Film Review: HEART EYES (2025): A Valentine’s Themed Slasher Film That Will Please its Target Audience

Heart Eyes Review

Heart Eyes (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Josh Ruben, written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy and starring Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa, Gigi Zumbado, Lauren O’Hara, Latham Gaines, Amy Workman, Kali Kopae, Gary Young, Alaina Wilks and Molly Curnow.

Heart Eyes is director Josh Ruben’s scary and clever Valentine’s Day themed horror film. While this movie is not quite on the level of the Scream films, there are plenty of last-minute twists and turns that drive the plot towards a conclusion that feels like it could have been an actual part of a picture from the Scream franchise.

At the beginning of this scarefest, a man is proposing to a young lady who chews on a piece of fruit with her engagement ring hidden in it. She doesn’t like that her boyfriend did that, but they agree to marry as a photographer tries (and fails) to capture the moment. Soon, a crazed lunatic slasher takes everybody out of the equation which leads the authorities to come to the conclusion there is a serial killer on the loose.

This new movie centers on a young woman named Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) who works in advertising and meets a handsome and mysterious stranger, Jay Simmonds (Mason Gooding) who orders the same type of coffee as her. Ally is suffering from a bad breakup with her ex who is now posting pictures on social media of himself with his new girlfriend. If that wasn’t bad enough, there is a “Heart Eyes” killer said to be roaming around her city looking for prey on Valentine’s Day.

Mason Gooding is very well-cast as the guy who not only has a lot in common with Ally but is also working for the same company as her. When Ally’s ill-timed bode to depressing endings in love stories is spit back at her by her boss due to the serial killer at large, Ally and Jay go to dinner to try to discuss new ideas to save her job. They hit it off in a weird sort of way, but things get more complicated when the “Heart Eyes” murderer mistakes them for a couple and tries to kill them.

Enter a police officer named Jeanine Shaw (Jordana Brewster) and her partner, Hobbs (Devon Sawa), who come to investigate Jay as a potential suspect when he has been found to have been in all the states where the previous murders occurred. Then, the plot thickens as an electrical outage occurs in the prison where Jay is being questioned, and the killer pops up looking for new victims.

There is a scene set in a drive-in movie theater that has the killer going on a rampage as Jay and Ally hide. That’s a humorous sequence because the pair of would-be lovers get in a car with a sex-crazed couple, and I’ll leave you to find out what happens when “Heart Eyes” shows up. Gigi Zumbado sharply plays Monica, a comic relief character who ties in movie references to the character and plot details by mentioning old movies like Crazy, Stupid Love, Notting Hill and My Best Friend’s Wedding.

Heart Eyes is good but it’s a bit all over the map with plot details left hanging around like loose threads. This film needed a tighter edit to make it easier to comprehend. There are many twists, and they add up to a fun time at the movies, but they don’t always make complete sense in the grand scheme of things. This movie leads you to believe a certain character may be up to no good but then changes the way it charts its course at the conclusion.

Still, Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are a dream team together. They have good chemistry together and make us hope one of them is not a murderer which would negate the good rapport in their newfound relationship. Jordana Brewster is back working again with her substantial (to the plot) part in this film, and she chews into her relatively brief screen time, offering an intriguing turn for her fans who loved her in The Fast and the Furious movies.

There are a number of minor problems that manifest themselves throughout Heart Eyes, but I’d be lying if I said this film was not hugely entertaining thanks to the charisma of its lead performers. Be warned that the film opens with some gruesome moments and then it lightens up a bit and never gets that grotesque again. It becomes more enjoyable the more it goes on and it’s easier to be scared in the later scenes that lack the over-the-top blood and gore the early ones possess.

If it doesn’t sound like Heart Eyes is a horror masterpiece, it is definitely a movie that’s likely to inspire a sequel. “Heart Eyes” killer ideas are already going on in my mind and I’m sure the filmmakers feel the same way. You’ll have a good time with this one if you can get through some of the gore at the beginning. Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt are so enjoyable that they may just branch out to future roles that could expand on the talents they display here in this film.

Rating: 7/10

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