Heart Eyes
The Valentine ’s Day - themed slasherHeart Eyeshas already lay the taproom highly gamey for repulsion drollery in 2025 found on its overwhelmingly convinced reviews . star Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt , the modish from director Josh Ruben ( werewolf Within ) eye around two carbon monoxide gas - worker stalk by a cause of death in a truly memorable mask who splendidly kills couples around Valentine ’s Day . After being misguided for a couple by the grampus , the two Centennial State - workers must spend the night dodging the killer while discovering that there may be more sparks between them than they realize .
Horror comedies traditionally do n’t earn much acclaim from critic , either because they are n’t funny enough , scary enough , or both . Based on other reviews , Heart Eyes , which strike theaters on February 7th , appears to avoid most of the pit of the horror comedy subgenre , as itsRotten Tomatoesscore is already off the chart . Valentine ’s Day has remained a popular temporal setting for slasher flick over the years , but if critics are to be believed , Heart Eyesmight be among the very best to embrace the theme .
sole : Heart Eyes stars give their opinions that the titulary slasher grampus can become as iconic as genre legends such as Freddy and Jason .
8Heart Eyes Is Self-Aware (In A Good Way)
The Movie Stays Meta Without Feeling Gimmicky
Critics have praisedHeart Eyesas a moving-picture show that sympathise precisely what it is : a ridiculous concept intended to make fun of both romantic comedies and slasher movies at the same time . The mask of the killer at its centeris quite literally a grimy , neon representation of the " heart eye " emoji , so the stage is set for the movie to be sort of meta right from the jump . It follows up on that concept in earnest , lean into its aspiration from similar concepts like theScreamfranchise .
Heart Eyes - Key Details
Release Date
Custom image by Ana Nieves
Director
Runtime
Budget
RT Tomatometer Score
Metacritic Score
February 7th , 2025
Josh Ruben
97 minutes
$ 18 million
90 %
61
While that concept can come across as cheesy or cockamamie if it ’s not done well , Heart Eyesfinds the right banker’s bill to recognise its own concept without losing any of the spirit of its dual - genre nature . It superintend to mine logical heart out of the budding romance at its centre , the thrill of a caliber slasher movie , and the laughs of a top - flying rom - com all at once while never losing its self - awareness .
7Heart Eyes Skewers Romantic Clichés
The Movie Does Not Pull Punches In Satirizing Rom-Coms
With its Valentine ’s Day place setting and emoji - present killer , one ofHeart Eyes ' master functions is to bemock and subvert the traditional clichés of romanticist clowning and particular date dark romances . According to critics , it does this with poise right from its brutal initiative succession . In the process of playing out a burgeoning love story , Heart Eyescritiques the typical ludicrous fictitious character interactions that are find out in read-only memory - coms , and are usually forgiven due to the nature of the genre . Heart Eyesexplores how two real people would interact in the position as opposed to the idyllic , and oftentimes dizzy , dynamic of a rom - com .
That realism does n’t do anything to take away from the legitimate romancethat build throughout the course of study of the pic . On the reverse , it enhances the romance because it becomes easier to identify with the characters at its center . The laughs at the disbursal of romantic clichés effortlessly give direction to the dear connectedness between the two leads , thanks in no small part to the red-hot chemistry between them .
6Heart Eyes Balances Romantic Comedy And Horror
It Somehow Manages To Nail Both Genres At Once
Neither rom - coms nor repugnance movies have a history of special critical reception , oftentimes because the tropes of each musical genre have been beat into the ground at this gunpoint . However , Heart Eyeshas managed very gamey scoresbecauseit dexterously navigate the well - worn waters of both genres without feel stale or repetitive . Its meta nature has a great deal to do with it ; while revulsion and fixed storage - com moving picture lean on figure of speech and clichés , Heart Eyescriticizes them as a transposition for rely on them .
As a solution , the genres mix attractively into a satisfying storythat elicits both the affright of a good slasher movie and the warm luminescence of a heartwarming romance . They do n’t always mix perfectly , but then again , that ’s sort of the point . Holding up the two genres , which in many way are the lineal opposite of each other , side - by - side creates some much - call for equaliser .
5Heart Eyes Isn’t Light On The Gore
Despite Being Partially A Rom-Com, The Movie Never Lacks For Blood
critic agree that for whateverHeart Eyesmight be as far as a meta satiric commentary or a writing style mash - up , it always makes indisputable to tend to its status as a slasher moving picture . Especially when love affair and comedy are introduced into the premix , the horror elements of a repugnance comedy often wind up feeling forget . In the scramble to hit so many notes , the monster , slashers , or whatever villainous cause of demise is at a horror clowning ’s center can be overshadowed , and pass on to obligatory box seat - checking .
That does n’t seem to be the slip at all withHeart eye . Many critics singled out the motion picture ’s copious bloodshed in a costless fashion , applaudingits cartoonish nature and the giddy pleasure it take in ensure the Heart Eyes killer is cement as one of the top modern slashersalongside the like of Art the Clown ( Terrifier ) and John Carver ( Thanksgiving ) . The clowning and romance elements do nothing to staunch the current of blood throughout the movie ’s runtime .
4Heart Eyes' Script Is Sharp And Clever
It Has Earned Twists And An Engaging Story
Among revulsion motion picture , slasher movies in especial can fall into the trap of just sweep up the scares , moving from one bloody scenery to the next with little history or character development in between . Heart Eyesdoes not seem to have that problem , asthe script has been applaud as witty and clever in its construction and tempo . The whirl and turns of the tale never baffle into the realm of being predictable to the percentage point of humdrum , and it does a great occupation of making sure that the audience handle about its agonist as the bodies jam up around them .
WhileHeart Eyesis not without exposition , especially towards the end of the flick , it ’s far more excusable given how well - realize the finale feels .
The foundational concept acts as a bit of grounds . The Heart Eyes killer is already two years into his reign of Valentine ’s Day force by the sentence the flick piece up with its two leads , which yields a cast that is aware of what they ’re up against ( for the most part ) . While not unique in slasher motion picture , that idea is a low density , asmore often than not the protagonists are get word point through lazy exhibition . WhileHeart Eyesis not without exposition , especially towards the conclusion of the motion picture , it ’s far more excusable given how well - earned the finale feel .
3Heart Eyes Is Legitimately Funny
Heart Eyes Is Loaded With Top-Flight Humor
Just as the repulsion of a horror clowning can be lose in the comedy , the opposite seems to happen just as often . In trying to equilibrate both genres , the jokes and optical gags can find halfhearted or lost exclusively as a picture progresses , butHeart Eyesdoesn’t seem to stomach from that issue . While it is n’t necessarily loaded with stifle - spanker or witty banter like the most - celebrated comedies , there are enough legitimately funny situational gags and one - liners that the balance between repugnance and comedy never feels one - sided .
Without a doubt , the meta nature of HeartEyesplays a key role in how the movie stays funny despite its slasher - iffic proceedings . Some of the best jest land when a character calls out a cliché , whether it ’s dialogue - relate or a quirk of the situation that they find themselves in . Being legitimately odd throughout as fight down to aerofoil - level , predictably funny is what sets Heart center apartfrom many of its modern-day repugnance comedies . Director Josh Ruben has proven himself to be a master copy at this , as his last flick , Werewolves Within , was similarly funny throughout .
2Heart Eyes Leans Into The Imaginative Kills Trend
It Fully Embraces The Holiday Theme For Memorable Deaths
It ’s no surprisal that , as a vacation - themed slasher , Heart Eyesleans into that holiday theme when presenting the sick slaying of its killer . Without spoiling them , critics laud the imaginativeness behind the kills inHeart Eyes , which is impressive collapse how many creative ways the human body has been destroyed by film killers over the years . Heart Eyes ' creative thinking is just the latest in an ongoing mod tendency of next - floor holiday - themed kills . In just the last three class , revulsion fans have been treated to the groundbreaking brutality ofThanksgiving , the Christmas - themedTerrifier 3 , and nowHeart Eyes .
1Heart Eyes' Leads Have Great Chemistry
Mason Gooding And Olivia Holt Bring The Romance
One of the near - cosmopolitan point of congratulations from the first few twelve critics to reviewHeart Eyesisthe chemistry of its stars , Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt . The son of Cuba Gooding , Jr. , Mason Gooding already has great deal of revulsion street cred for his role as Chad Meeks - Martin inScream(2022 ) andScream VI(2023 ) . Holt , on the other hand , is more well - known for her television roles , particularly as the superhero Dagger in the Freeform Marvel seriesCloak and Dagger .
The two stars care to cook up a believable flowering romance all while fleeing in affright from a maniac slasher . While the hand and dialog deserves their kudos , the vulnerability and effortless charm of both leads is what really take a shit their on - screen relationship talk . They really feel like two co - workers who are break their own feelings in real meter , and their compatibility givesHeart Eyesan unexpectedly heartfelt romanticistic layer when all the bloodline and backbone are wipe forth .
informant : Rotten tomato
Your Rating
Your comment has not been save up
Cast
