MOVIE SCENE CANADA
HEART EYES
​I Sony Pictures I February 7, 2025 I 107 mins. I
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Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins,
CAST:
DIRECTOR(S):
85%
Josh Ruben
* As of 2/6/25
Blake (Christopher Abbott), a San Francisco husband and father, inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth).
But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.
REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 2/7/2025
RATING 3.5 out of 5
Heart Eyes gives love a truly wicked new name in this slasher romantic comedy mashup that promises lots of thrills, terrifying kills, laughter and romance thanks to a smart screenplay from a talented group of horror writers and the incredible romantic pairing of Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding.
It’s hard to imagine that it’s Valentine’s Day next week and there is no major romance or romantic comedy opening at theatres across Canada and the United States, but movie goers may have just found that film to fill the void for Valentine’s movie date night. Part romantic comedy, part slasher film, the latest film from two of the writers of Freaky once again finds that horror mashup tonal balance that delivers all the fun and gory kills of a horror film, this time with all the fan favourite hallmarks of the romantic comedy genre that will have viewers gushing. And if couples can get past the, at times, extreme gore, with the winning romantic chemistry of Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding in the lead roles, Heart Eyes is a wickedly fun movie that will generate lots of laughter, cheers, the occasional scream, and all the right feelings movie goers will be looking for this Valentine’s Day.
Playing with both the beats of the romantic comedy genre and the slasher genre, Christopher Landon, Phillip Murphy and Michael Kennedy have cooked up a wickedly fun time in Heart Eyes. After a brutal opening sequence kill to set the tone of the slasher story that is about to unfold, the first act sets the stage for the romantic comedy aspect of the film. From an adorable meet cute between our two lead characters, an enemy becomes lover tease over a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner and a late night rendezvous at Ally’s apartment, the writers will have viewers primed to be swooning almost immediately. It’s a strong first act full of laughter, cute and tender moments and the right amount of cheese to draw them into the bubbling romance between Ally and Jay, right before the killer strikes again. But once the Heart Eyes Killer reappears, the tension is dialled up to the maximum as a chase begins across the city of Seattle, in a film that honours both of its genres. The final act reveal may be a little underwhelming, but it never detracts from the entertainment value of the film as the story is less concerned about who the killer is or their motives, but the will-they won’t-they dynamic between Ally and Jay and if they will both survive the killer’s rampage, which is kept alive by some great romantic comedy cliches thrown in throughout the film.
Each set piece is cleverly staged by director Josh Ruben, while the writing maintains the perfect balance between slasher and romantic comedy, ensuring that the film is full of laughter, bloody moments, terror and epic romance, to ensure that Heart Eyes is the ultimate date night movie this Valentine’s Day. And when I say bloody, there are some truly gruesome kills that more than earn the film’s R rating, but they’re done with a comedic eye so that viewers are not too disturbed by the images on screen; it’s more akin to the Scream franchise in that sense. Especially the carousel and drive-in sequences which give two standout slasher movie moments that would make Jason Voorhees blush! It should come as no surprise with Landon’s involvement as a writer, having previously blended the time loop genre with the slasher in the Happy Death Day films and the body swap comedy in Freaky, and with Heart Eyes he proves that he is an unstoppable force for taking great comedic premises and homicidal killer set on chopping up young people.
As great as the writing and direction of the film is, Heart Eyes would fall apart if it weren’t for the passionate romantic chemistry between its two leads: Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding. From the second they share the screen together, Holt and Gooding set it ablaze with their chemistry that immediately has the audience rooting for their characters to fall in love, even as they are chased by a homicidal maniac. From a great comedic timing, an undeniable sex appeal and tender passion beneath their individual fears, Holt and Gooding are one unstoppable pairing. Hopefully this is not the last film that sees Holt and Gooding as a pairing, though their next time on screen together should not be a sequel to Heart Eyes as this film does not require one. While the camera is obsessed with Holt and Gooding, Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa are terrific fun as the two detectives trying to hunt down the killer, giving these two actors with iconic horror films in their past a fun supporting role that lends itself perfectly to comedic relief. Especially with their characters being named Detective Shaw and Detective Hobbs respectively, and hopefully you readers pick up on this joke faster than the audience did at my advance screening earlier this week.
While it does not blow the slasher genre up with a daring new take on it, Heart Eyes is undoubtedly one wildly entertaining and incredibly crowd pleasing spin on the genre that shakes things up. Yes audiences will never tire of a masked killer hunting down young people, the team behind Heart Eyes mixes the slasher genre with the beloved romantic comedy to deliver not only a gory film full of wild kills, but a romantic adventure that finds the perfect balance between the two genres to create one endearing trip to the cinema. With the dazzling romantic pairing of Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding to lead the film, Heart Eyes becomes a new slasher fan favourite thanks to its great mixture of gory kills, romantic comedy laughter and true entertainment value from start to finish.