Holiday Flix: Heart Eyes (2025)

 A Holiday based around love and commitment.

A Film about love and death.

This is the most recent Josh Ruben Film known as...

In a (very) Cold Open, we see a pretentious Couple filming their Engagement at a Vineyard.

A masked killer strikes, taking out the Couple, the Videographer and a Cop.

This is the Heart Eyes Killer or HEK for short.
Yes, that is clearly based on BTK.

For the last 2 years, he's had a murder spree of exclusively Couples (plus anyone in the way) in two different Cities.

Now it is the third Valentine's Day and he's, naturally, in the Town where the Film is set.

This is Ally.

She's an Ad Executive whose Marketing Campaign for Jewelry has gone horribly wrong.

She needs to fix it ASAP.

Is it because she doesn't believe in love?

She meet-cutes a guy named Jay (Mason Gooding from Scream 5-6).

He believes in love.
She doesn't.

They kiss.

Unfortunately, that has made them the next target for HEK!

They try to fight HEK.
It doesn't go too well.

They try to flee HEK.
It doesn't go much better.

Things take a turn as Jay is accused of being HEK.

We know that isn't true, but tell it to Hobbs and Shaw (Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster)- the Detectives on the case.

I won't SPOIL anymore of it, so stream away.

A Film that is a fun blend of Comedy, Romance and Horror.

You shouldn't be able to do all three, but it does.

The Plot plays with conventions, establishing a new killer with a background from the get-go.  We then get Leads that are not the normal kinds of victims.

The whole thing works best once you see the whole Film.  The explanation for the killer makes earlier Scenes make sense.

I like when a twist (or three) actually helps the Movie and not the other way around.

Josh Ruben said in an interview that his goal was to 'shoot the romantic scenes like Nora Ephron and the killer scenes like Wes Craven.'

Sounds crazy, but...yeah, it works.

At its worst, the Film doesn't exactly break the mold.  We'll see what the planned Sequel does.

For now, enjoy this alternate Poster that pays homage to The Burning...

A Film for romantics that like gore OR gore fans feeling a bit romantic.  It's also just pretty damn funny to boot.

Shudder-Day: Werewolves Within (2021)

 A Film about mistrust in a small town full of guns- what a fantasy!
Oh, and there's also a Werewolf.

Let's see how this Horror Comedy leaves its mark (and not just on your good shoes) ...

In 2016, a Video Game was made about people trying to figure out which one of them was a Werewolf.

How does that become a Film?

A new Park Ranger comes to a small Town.

He's super nice and that's definitely not going to come to bite him in the butt.
In this case, it might be literal.

A small series of murders begins to happen, which freaks everyone out.

Is it the bad couple? 
The new folks? 
The Mailwoman? 
The Oil Executive?

Please be the last one!

They think that getting together in the Hotel will make them safer.

This is a Movie, so that doesn't work out.

Can they find the culprit?!?

Will our Park Ranger step up to the task?

Will you guess who the lycanthrope is?

To find out, stream it now.

A fun Film, although the balance of humor to violence may not be your taste.

The Film has a great Cast and a great Setting.  The adaptation is a pretty good one.  They get the feel of the intrigue and paranoia.

That said, much of the Film is people arguing and accusing each other of doing bad things (like eating each other's hands).

In summary, it is an accurate adaptation of a Game based on not trusting each other.  Just know what to expect.

Fun Fact- you have to license the Post Office Logo to use in your Film.  You'll see why I bring it up when you watch the Film.

I would have liked more Werewolf action in this, to be honest, but it is more a low-budget Comedy.  That said, there's still plenty to like...

Don't judge me- they put this in Slow-Motion, so...

A fun Film that manages to be a good adaptation of a weird Game.  Just know that it is more of a Comedy than a Horror Film.