Over the Valentine’s Day holiday this year, I had a blast watching an original horror movie called Heart Eyes, but I know for a fact that a lot of you didn’t catch it because it failed to make a solid impression at the box office. However, the movie is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription, so I know a lot more people are going to be experiencing this movie for the first time. And, there’s one scene that deserves some background on: the opening scene.
I’m Watching Heart Eyes Again Now That It’s On Netflix
First off, I need to talk about why Heart Eyes is still one of the best times I’ve had with a horror film this year, even as we get closer to the halfway mark on 2025 movies. I really like that the writers (Philip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy) added a new villain to the slasher subgenre with a character called the Heart Eyes Killer, who specifically kills off couples on V-Day.
Going into it, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I actually found it to be as good of a romantic comedy as it was a horror movie. Like, genuinely, it hit me with two cupid arrows by being this gory and fun slasher with all sorts of twists, along with having a really cute love story featuring Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt. So yes, I’m watching it again now that it's the latest of 2025 Netflix releases.
And, I Need To Talk About What The Writer Told Me About The Opening Scene
When I spoke to the filmmakers about Heart Eyes earlier this year, they talked about the origins of the movie, which actually all started with Philip Murphy getting super creeped out by a popular engagement trend, and turning it into the first kill of the movie. As the writer told me over the phone:
That was the first idea I had. And it goes back to, I remember there was a friend of mine who was proposing to his girlfriend. This was like 2006. And another friend of mine told me they hired a photographer to follow them around Central Park. And I was like, that's the creepiest thing I've ever heard. Why would you do that? Like, that should just be a romantic moment between you and your significant other. That always bothered me.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had tons of friends hire a photographer to follow them around on the day they get engaged. It’s a way to not spoil the surprise should the groom or bride want to get that reaction from their to-be husband or wife. But Murphy saw that trend and took it as inspiration for the very messed up opening scene of Heart Eyes. As he continued:
So, when I sat down to do this, I was like, okay, this has to open with two people, [a woman] getting proposed to and an arrow goes into their head. It just has to [happen]. And then of course there's a wedding photographer that's following them around. And, that scene evolved as well with [director] Josh [Ruben] and with Chris and Michael. But, I knew that it had to open on that to really just be like, this is something new and different.
The scene definitely made me think about the trend in a completely different way, and realize how the whole thing is actually perfect for a horror movie context. But, the couple in the opening scene of Heart Eyes highlight how some couples get so caught up in the Instagram of it all, that they don’t actually seem happy.
Especially when it comes to celebrating Valentine’s Day, couples have to be careful regarding if they are actually being true to making each other feel special and celebrating romance and love, or falling into a trap over just doing something for outside approval, and the opening scene perfectly sets up the whole movie through taking literal shots at the trend, Oh, and it’s just shot in a way that terrified me.
Now that Heart Eyes is streaming, check out what the filmmakers said about the ending, too, while you’re here!
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