Heart Eyes - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Heart Eyes



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
As an 80s kid (well, at least for my VERY early life), nothing brings a satisfied smile on my face quicker than a slasher movie. There’s something about a faceless killer walking around with a machete, hacking and slashing their (usually) well-deserved victims, that is a bit of catharsis for us horror fans. Now, as you all know, I like a bit of diversity in my films. I like Science fiction. I like horror. I like Anime, and I even like a good Rom-com or two (as long as they’re good). So, what would you say if I told you that Heart Eyes was a Slasher/Rom-com hybrid? And I’m not talking about a slasher with some romance thrown in. Or a slasher with some dark comedy. I’m talking full-blown Sony pushed a Rom-Com and a slasher into the same film and said “make it work!”. And it kinda does work.

Our story starts with the mysterious Heart Eyes killer murdering a pair of unsuspecting (but almost deserved) newly engaged kids, alerting the town that the mysterious killer is back. Seems that the Heart Eyes killer is a legendary serial killer, only coming out on Valentine's Day to kill couples in love, then sliding back into the shadows only to re-appear in another city the next year. To make matters worse, poor Marketing agent Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) is about to get fired when her satirical marketing campaign for valentines day (which included some deaths) is under fire from her boss, leading to the handsome Jay Simmonds (Mason Gooding) being forced on her to “fix” her PR blunder.

Ally and Jay hit it off immediately, and despite Ally’s immediate distaste for him possibly taking her job, starts to fall for the hunky dude. However, after staging a kiss with him in order to off her ex boyfriend, a target is accidentally put on their backs when the Heart Eyes killer (named for his leather mask with hearts for eye holes) decides that they’re his next victim. Now the couple has to dodge the murderous attacks of the serial killer while trying to clear their names, AND possibly find true love. All in the same bloody day.

Heart Eyes takes the concept of mashing a slasher in with a rom-com very seriously. None of this is tongue in cheek, but rather two distinctly different genres put together and making things work. The slasher element of the franchise is probably the best, with some nice gory kills, and the mysterious killer is nice and foreboding as he goes on his bloody rampage. That being said, they really do lean into the rom-com aspect of everything as well. The first 1/3rd of the movie doesn’t clue you in to the rom-com nature, there are just a few quite jokey moments. But when they meet up for dinner where the killer targets them, things shift full bore in that direction. You know, the guy is handsome and charming, while the girl is walled off and hesitant, only for a misunderstanding and a rude comment to unearth the more sensitive side of Jay. And somehow….it works.

As much as things work, the last act goes straight up WEIRD. I’m not going to spoil the identity of the killer, but once said person is identified, the movie just goes for broke towards the bizarre comedy end of the scale. While we’ve had a few 4th wall moment jokes in the film (such as two detectives named Hobbs and Shaw, with Ally and Jay cracking a joke about “what? You mean like the movie?”), but that final act reveal just takes that concept and waggles it in front of your face. And really, this is kinda where the film starts to fall apart just a little. The jokes and bizarre twists go a bit TOO far, and it makes the film feel at odds with the hour that preceded it.




Rating:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language, and some sexual content.




Video:

Surprisingly enough, I couldn’t find any information about the master’s resolution or the cameras used. But you can be pretty sure that it’s at least a digitally shot production. While I would have killed (pun intended) for a 4K UHD release, Heart Eyes looks really good in 1080p. Detail levels are strong and well-defined. With great detailing on clothing, the famous Heart Eyes mask, and very decent on background objects. I did find that the film leaned towards that cool blue look at times, with some heavy, dark shadows that occasionally crushed a bit. The image’s dim tone still sports many scenes with strong color saturation, and a nice red push in clothing and other objects that accentuate the darkness quite well. It’s not perfect, but we’re only talking by half a point, making this an exceptional viewing experience for the Blu-ray.









Audio:

I was originally going to say “as usual, Sony relegates the Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix, while the 4K UHD gets the Atmos” only to remember “oh, yeah, there IS no 4K UHD disc this time around. Needless to say, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is very good. Sony knows what they’re doing with their audio mixes, and Heart Eyes is no different. This is a rich, robust, and fairly bass-heavy horror mix that is filled with more than a few jump scares. The surround channels get plenty of workout with the killer chasing after Jay and Ally, while the mains are never anything but impeccable. Bass is tight and heavy, adding plenty of weight to the jump scares and accentuating Jay Wadley’s score. Vocals are crisp and clean, and about the only thing I could complain about is that I felt a few lines got muffled due to the screams. But that’s a VERY minor nitpick.











Extras:

• Murders & Meet Cutes: The Making of Heart Eyes
•Gag Reel
•Deleted & Extended Scenes
•Filmmaker Commentary

Final Score:

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All said and done, Heart Eyes is a fun slasher that mashes two nearly incompatible genres together and makes it work most of the time. I mean, heck, we even have an actual romantic ending without all of the typical “last moment horror!” elements being used. Yet somehow, the slashing and hacking elements of the movie are still fun. It’s not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination (no slasher really is, even though I unabashedly love them), but I had a fun time with this one. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great, with a killer audio mix and even a reasonable amount of extras. Fun watch for horror fans.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mason Gooding, Olivia Holt, Gigi Zumbado, Jordana Brewster
Directed by: Josh Ruben
Written by: Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA, French, Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rated: R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 15th, 2025

Recommendation: Solid Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out.

 

[Asere]

Just the review I was looking for, thank you! Will definitely check this one out.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm in on this one too... great review Mike!