Heart Eyes (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – For the past several years, the “Heart Eyes Killer” has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine’s Day, no couple is safe.

My Take – If you ever wondered what a slasher made by Hallmark would look like, this cupid horror thriller, which released a few weeks ago, would be the answer. A cheesy rom com that skewers the structure of a meet-cute with the inclusion of a serial killer, who hunts these supposed soulmates one Valentine’s Day after the other.

Unsurprisingly, co-produced and co-written by Christopher Landon, known for his work on the Happy Death Day films and Freaky (2020), the resulting Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within) directorial, that is also co-written by Phillip Murphy and Michael Kennedy (Freaky, Time Cut), is a mildly amusing attempt at a holiday themed horror.

But while the film has a fun and unique idea, it somewhere just loses its way and culminates in a middling-to-bad third act that squanders all the promised potential. Mainly because the script isn’t smart or witty enough to do much more than just recycle clichés and familiar material. Even when it pokes fun at rom-coms, it doesn’t always subvert them effectively.

Causing more harm is the central plot which is all over the place, mostly sticks to the familiar slasher formula without offering many surprises, and doesn’t even have much of a payoff in the end. Sure, the kills are fun and creative, but they are usually done for laughs than to incite any real terror. In the end, with all its highs and lows, it will primarily appeal only to dedicated silly slasher fans.

The story follows Ally (Olivia Holt), a single heartbroken cynic who churns out disingenuous romantic platitudes for the marketing department of a Seattle-based jewelry company. As her latest Valentine’s Day campaign goes viral for coming off as in poor taste, due to all the murders that have been taking place all over the country.

Deaths that have been attributed to Heart Eyes Killer, a prowling lunatic serial killer who kills couples, and anyone who comes in his/her way. She is paired up with Jay (Mason Gooding), a freelance with a glowing reputation. The same guy with whom Ally had a meet-cute situation at a coffee shop the same morning. But when Ally ropes Jay into posing as her boyfriend in front of her ex, the two become the unwitting targets of Heart Eyes.

Here, director Josh Ruben tries to balance Ally and Jay’s love story with the standard conventions of slasher flicks like jump scares, chase scenes through abandoned locations, and plenty of gore. All the while, the killer is being sought by two Seattle police detectives (played by Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster) and have the surnames Hobbs and Shaw, which hilarious connects to the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham led Fast & Furious spin off.

However, most of the writing is frustrating at times. As the script is more canny than clever. The narrative’s idea of wit is having the broad best friend character (Gigi Zumbado) cram a half-dozen romantic comedy titles into a single sentence. Indeed, there’s fun to be found in the gory fusion at play.

As the film winks at rom-com clichés like the dress montage and the climatic race to the airport, but it approaches its stock love story with sincerity; the two leads never betray that they’re in on the joke or that they’re playing a quintessential example of opposites-attract chemistry. That is until it totally flops in the climactic reveal that feel both clichéd and disappointing. The reveal of the killer behind the mask is not only anticlimactic, but, frankly strange.

Nevertheless, Olivia Holt manages to be easily the best part of the film as she pretty much carries the entire narrative and Mason Gooding is charming enough to match toe to toe with her. The two keep us glued with their great deal of chemistry.

In supporting turns, Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa work fine as inept if not unethical cops who seem a little too friendly with the two. On the whole, ‘Heart Eyes‘ is a mildly fun slasher rom com that wastes its potential premise.