Heart Eyes (2025) review: The latest holiday slasher takes a stab at Valentine's Day
After Thanksgiving's release in 2023, production company Spyglass returns with another Scream-inspired horror movie
In the sea of Scream-inspired slasher movies co-writers Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy have created, horror comedy film Heart Eyes stands out as a fun and surprisingly charming movie.
Heart Eyes follows two co-workers in Seattle who are mistaken for a couple by the infamous Heart Eyes Killer, who murders couples on Valentine’s Day. The film stars Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster. The movie is directed by Josh Ruben, who has directed other horror films, like Werewolves Within and Scare Me. Heart Eyes also marks another collaborative effort from Landon and Kennedy, who worked on movies such as Freaky and Time Cut together.
Great direction, lead actors and gore lift Heart Eyes over its obvious inspirations
Heart Eyes really works because of Ruben’s knack for juggling different tones, as well as the two leads’ chemistry.
The moments when the film shifts between the leads’ tender interactions and the killer chasing them are great. It’s nice that this movie leaned into the horror atmosphere at times, compared to Werewolves Within, which was more of an overt comedy. The shifting tones indicates the filmmakers could accomplish more outside of the horror genre’s constraints in the future.
Whoever thought of casting Gooding, who had strong “male lead in a romantic comedy” energy in the recent Scream sequels, deserves recognition. He’s better in this movie than he was in Scream (2025). His chemistry with Holt is also heartwarming, and that’s important, since the romantic comedy angle wouldn’t have worked without engaging leads.
When it comes to the kills, Heart Eyes has decent effects work. The kills hit their peak early on, but they’re all enjoyable.
For better or for worse, Heart Eyes unveils the filmmakers’ love affair with slashers and romantic comedies
Heart Eyes’ flaws include the abundance of familiar cliches that are associated with the genres it’s merging, as well as recycled aspects from Landon and Kennedy’s previous movies and Spyglass’ recent slasher efforts.
Heart Eyes is basically Scream combined with a typical romantic comedy. Considering this combination of genres isn’t common, using most of the common tropes might’ve been the point. The filmmakers clearly know audiences have seen hundreds of slashers and romantic comedies in the past. Therefore, the film goes through the tropes in a self-aware way.
The final girl’s characterization strongly recalls that of the final girl’s in Freaky. A certain reveal towards the film’s conclusion is also similar to one in Thanksgiving. Though, Heart Eyes at least doesn’t blatantly spell out the reveal right from the opening scene like Thanksgiving did.
My Overall Thoughts
While Heart Eyes definitely shows Landon and Kennedy’s horror formula has cracks, the film is successful enough that it suggests their formula still has some creativity left in it. Since the slasher and romantic comedy vibes ensure the film will reach multiple demographics, it’s likely it will be successful at the box office.
Now that Ruben is doing major studio films, Universal should finally give him the Darkman legacy sequel to helm next. Heart Eyes and Werewolves Within demonstrate he has the potential to pull off a Sam Raimi pastiche.