Entertainment
Netflix’s Romantically Terrifying Slasher Is Perfect For Couples
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Slashers have typically appealed to men with extreme R-Ratings, but there’s a newer film in this spooky genre designed explicitly for couples. That movie is Heart Eyes (2025), a subversively weird (and weirdly subversive) film from Josh Ruben, the maniac maestro behind the crowd-pleasing horror hits Werewolves Within and Scare Me. Whether you’re planning for an at-home date night or just want a movie that will make you snuggle a little closer on the couch, you can stream Heart Eyes in all its bloody gory on Netflix.
The premise of Heart Eyes is that a masked slasher (the Heart Eyes Killer) is infamous for targeting couples around America every Valentine’s Day. His latest target is a very unexpected couple: a jewelry marketer and a freelancer who her boss thinks will help out with her latest campaign. Sparks fly between the two right away, putting them in the crosshairs of the creepiest killer the country has ever known; by the time the credits roll, he will either bring this cutesy couple together like never before or leave each of them six feet in the ground.
A Killer Cast Slashes Through The Box Office
The cast of Heart Eyes is relatively small, including performers such as Gigi Zumbado (best known outside of this movie for Bride Hard). Mostly, though, this film revolves around the crackling onscreen chemistry between Mason Gooding (best known to horror fans for his role in Scream and Scream VI) and Olivia Holt (best known to Marvel fans for her starring role in Cloak & Dagger). These two are fantastic in their leading roles, and they help sell this film’s chief gimmick: namely, that it is both a vividly violent slasher and a heart-tugging romantic film.
Heart Eyes slashed its way into theaters, and this red-drenched film was successful enough to make some real green for the studio. Against a budget of $18 million, it earned $33.1 million at the box office. That was enough bloody profit to merit a follow-up film, and in 2026, it was reported that director Josh Ruben had already completed a script for a sequel and was making other preparations to return to this toast-turvy world he created from the ground up.
When You’re Gagging For Good Horror
When Heart Eyes came out, it turned out to be the exact kind of bloody valentine that professional reviewers had been waiting for. It has a 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the film for its ability to deliver genuine scares that will have audiences jumping out of their seats. They also commended the movie for functioning as both a pulse-pounding horror film and a lighthearted rom-com, making this the rare slasher that you can enjoy with your significant other who is looking to disappear into a moving love story.
That’s a fair assessment, and one that I completely share. I’m blessed enough to have a partner who loves a good slasher (the bloodier, the better!), but she also loves a good romance story, which is why we’re currently watching the wildly popular period piece, Bridgerton. Heart Eyes is basically the perfect compromise movie when she wants characters with solid romantic chemistry, and I want a creepy slasher villain with a high body count.
The Boldest Voice In Horror Strikes Again
Speaking of which, while it’s not the most iconic slasher mask ever made (that honor will always go to Jason Voorhees), the Heart Eyes production crew deserves full credit for crafting a memorable-looking villain whose appearance fully leans into the movie’s bonkers premise. But it’s a premise that they mine for every last scream and gasp, and it’s downright refreshing to see a modern horror comedy whose producers have mastered the first art of making a slasher. Namely, that the audience should laugh at everything except the villain, who needs to be treated as a serious, menacing monster if you want to really scare anyone.
Finally, while your mileage may vary, I’m all in on horror movies from director Josh Ruben: with Werewolves Within, he created a sexy creature feature with serious surprises, and with Scare Me (a movie that he also wrote and starred in), he created an incisively funny meditation on modern fear. Heart Eyes is his first direct take on the slasher genre, and he proves to be just as innovative and insightful here as he was with previous films.
Netflix And Kill
At the risk of sounding like a fanboy (hey, guilty!), Ruben is one of the few voices in latter day spooky movies who has eschewed the cerebral joys of elevated horror to give us the rarest delight of all: a fulfilling trip to the familiar well of ‘80s slashers, updated just enough to inject new blood into a genre that seemed drained or life long ago.
Will you agree that Heart Eyes is a sexy slasher that’s perfect for couples, or would you rather fight a masked killer than watch this one through to the end? The only way to find out is to cuddle up on the couch together and stream this film for yourself on Netflix. Just remember the horror fan’s mantra as you’re watching: the couple who screams together stays together!
