Although the genre has been booming within the past decade, “elevated horror” has failed to craft any memorable slasher icons that could feasibly stand alongside Michael Myers of “Halloween,” Freddie Krueger of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” or Leatherface of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” That’s not to say that there have not been successful horror franchises, as sagas like “Insidious” and “The Conjuring” have been successful in retaining their quality. It’s perhaps the drive for more seriously minded horror films in the vein of “Get Out” or “Hereditary” that has made the slasher subgenre feel less relevant; there’s only so much social satire that can be pulled off in a story about a masked serial killer mowing down innocent people.
Heart Eyes (2025) wears its influences on its sleeve, as the titular antagonist is clearly modeled after Jason Voorhees of the “Friday the 13th” franchise. However, the brilliance of “Heart Eyes” is the fact that it is entirely aware of these tropes, and seeks to make the genre fresh again by retrofitting the format of the story. “Heart Eyes” is a romantic comedy that is invaded by a slasher film, and somehow director Josh Ruben is able to satisfy both genres in a way that is far more thoughtful and creative than it had any right to be.
“Heart Eyes” wastes no time in establishing its main threat; a mysterious killer has been stalking lovers on Valentine’s Day, and is expected to be a major threat when he arrives in Portland. Despite the growing concerns that the “Heart Eyes Killer” (later referred to as “HEK”) could feasibly target any young couple, it isn’t relevant to the advertising developer Ally, played by Olivia Holt in the biggest breakout performance of 2025 thus far. Ally has never really been in love and isn’t looking for a partner, as she is dead set on advancing within her career.
Of course, Ally’s attempts to cut through the nonsense of Valentine’s Day are cut short when she is assigned to work with her new co-worker Jay, played by the “Love, Victor” star Mason Gooding. Although they (literally) butt heads at first, Jay and Ally begin to open up to each other, as they both have struggled to get through a day in which single people are reminded of how lonely they are. Unfortunately, they end up getting a little too close to one another, which ends up putting the HEK on their trail.
There’s an appropriately nasty (and creatively gruesome) opening scene that establishes just how brutal HEK can be, but “Heart Eyes” is confident enough to spend a fair amount of time giving its two protagonists the chance to get to know each other. While the establishment of interpersonal relationships is generally used as exposition within a slasher film, “Heart Eyes” makes the conscious decision to make the romance its focus. The circumstances that force them to stay with one another are plucked out of any classic rom-com, but the chemistry between the two leads is strong enough that it is believable that they would actually want to stay together.
“Heart Eyes” has more than a few terrific set pieces that take advantage of classic slasher locations, such as a police station, a steamy bedroom, and a crazed drive-in movie theater (that is ironically showing the classic rom-com “His Girl Friday,” which may have been an influence on Ruben). What allows these sequences to rise above cliches is the sharpness with which Ruben orchestrates his one-liners and visual gags; characters refer to how ridiculous the plot is when taken seriously and act in a way that seemingly invites suspicion and danger. The simple use of flickering lights to mask the killer’s locations is perfectly executed and does more to create suspense than any amount of elaborate CGI could ever do.
The confidence with which “Heart Eyes” dismantles the slasher genre extends to the mythology behind the killer itself. Any audience member who has seen a “Scream” film knows to look out for unusual characters that could potentially be involved, but “Heart Eyes” doesn’t seem particularly interested in masking its twist. In fact, there’s just as much emphasis put on whether Jay and Ally will get together. It’s at this point that the film is tasked with combining two genres that tend to contradict one another; although most rom-coms end with the loving couple getting together, a standard slasher leaves the “final girl” as its sole survivor.
Most slasher films tend to collapse when the most basic of logic is applied, but to the credit of “Heart Eyes,” it makes an effort to address why a ruthless killer would be able to operate without being caught during one of the busiest times of the year. The police are shown to be incredibly incompetent, and social media ends up being a bigger disadvantage when it comes to identifying potential suspects. However, the most significant justification for the existence of “HEK” is thematically tied to the film’s thesis; people tend to do wild things for love, and it wouldn’t be unusual for someone to risk their livelihood if it means finding a connection with someone that they care about.
“Heart Eyes” is marketed as being from the producers of the last two installments in the “Scream” franchise, but it has thankfully avoided the relentless popular culture references that infected the Ghostface saga. “Heart Eyes” definitely has a good deal of snarkiness, but it isn’t afraid to paint its characters as sincere. Holt is excellent because she may share the audience’s frustration about the ridiculous standards of romance, which are often more about crafting an image than legitimately feeling something. Gooding is charismatic to an absurd degree but is also willing to show a more sensitive side when Jay is forced to admit that he’s been chasing perfection out of a deep sense of insecurity.
If there’s a fault to be had with “Heart Eyes” it’s the variety of the kills. Ninety minutes is the perfect running time for a nimbly paced rom-com, but it does mean that HEK only has enough time to showcase a fraction of his brutality. The film certainly has a few memorable deaths (including a double stabbing that doesn’t shy away from the nastiest details), but HEK may have been more instantly iconic if he had switched up his methodology.
“Heart Eyes” is a loving tribute to slashers, but it’s also the rare horror film that uses its characters as something other than fodder for a serial killer. It’s frankly astounding that a director as relatively youthful as Ruben shows such confidence in deconstructing iconic genres, yet never could be accused of talking down to his audience. “Heart Eyes” offers all the signature moments that both slasher fans and rom-com buffs could want, and succeeds in pointing out how oddly similar the two genres are.
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