Psychotronic Cinemavision: Heart Eyes

Over the last couple years, a serial killer known as “Heart Eyes” has wreaked havoc on Valentines Day in different cities across the country and has now come to Seattle, Washington.  The killer wears a mask with hearts for eyes that light up and double as night vision goggles. The first couple to be murdered happens during a marriage proposal gone wrong at a winery.  The only clue to the killers identity is a wedding band with the initials JS engraved on it.  Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) is a pitch designer for a jewelry company and due to a recent breakup and some other childhood traumas, her take on romance and love is very skewed.  Her recent advertising campaign nearly gets her cancelled as it shows the tragedy of love almost always resulting in death, and with Heart Eyes on the lose and in her city, the public believes the commercials to be in terribly bad taste.  The company pulls in freelance advertising guru Jay Simmons, who instantly has a connection with Ally.  While out on a “work” date, the two are attacked by Heart Eyes and Jay is arrested as the eponymous killer.  Ally attempts to clear him, but while in interrogation, Heart Eyes attacks the police station and the couple are able to escape and run to a drive-in movie theater, which is basically an all you can eat buffet for a serial killer who kills romantic couples!  Jay and Ally become more attracted to each other and eventually are able to stop Heart Eyes…Or did they!

Heart Eyes is a 2025 American romantic horror comedy.  The film was released in theaters on February 7, 2025 and garnered mostly positive reviews from critics.  The film grossed a total of $31 million against its $18 million budget.  Rotten Tomatoes gives it an average of 6.3 / 10 while Metacritic shows a 61 / 100.  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a B- on an A+ to F Scale and those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 68% positivity score. The film was released in digital format on March 4^th for your viewing pleasure.  I have not heard any talk of a sequel, but considering the positive reception and that the film made money, it is only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, I am a bit late to the game, and was not able to see the film in its theatrical release.  I had no expectation for this movie, other than a few friends saying they liked it, and was very pleasantly surprised.  The film has a quirkiness about it with some great bits of humor.  Some of the scenes feel purposefully farcical and a bit over the top, but that just adds to the charm of the film.  At first it is hard to like Ally, but the audience eventually warms up to her.  Jay on the other hand instantly connects with the audience.  He is gorgeous and charming and by the end you are not only rooting for the pair to survive, but that they will find love together.  There are some plot twists and an okay story.  The killer’s motivation left me a bit cold, but this is a minor flaw.  The script by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy was clever with some great banter between the leads.  The movie is full of quirky characters that add both comedy and a good amount of interesting character diversity.  The music by Jay Wadley is well composed and adds the right amount of ambiance to each scene without being overpowering.  I am not a big fan of gore and there was quite a bit in this film that I could have done without, but that is a personal preference and should not detract from the overall enjoyment of the film.