“Heart Eyes” may have finally arrived at the solution to the date-movie marketing problem wherein the gal wants to see a rom-com and the guy wants to see a slasher. It’s both! That might’ve been the boardroom pitch, but to be fair, some incredible gore (albeit of the “You’ll forget it later” modern variety) will turn off the sensitive gals.
The romance aspect is genuinely good, though, thanks to the always likeable Olivia Holt (as jewelry ad designer Ally) and the suave Mason (son of Cuba Jr.) Gooding (as Jay, the consultant brought in to salvage her campaign).
Landon on the right mix
Out of the gates, “Heart Eyes” throws every tone at the wall to see what sticks, and usually that’s a negative, but director Josh Ruben’s film finds its footing. Among the three writers is Christopher Landon, who pens some straight-up horror films like the “Paranormal Activity” sequels but stands out for his postmodern/meta takes such as “Freaky” and “Happy Death Day 2U.”
“Heart Eyes” (2025)
Director: Josh Ruben
Writers: Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy
Stars: Mason Gooding, Olivia Holt, Gigi Zumbado
This is his best of that type, although it wasn’t love at first sight for me. “Heart Eyes” opens with a self-consciously clever scene of a couple staging their proposal for posterity. A man creeps in the bushes, but it’s a false scare; that’s just the hired cameraman. (Never fear, the actual slashing and gore isn’t far behind.)
Along with other 2020s horror films, “Heart Eyes” will make a nice time capsule of this weird transitional era of communication. Bestie Monica (Gigi Zumbado) accuses Ally of stalking her ex on social media, but Ally claims “the algorithm is stalking me.” Funny now, and a cute slice of the time perhaps only 10 years from now.
Landon and company also throw in some harmlessly silly dialog, such as Monica name-dropping several classic rom-coms in a pep talk:
“I mean, you can be so clueless sometimes; it’s one of the 10 things I hate about you, honestly. You can’t let Jay go off to his best friend’s wedding and hook up with a bunch of bridesmaids and move to Notting Hill. No. This is love, mama. Some kind of wonderful, crazy, stupid love, actually.”
It knows rom-coms, and slashers
That’d be overly clever in a lesser film, but the action moves fast enough here that this line endears the filmmakers to me. And showing its slasher bona fides, “Heart Eyes’ ” guest stars include Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster as cop partners Hobbs and Shaw (another verbal gag that barely falls on the right side of fun).
Although the violence is incredible in the film’s first and last killings, this isn’t the cynical endeavor it could’ve been. It skirts the sword’s edge, granted, as some scenes could be perceived as played straight or played with a wink. Ally’s and Jay’s love story progresses naturally (by movieland standards) and leads to the familiar moment where they part ways, perhaps forever, and David Gray’s “This Year’s Love” plays on the soundtrack.
The filmmakers are aware of the cliché, laughing at it and inviting us to laugh. Yet because Ally and Jay truly are playing out the classic “love blooms in a survival situation” story, and because the actors have chemistry, we can’t help but understand that Ally truly is in a Gray state of mind.
The back-and-forth of “It’s a rom-com! Wait, it’s a slasher!” becomes less of a bug and more of a perk; less car accident and more roller-coaster. The mystery is decent and solvable if you care to pay attention to the clues, the comedy is not gut-busting but also not stupid, and as for the gore, let’s just say Fangoria won’t be overlooking this movie.
In the end, it hits like an effective rom-com thanks to Holt and Gooding. Ironically, most of that target audience won’t make it to the end. But again, that slight subversiveness – the way it undercuts its own perfect pitch — makes me kinda love “Heart Eyes.”