If “Heart Eyes” were a Valentine’s Day card, it would be scrawled in jagged black ink with a deep red smear in the corner. It’s as though someone took a rom-com, gutted it, and left the viscera on full display for the viewer to admire. Produced by the team behind “Scream,” the film masterfully treads the thin line between laughter and dread, pulling the viewer into a whirlwind of uncomfortable romantic tension, bloodied jump scares and razor-sharp wit.
“A comical yet mostly horrifying film,” says Nicole Botha, an Emory student, summing up the unpredictable essence of “Heart Eyes” in one perfect sentence. The film delivers both biting humor and heart-pounding thrills, while also making the viewer uneasy with its unrelenting mix of romance and terror. If you can imagine “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” injected with a healthy dose of “Scream” self-aware slasher energy, you might have a rough idea of what’s in store.
At its core, “Heart Eyes” is a horror movie about a killer who hunts couples on Valentine’s Day, placing it squarely in the niche subgenre of holiday-themed horror. The plot follows Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Theo James), two marketing employees forced to work together on a Valentine’s Day project. What begins as a forced dinner meeting quickly escalates into a deadly game of survival when they realize the masked killer is targeting couples — and they’re next on the list.
Olivia Holt, best known for her Disney Channel past, steps away from her squeaky-clean roles with a performance that will make you reconsider her range. Her portrayal of Ally is a revelation: sophisticated, tense and unafraid to confront her character’s emotional vulnerability. This is a far cry from her past on-screen personas, yet she handles the switch with alarming ease. She’s not just a terrified woman running for her life; she’s a woman discovering her own strength and resilience in the face of absolute horror.
Theo James, playing the level-headed Jay, complements her perfectly. His presence is grounded, offering stability against the chaos surrounding them. But as the night spirals further into madness, the chemistry between them shifts from awkward forced collaboration to something darker, more complex. This transition is not only central to the film’s tension but also forms the heart of the story.
Jordana Brewster shines in a smaller yet significant role as Madison, a character with ties to the killer’s past who may prove to be an ally — or another threat. Brewster’s portrayal recalls her role in “D.E.B.S.,” where she balanced sweetness and danger with precision. She does the same here, keeping the audience on edge as they question whether Madison can be trusted or if her motives lie somewhere more sinister.
What makes “Heart Eyes” so striking is its ability to balance both horror and romance, often with a wicked sense of humor that catches you off guard. The killers’ motives — while tied to the predictable trope of holiday murders — are layered with more complexity than expected. The film’s genre-bending approach lets it seamlessly transition from lighthearted moments to spine-chilling scenes of terror, often in the same breath. Director Jennifer Reeder, known for her work on “The Scary of Sixty-First,” injects the film with a distinctive style that plays with genre conventions while crafting a unique atmosphere of discomfort. “Heart Eyes” dares you to laugh and recoil simultaneously, a feat few films can achieve.
As the story progresses, “Heart Eyes” forces its characters — and the audience — to confront the darker edges of desire and attachment. In a film where love and violence exist on the same spectrum, it makes you question the very nature of both. Reeder doesn’t just deliver on the expected scares; she digs deeper, exploring how attraction, manipulation and fear can entwine in the most unexpected ways.
The pacing of “Heart Eyes” is swift, never allowing the tension to ease. Every twist, every jump scare, feels earned. The horror elements are familiar — masked killers, ominous phone calls and blood-soaked confrontations — but it’s the way the film plays with these tropes that keeps the audience on their toes. The script knows when to pause for humor and when to inject sheer terror, maintaining a frenetic balance that leaves you breathless.
Perhaps the film’s most shocking success is how it fuses humor and horror without ever feeling forced. The dark comedic moments come with the kind of dry delivery that feels earned, not gratuitous. The characters mock their dire circumstances, but the laughter never quite takes away from the fear. As Ally and Jay are chased through the night, evading death, the film pulls back from the horror just long enough for us to catch our breath — before plunging us back into the chaos.
In the end, “Heart Eyes” is an intoxicating blend of blood, laughter and romance. It’s both absurd and deeply unsettling, a film that challenges its audience to reconcile the unspoken horror hiding behind a holiday of love.