Heart Eyes
Subscribe to MGM+ on Prime Video
- 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…
Purchases made through Amazon links may earn a commission for Sean Kelly on Movies. Last update on 2025-02-15
A serial killer targets couples on Valentine’s Day in Heart Eyes. For the last few years, a serial killer nicknamed the “Heart Eyes Killer” has been travelling to various cities around the United States, killing off couples on Valentine’s Day. Seattle detectives Zeke Hobbs (Devon Sawa) and Jeanette Shaw (Jordana Brewster) come across a grisly crime scene at a winery, suggesting that Heart Eyes Killer has struck again.
Meanwhile, Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt), a pitch designer for a jewellery company, is told by her boss Crystal Cane (Michaela Watkins) that Ally’s current death-themed campaign is not tracking well, given the serial killings. This results in freelancer Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding) being brought in to help Ally come up with a new campaign. However, the attraction that they share towards each other catches the eyes of the Heart Eyes Killer, making them his latest target.
Heart Eyes Synopsis
Heart Eyes is a romantic comedy slasher film directed by Josh Ruben (Scare Me, Werewolves Within) and co-written and produced by Christopher Landon (Freaky). Starring Olivia Holt (Totally Killer) and Mason Gooding (Scream, Scream VI), the plot of the film follows the typical rom-com set-up as their characters Ally McCabe and Jay Simmons meet cute in a cafe, only to soon discover that they have to work together to create a new advertising campaign for a jewellery company, all while Ally’s best friend Monica (Gigi Zumbado) cheers on from the sidelines. However, the plot takes a more sinister turn when the Heart Eyes Killer appears in Ally’s closet and she and Jay have to run for their lives.
Get ready for a vibrant and fun-filled painting experience with Splatter Painting in Toronto! 
Unleash your creativity with an energetic splatter painting session 
My Thought Heart Eyes
While most holidays, even Thanksgiving, have a slasher film to call their own, Heart Eyes is the latest attempt at making a slasher film centred around Valentine’s Day. Arguably the definitive Valentine’s Day slasher film is 1981’s My Bloody Valentine, and its 2009 3D remake, though there was also the cherub-faced killer of 2001’s Valentine, one of the many late-1990s to early-2000s slasher films to be made in response to the success of Scream. What sets Heart Eyes apart is that, aside from the opening kill scene, the entire first act of the film is played off as a typical romantic comedy, with there being tropes of the genre throughout Heart Eyes.
Co-writer and producer Christopher Landon is no stranger to outlandish slasher film premises, with the time loop of the two Happy Death Day films and the body-swapping serial killer of Freaky. On paper, combining a slasher film with a romantic comedy sounds like a clever idea, but in execution, the film is quite uneven. Heart Eyes works best when it focuses on being a slasher film, with the film featuring many unique and gory kills. However, even with the winking at the camera, including a moment name-dropping as many films as possible, the rom-com moments of Heart Eyes are just as cringy as the actual films from that much-maligned genre.
Also, while it’s not a huge criticism, I found it relatively easy to decipher the identity of the Heart Eyes Killer. Part of the reason comes from how the number of possible suspects is relatively small. That said, the ultimate reveal is made in a somewhat clever fashion, which plays into the rom-com cliches that Heart Eyes is satirizing.
At the end of the day, while Heart Eyes ends up being a solid slasher film, My Bloody Valentine is probably in no danger of losing its throne. While combining gory kills with romantic comedy tropes sounds interesting on paper, the film ends up being a combination of everything I love about slashers and everything I hate about rom-coms. The result is a very middle-of-the-road film.
Trailer for Heart Eyes
