Heart Eyes aims to give birth to a slasher icon for a new generation, and star Devon Sawa thinks it has the necessary gusto to be the next Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger. The literal heart-eye goggles on the killer’s mask already offer up a signature look, and the screenplay penned by Freaky‘s Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy as well as Phillip Murphy (Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard) gives director Josh Ruben plenty to work with as he deftly switches between genres.

Heart Eyes is part meet-cute, as Totally Killer‘s Olivia Holt and Scream VI‘s Mason Gooding find themselves forced to work together to come up with the perfect jewelry ad. Just when Ally and Jay seem to be getting romantic, however, they are interrupted by the Heart Eyes Killer and are instead forced to survive together as the slasher works their way through kill after creative kill. Heart Eyes also stars Jordana Brewster as Detectives Hobbs and Sawa as Shaw, a dynamic duo whose names are only the very beginning of the comedy they bring, and Gigi Zumbado as Ally’s plucky best friend Monica, who hopes to help her girl get over her ex and not die in the process.

ScreenRant interviewed Brewster, Sawa, and Zumbado about how they fit into the narrative of Heart Eyes, what makes the interplay of horror and romance so addictive, and why the Heart Eyes Killer is well on their way to the hall of slasher fame.

The Heart Eyes Cast Introduce Their Go-Getting Cop Duo & Best Friend Characters

“The two best cops, not just in Washington, but probably America.”

ScreenRant: We’ve got Hobbs and Shaw. What can you tell us about Detectives Jeanine Shaw and Zeke Hobbs? How do they fit into the story?

Jordana Brewster: I think Jeanine’s kind of like Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs. If there’s something to suss out, she’s going to suss it out. Her life is her job.

Devon Sawa: Yeah, these are the two best cops. Not just in Washington, but probably America. Just some go-getters.

ScreenRant: Best cops in all of cinema! Gigi, you play Ally’s candid best friend, Monica. Tell us a little bit about Monica. How does the romantic setting influence the horror element in this film?

Gigi Zumbado: I think that in every horror film, you need a cheerleader; someone rooting for your final girl. Well, I don’t know if she’s a final girl — if you haven’t seen it yet, I don’t know — but your main girl. I think Monica is there to cheer Ally on in all of her endeavors and give her a little makeover. Because she needed one.

I love, specifically, the romantic songs against the horror. Because if you think about it, a lot of these romantic songs, if you just change the meaning, are creepy! They can be very stalkerish, very obsessive, very “I love you too much.”

I think these beautiful and playful ballads against the terror is pretty H๏τ.

Could The Heart Eyes Killer Be The Next “It” Serial Slasher?

“He or she has that… kind of Leatherface, that Krueger, that Jason feeling.”

ScreenRant: Devon, you are no stranger to the horror genre, with Final Destination and Chucky. What do you think makes the Heart Eyes killer a potential new icon in the slasher genre?

Devon Sawa: He’s original. He has an original look; his way of killing is original. It’s a vibrant feel. You’ve got to have that It factor as a killer and as a slasher, and he’s got that. He or she has that It factor; that kind of Leatherface, that Krueger, that Jason feeling.

I’ve wanted to tell Josh this, but one of the greatest things that I never knew I would experience was doing Chucky for so [long], and then going out on Halloween with my kids and seeing Tiffany and Chucky all running around. I was like, “Oh, my God, I’m part of this world.” I know that that’s coming with Heart Eyes, and it’s really cool.

ScreenRant: Jordana, your character maintains a professional demeanor despite her partner’s unprofessional behavior. How did you and Devon find that dynamic between Hobbs and Shaw?

Jordana Brewster: Devon delivered those chauvinistic, pig-like lines with so much aplomb that all I had to do was sit there and react. Because it was so gross in the best way.

Devon Sawa: I had to dig deep for that; really dig deep.

Gigi Zumbado: Some were so bad they got removed.

Devon Sawa: There were a couple of times where I said, “Hey, do you really think I should say this?” And we did it, and sure enough, it got cut.

ScreenRant: The Heart Eyes killer has such a distinct and unsettling look. What were your first reactions when you saw the killer in person, and how did that help inform the scene?

Jordana Brewster: His silhouette is so creepy because it’s alien-like, and then with the sтιтches in the back and the veins? I was really put off by the mask, as the audience should be.

Gigi Zumbado: It’s incredibly well-made. If you actually hold it and look at it, and the lighting that happens with the eyes and everything; the night vision? It’s an incredibly well-developed mask.

Devon Sawa: Coincidentally, Tony Gardner, who did all the Chucky stuff, worked on this film too and created the mask. He did an incredible job. For me, it was the first thing I saw when I got on [set]. It was a long travel day, and they brought me to set for a wardrobe fitting right from the airport.

I saw them doing a scene with him, and it put me at ease. I knew I was on something special when I saw Mason and Olivia and Heart Eyes doing the bedroom scene with the thing that vibrates. They were doing that scene, and I was like, “Oh, I’m on a film. I’m on a real good one here.”

More About Heart Eyes (2025)

For the past several years, the “Heart Eyes Killer” has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine’s Day, no couple is safe…

Check out our other Heart Eyes interview with:

• Mason Gooding & Olivia Holt

Source: Screen Rant Plus