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With: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa, Jordana Brewster
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Written by: Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy
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Directed by: Josh Ruben
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MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexual content
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Running Time: 97
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Date: 02/07/2025
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Ticker Shock
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
While its overall vibe is fairly familiar, Josh Ruben's horror/rom-com mashup Heart Eyes is still quite clever, with a knowledge and appreciation of both genres, as well as a batch of appealing and/or funny characters.
A serial killer in a mask with heart-shaped eyes has been terrorizing and slaughtering couples on Valentine's Day for two years running, each time in a different city. Lovers everywhere are being warned to stay home. Ally (Olivia Holt) prepares to go to her job at an advertising firm and has an awkward "meet-cute" in a cafe with Jay (Mason Gooding).
At work, she learns that she has made a huge mistake on a new jewelry campaign, and her boss (Michaela Watkins) calls in a freelancer, which turns out to be Jay. The pair must come up with a new plan tonight, Valentine's Day, before Jay's plane leaves in the morning. They meet at a restaurant, with disastrous results, but as they are leaving, they are spotted by none other than the killer. Their night is just beginning.
Veterans of this kind of material, Holt (Totally Killer) and Gooding (Scream and Scream VI) throw themselves completely into Heart Eyes, and they're quite charming, with good chemistry. They adapt to the romance scenes and the horror scenes with equal efficiency.
Gigi Zumbado is hilarious as the typical rom-com "goofy best friend" character (whose entire job is to care about the main character's love life), Watkins is clearly having a ball as Ally's malevolent boss, and Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster kill as police detectives Hobbs and Shaw. ("Like the movie?" asks Ally; their response is hysterical.)
Director Ruben — whose Scare Me and Werewolves Within had the same kind of humorous horror deconstruction — skillfully flips back and forth between genre conventions while simultaneously sending them up. There's even a scene in which Ally races to the airport to declare her love to Jay before he flies away, which turns into another encounter with the killer. And the movie goes out with a bang with its brilliant twist on the "or is it?" mid-credits button, which we won't reveal.
Best of all is that Heart Eyes is a rare date night that may appeal to both partners in a couple (provided they can handle the gore).
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