, and a certain vision. Thankfully for all of us, Heart Eyes has that vision. Funny, scary, and packed with beautifully orchestrated moments of romance, it's the must-see film of Valentine's Day this year, whether you're usually into horror movies or not.
The "heart eyes" of the title refers to a mysterious masked figure known as the Heart Eyes Killer, who spent Valentine's Day in 2023 and 2024 picking a city and slaughtering every couple he could find on the most romantic night of the year. Because the Heart Eyes killings seem to happen at random, there's no way to tell which city he'll strike next. And with Valentine's Day looming, the whole nation is on edge.
Ally (Olivia Holt) has other problems on her mind, though. Still reeling from a recent break-up, she's more concerned about her job as a Seattle advertising executive than she is about getting a V-Day date — particularly when her boss calls in handsome, confident Jay (Mason Gooding) as a freelance ringer to sort out Ally's latest, failing campaign.
Though it's Valentine's Day and the Heart Eyes killer has already been tied to recent murders in Seattle, Jay is eager to get to know Ally. He invites her out to dinner and even goes back to her apartment when she locks herself out. But because the Heart Eyes Killer targets couples, and they've been acting suspiciously couple-y on Valentine's Day, Jay and Ally finds themselves in his sights just as they were about to part for the night. This turns the rest of their first day knowing each other into a fight to survive.
Heart Eyes is directed by Josh Ruben, who brought us Scare Me and Werewolves Within, and the writing team includes Freaky collaborators Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy, so I knew going in that I could expect solid comedy along with the scares. From the killer opening sequence that serves as the perfect tone-setter to the absurd thoughts that emerge from characters' heads as a murderer chases them, Heart Eyes is one of those films that comes out swinging with a perfectly controlled tone and never lets up.
It's also, even as the horror-comedy blend always feels balanced, an absolutely vicious slasher movie with a wicked sense of humor. Heart Eyes is so much more than a great mask (and it is a great mask) and a fun holiday gimmick. He's a combination of relentless machine and remarkably human threat, just as capable of impaling someone on a flagpole as he is of absolutely eating it and falling across a chair while chasing a victim. He's got the punch of Jason Voorhees and the flawed intensity of Ghostface. After seeing the film, you'll agree that a new slasher icon is born, thanks in no small part to the brutal way Ruben structures his kills.
But what makes Heart Eyes really special, something that's elevated by Holt and Gooding, is its ability to tell both a love story and horror story with sincerity and a playful grasp of the tropes of two different genres. There's a very clear, very expected structure to the way a romcom works, particularly the kind of enemies-to-lovers plot promised by Heart Eyes with its tale of rival coworkers. There's also a very clear, very expected structure to the way slashers work, exemplified by the film's opening sequence and its multiple unforgettable death scenes. Making those two things line up under one narrative is impressive, but making them line up in a way that never makes the film feel like a cash grab, or a cynical ploy to cross demographics, or even a film that likes one genre better than the other, is almost miraculous.
Heart Eyes never sacrifices a good kill shot for a love scene, and never gives up quirky romance for the sake of cheap gore. It is a remarkable, relentlessly entertaining blend of both. That makes it a worthy new addition to the Valentine's Day horror canon and one of the must-see horror films of 2025 so far.
