A 2025 horror movie has recently landed on Netflix, and is the perfect watch for fans of the Scream franchise. The first Scream movie was released in 1996 and completely revitalized the slasher genre. After horror movies in franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street found immense success in the 70s and 80s, the slasher genre experienced a bit of a lull in the 90s. However, Scream changed that by providing a unique commentary on the horror genre and movies in general.
Acclaimed horror director Wes Craven directed the first four Scream movies, but the franchise seemed to end with the fourth film. However, 2022’s Scream brought the series back to life, and it has now resumed its position as one of the most popular horror franchises in Hollywood. The upcoming Scream 7, which is slated for a February 2026 release date, will see the return of Ghostface, as well as iconic characters like Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and even Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher. However, while you wait for Scream 7, Heart Eyes is the perfect movie to watch on Netflix.
Heart Eyes Is Very Similar To Scream & It’s Now Streaming On Netflix
Heart Eyes Is A Slasher Movie Set On Valentine’s Day
Heart Eyes is set on Valentine’s Day, and follows a masked serial killer with glowing red eyes who goes on a killing spree once a year, brutally murdering couples on the romantic holiday. In the film, the Heart Eyes killer targets Ally and Jay, two coworkers who, despite not being a couple, are spotted kissing each other. Throughout the movie, Ally and Jay hilariously argue that they are not a couple while they are hunted by the dangerous serial killer.
The cast of Heart Eyes includes Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, and Jordana Brewster. Gooding, who plays Jay in the film, also stars in the Scream franchise, which is one of many similarities. Since Jenna Ortega is not returning for Scream 7, Tara Carpenter’s budding romantic connection with Chad will unfortunately not be explored more. However, fans of Gooding can instead watch his character in Heart Eyes form a surprising connection with Holt’s character as they live through the terror created by the killer.
Heart Eyes is the perfect movie for fans of the Scream franchise since it features characters facing off against a masked killer with no supernatural abilities. Additionally, the ending of Heart Eyes includes a major twist when the killer is unmasked. Since the idenтιтy of Ghostface is always a secret in Scream films, the eventual reveal in Heart Eyes takes inspiration from the iconic horror franchise. Because of this, Heart Eyes, which currently has a score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes (via Rotten Tomatoes), is definitely worth a watch for Scream fans.
Heart Eyes Has One Big Difference To The Scream Movies
Heart Eyes Focuses A Lot On Romance
While Heart Eyes has many similarities to the Scream franchise, it focuses a lot more on romance. This obviously makes sense, since it is set on Valentine’s Day and primarily follows one unlikely pairing. Since it really plays into the romantic connection between Holt and Gooding’s characters, it can be a bit cheesy at times. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing since Heart Eyes fully commits to its Valentine’s Day setting.
Additionally, since the Scream franchise parodies horror movies, Heart Eyes is still a perfect companion film, despite the fact that it focuses more on romance. Rather than providing a meta commentary on horror movie franchises, Heart Eyes kind of provides a commentary on romantic comedies. In doing so, Heart Eyes perfectly blends the horror and rom-com genres. This is refreshing, and makes Heart Eyes a must-watch movie for fans of the Scream franchise.
