HEART EYES

HEART EYES (2025). Director: Josh Rubin.

A serial slayer known as HEK (Heart Eyes Killer) has already struck on Valentine's Day, targeting couples and others who get in his way, when he makes his presence known in grisly fashion in Seattle. Advertising woman Ally (Olivia Holt of Totally Killer) and newcomer Jay (Mason Gooding), carry on a budding, awkward romance while dodging attacks from the killer. Finally cornered, they find out the dread secret of the Heart Eyes maniac.

The Heart Eyes Killer

Heart Eyes begins with a sequence in a winery where a female victim is literally crushed in a wine press, her head being graphically smushed for the edification of disaffected gore geeks. Then we get a whole series of rom-com type scenes which are completely out of sync with the opening sequence. There's a scene when our young couple inadvertently lead the maniac to a drive-in theater, where he proceeds to hack and slash at dozens of people -- this is a highly uncomfortable reminder of such real-life scenes of slaughter (albeit this killer doesn't use a gun). 

Gooding and Holt

Okay, Heart Eyes doesn't get points for good taste, nor for its rather self-absorbed lead characters (Ally takes forever to start thinking about the many innocent victims and never really expresses much dismay over the people she literally sees killed right in front of her.) However, the climax, which has at least one surprise, is well-done and satisfying. Mason Gooding, an appealing actor, is the son of Cuba Gooding, Jr. 

Verdict: An odd mix of humor and gore that unlike the early Scream movies, doesn't quite work. **1/4.