Heart Eyes (2025)

★★★ Without breaking new ground in the genre, this Valentine's Day slasher proves to be an entertaining date night movie that effortlessly combines gory kills with cheesy rom-com clichés

Watch Feb 23, 2025 0 1 Add to Reading List

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Dir: Josh Ruben

Cast: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa, Jordana Brewster

Without breaking new ground in the genre, this Valentine’s Day slasher proves to be an entertaining date night movie that effortlessly combines gory kills with cheesy rom-com clichés

Back in the early 70’s, following decades of B-movie fodder, the horror genre was crying out for a new direction. While there was some success with psychological and religious horrors such as “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) and “The Exorcist” (1973), the genre had become increasingly stale. However, the genre would soon change forever thanks to the introduction of a new sub-genre, that would take horror into a new and more sinister direction. Slasher movies are not to everyone’s taste, as their brutal and disturbingly realistic depictions of murder have proven to be too much for many cinemagoers of the years. However, with the common cloak-and-dagger trope that is often utilised, when done well it can provide great popcorn entertainment, providing that the murder mystery elements are well thought out.

This new age of horror was ushered in 1974, by what is considered to be the first mainstream slasher movie, “Black Christmas”. Despite mixed reviews upon release, the festive slasher has built cult status over the past fifty years, and has been cited as inspiration countless slashers that have succeeded it, most notably John Carpenter‘s “Halloween”. Not only did Bob Clark‘s film set the tone for 70’s and 80’s horror, it also introduced the idea of the festive horror film, a complete tonal shift from the many feel-good dramas and musicals that has dominated the Christmas Holiday movie market for decades.

Since the release of “Black Christmas”, festive horror has become a sub-genre of its own, with several major horror releases tackling one of the few holiday seasons we celebrate on any given year. The aforementioned “Halloween” and its sequels being the most notable, with the Autumnal holiday forever being tied to the supernatural. Typically, Christmas and Halloween tend to receive the slasher treatment more than any other holiday, largely due to their more prominent cultural significance worldwide, but some lesser, national holidays too have had the odd slasher to boast. Eli Roth‘s long-awaited grindhouse feature “Thanksgiving”, proved to be one of the better horror movies of 2023, and to a lesser extent we also had the 2021 horror “Black Friday”, a notoriously chaotic day in the US which also shares narrative beats with Roth’s film which is set the day before.

Almost certainly as a result of romantic comedies dominating the weekend box-office, one holiday that has rarely undergone a horror makeover is Valentine’s Day. Seen as the most romantic time of the year, production companies tend to focus on tugging on their audience’s heartstrings when it comes to Valentine’s weekend, as they look to generate the majority of their holiday weekend sales by capitalising on loved up couples expressing their feelings for one another. However, those more cynical towards the “Hallmark Card” holiday may want some escapism from the cheesy rom-coms that take over theatres this time of year, and luckily for everyone there is a film that can appeal to all parties.

“Heart Eyes” is a modern day slasher co-written by Christopher Landon, who has previously given us great genre-bending horror-comedies “Happy Death Day” (2017) and “Freaky” (2020), and serves as the first notable Valentine’s Day slasher since the soulless 3D remake of “My Bloody Valentine” back in 2009. Like with his previous hits, Landon and his co-writers manages to effortlessly blend the blood and guts of your typical horror, with the schmaltzy romantic cliches of your average rom-com.

“Heart Eyes” Trailer | Sony Pictures

The movie’s title, as well as deriving from the expressive emoji, is in relation to a notorious serial killer who has plagued several cities in the United States in recent years, by killing couples on Valentine’s Day. Following a cold-open where we see two recently engaged, spouses-to-be gruesomely dispatched, we are introduced to the female half of our central romantic pairing, Ally (Olivia Holt). Having recently broken up with her boyfriend, Ally is ridiculed at work for her latest campaign at her jewellery advertisement firm, with her personal heartbreak resulting in her advertisement focusing on doomed couples. With her career hanging by a thread, Ally is ordered to work with attractive and reputable designer Jay (Mason Gooding), otherwise she will be fired once her contract expires.

To gain inspiration for the campaign, Jay suggests that the pair have dinner that very night, with it being Valentine’s Day, with both agreeing that it is strictly professional and not a date. During their dinner, Ally and Jay get into a heated debate surrounding their backstories, romantic history and the concept of love, and as Jay leaves, an apologetic Ally promptly kisses him having seen her ex-boyfriend approaching with his new girlfriend. Unbeknownst to the pair, the Heart Eyes Killer is watching from afar, and begins to pursue them throughout the night despite them repeatedly stating that they are not a couple. Meanwhile local detectives, the hilariously named Hobbs (Devon Sawa) and Shaw (Jordana Brewster), are investigating the killer, as they attempt to stop them from brutally murdering more innocent couples.

Like all good slashers, “Heart Eyes” is a gloriously gory and entertaining cinematic experience. It delivers all the elements one would associate with the slasher flick; the surprisingly fashionable and befitting killer design, likeable protagonists and of course plenty of gruesome kills. Where the Valentine’s Day horror does falter however, is with the mystery, who-dunnit elements. While not all slashers utilise the murder mystery angle, those that look to balance scares with popcorn entertainment benefit from adding this dimension, which keeps you as the viewer second-guessing characters’ motivations from start to finish. This allows a good slasher to establish multiple distinct characters, not knowing who will survive, and who will be revealed as the killer. This is where the problem with “Heart Eyes” lies, in its predictability. Outside of our central couple of Ally and Jay, we are only really ever introduced to a handful of supporting characters, none of which are given any real depth or screentime to have you suspect them as a potential killer. The only notable supporting players are the detectives, played by Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster, who themselves has have longstanding links to horror having starred in “Final Destination” (2000) and “The Faculty” (1998) respectively.

What I did find that worked surprisingly well in “Heart Eyes”, are the more romantic elements in this unique genre mash-up, with the central chemistry between the two leads being pivotal to the romantic narrative. For those who love a sentimental romance film, there is plenty of that on show here despite it primarily being a slasher. It may be a common romantic trope to establish a non-romantic female lead, only to have a swept away by a charming and handsome out of towner, but somehow it works when mixed with the light-hearted tone of a slasher. The mixed Valentine’s messages given off by Ally throughout the film will appeal to all viewers, whether they are in a relationship or not, with the first half almost serving as an anti-romantic film. By portraying couples as superficial and shallow, we are made to sympathise with those who spend the annual holiday alone, but as romance blossoms between the Ally and Jay, the tone shifts to that more compatible with your typical love story.

It may not reinvent the wheel in terms of slashers or romantic comedies, but this refreshing addition to the Valentine’s weekend line-up proves that opposites can attract. The perfect movie date for any couple this Valentine’s weekend.

Heart Eyes is now showing in UK Cinemas