Enjoy Valentine’s with “Heart Eyes”

Heart Eyes (Josh Ruben, 2025) 3 out of 5 stars

Heart Eyes follows the tradition of merging horror and comedy together to create a wildly fun narrative about an infamous “Heart Eyes Killer,” who strikes specifically on Valentine’s Day, targeting couples as they get together for dates, proposals, and everything in between. As the film begins, social-media marketer Ally (Olivia Holt, Totally Killer) faces a tough job predicament, leading her to meet Jay (Mason Gooding, Scream), who is both a new colleague and a potential romantic candidate. Their meet-cute comes to a screeching halt when they are targeted by Heart Eyes, and the chase is on.

My biggest and only complaint with Heart Eyes is that it rides on the backs of similar movies. We’ve seen the Valentine’s Day killer before in My Bloody Valentine (MBV) and with the exception of glowing red hearts for eyes, Heart Eyes emulates the same sinister archetype as MBV’s Harry Warden. Similarly, Heart Eyes’ structure and pacing resemble the horror/comedy bounce found in the Scream franchise and Ready or Not, with self-aware jokes, eye-popping jump scares, paired with grounded, mostly sensible sequences where the victims are not total dinguses.

That said, while Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within) may be doing a great deal of copy and paste, Heart Eyes still offers plenty of entertainment value. Holt and Gooding’s platonic-to-romantic story arc gives this film the Valentine’s Day vibe needed to make viewers laugh and their hearts flutter. Additionally, the film finds new and surprising ways to kill off its victims. Indeed, Ruben is unapologetic in his delivery of self-aware storytelling, which leaves for a highly relatable set of characters and gripping sequences.

At its core, Heart Eyes is fully rooted in evading any form of absurdity often found in the horror genre, and embraces its humor, likeable characters, and bloody moments to create an immensely enjoyable experience. While horror-movie fans may not find it all that original, overall Ruben’s combination of slasher-horror and romantic comedy makes Heart Eyes a thrilling and heartfelt hybrid of a film. It is both for those with big hearts and strong stomachs, and anyone in between.

Adam Vaughn

Adam Vaughn is a graduate of the Film & Moving Image program at Stevenson University, with a focus in Cinematography and Production. He also has a minor in Theater and Media Performance. Adam works as a freelance photographer and videographer, focusing his craft on creating compelling photographic and cinematic imagery. Adam is excited to join the Film Festival Today team and explore the world of cinema and visual arts.