The Stream: Those looking for a truly scary movie may be disappointed.

The Big Screen: The clever mix of rom-com and slasher flick.

The Final Bill: A great movie for both the lovers and the loners.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Josh Ruben
Writers: Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, & Michael Kennedy
Stars: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Michaela Watkins, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Rating: R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexual content.
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Production Companies: Screen Gems, Ground Control, Spyglass Media Group, Divide/Conquer
Platform: In theaters February 7, 2025
Notable Trailers: Hurry Up Tomorrow, Sinners, Drop, Opus, 28 Years Later, Until Dawn

Since it’s Valentine’s time, a nice movie date may be in the cards for you, Streamers. Or, maybe you’re flying solo this year, and you want to forget it all at the movies. Either way, Heart Eyes may be the movie for you. It’s a little bit romantic comedy for the lover birds and a little bit slasher flick for the loners. In Heart Eyes, a masked serial killer, dubbed “Heart Eyes”, terrorizes and murders couples on Valentine’s Day.  Heart Eyes has come to Seattle to wreak havoc where we meet Ally (Olivia Holt), who has recently broken up with her boyfriend and is having trouble at work. Her boss, Crystal (Michaela Watkins), enlists Jay (Mason Gooding), a popular design consultant, to assist Ally with fixing her failed marketing campaign. Ally and Jay meet for dinner on Valentine’s Day to discuss work and get mistaken for a couple in love by Heart Eyes, who decides Ally and Jay are their next target. Meet-cutes and severed appendage hijinks ensue.

Heart Eyes is a fun and clever movie that mixes the ridiculousness of two popular movie genres into a funny and entertaining romp. I’m not going to say it’s a masterpiece, but this movie is very successful at what it is trying to do. There is a good romantic comedy here. Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt have good chemistry. This movie hits all of the expected beats of a romantic comedy. It also has fun one-liners and swoon-worthy moments. Meanwhile, there is also an entertaining slasher flick. There are thrills coming from our protagonists being chased by this killer. Heart Eyes is gruesome and bloody in his merciless kills of those that get in his way as he pursues Ally and Jay. There are a few jump scares, but nothing very scary. The filmmakers have done a very good job mixing these two genres together in a relatively seamless fashion.

Ultimately, Heart Eyes has the best of both worlds. It’s both the cheeky, charming romantic comedy and the trashy, thrilling slasher flick you want. The romantic comedy and slasher movie tropes are woven together deftly where each gets its moment to shine. Whether you are anti-romance or a lovesick couple, a trip to theater with a big box of popcorn is worth your Valentine’s bucks.