Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Heart Eyes!
Because of its self-aware comedy and tone,Heart Eyesincludes multiple references to romance movies, paying homage to the best films that came before. The popularity ofromantic comedy horror moviesincreased over time leading up to the release ofHeart Eyes, with films likeCompanion,Lisa Frankenstein, andHappy Death Daystanding out as some of the best. However,Heart Eyessets itself apart from other films in a few ways.
Firstly, the Olivia Holt-led horror rom-com is much more bloody and gruesome than many other options. This is thanks to the story including an epic slasher villain. However, the most notable difference isHeart Eyes’ self-aware nature.Taking inspiration fromScream, the film pokes fun at horror genre tropes and makes references to previous films. The 2025 film doesn’t just focus on satirizing horror, though.Heart Eyesmakes fun of and references many fantastic romance films, especially focusing on the rom-com subgenre.
13Multiple Movies During Monica’s Speech
Monica’s Speech To Motivate Ally To Go After Jay In Heart Eyes
ThroughoutHeart Eyes, Monica is Ally’s biggest supporter and cheerleader. After Ally freaks out and turns down Jay, Monica gives her a pep talk about fighting for what she wants, incorporating eight different rom-com titles. She says this:
“Ally, listen to me. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone love you for the beautiful, neurotic mess that you are. I mean you can be so clueless sometimes. It’s one of the 10 things I hate about you, honestly. You can’t let Jay go off to his best friend’s wedding, and hook up with a bunch of bridesmaids and move to Notting Hill. No. No, mama. Some kind of wonderful, crazy, stupid love, actually. Go get him. Go get that beautiful melanin man.”
This speech inHeart Eyesis one of the movie’s funniest and most self-aware moments. It comes across as a love letter to the rom-com genre. For those who might have missed all the titles, Monica’s speech includes references to these romantic comedy titles:
A few of the titles overlap within the dialogue, making them easy to miss. Only two of the films –My Best Friend’s WeddingandLove, Actually– were referenced separately from Monica’s speech inHeart Eyes.
Heart Eyeshas a sardonic humor that pokes fun at love while simultaneously crafting a romance through unconventional means. This is never more apparent than when the marketing team watches Ally’s “Til Death Do Us Part” campaign for a ring company. The first romantic film referenced in the commercial is the epitome of doomed lovers –Romeo and Juliet, a William Shakespeare story that showcases the tragic side of love. They recreate the scene from the 1996 movie where Claire Danes’ Juliet meets Leonardo DiCaprio’s Romeo, and then the commercial quickly shifts to the death scene, depicting Juliet slitting her throat.
The second film that Ally references in her “Til Death Do Us Part” campaign isTitanic, which tells the doomed love story of Jack and Rose – two passengers on the titular ship. The commercial shows the scene where Rose and Jack stretch out their arms while standing on the bow of the boat.
Heart Eyes: Josh Ruben’s Horror Movies, Ranked Worst To Best
Heart Eyes is the third critically acclaimed horror/comedy from director Josh Ruben, and it can be hard to decide on which one is the best.
However, the scene inHeart Eyesdiverges from the source material when they get hit by a thunderstorm. The commercial then cuts to Rose on the floating door and Jack in the water, continuing the decades-long debate aboutwhether Jack could fit on the door alongside his lover inTitanic.
The final part of Ally’s commercial reimagines the death scene fromBonnie & Clyde, a movie that tells the love story between the two eponymous, old-timey gangsters. The gunshots hit the actors’ chests in slow motion with red scarfs filling in for the blood, adding to the hilarity of the scene. While backlash to Ally’s death-centric marketing campaign could’ve happened either way,Bonnie & Clydeappearing in the commercial is likely why the residents of Seattle reacted so poorly to Ally’s commercial inHeart Eyes, considering the main characters of the film were murderers.
One romance movie reference inHeart Eyesonly appears onscreen for a few seconds, so it’s extremely easy to miss. When Ally and Monica go to the store, they show a dressing room montage.Ally walks out wearing a black dress with giant frills and a statement necklace of oversized pearls.
This choice is a spin on the memorable outfit that Aubrey Hepburn wears inBreakfast at Tiffany’s, minus the gloves and hair accessory.Breakfast at Tiffany’sfollows a New York socialite named Holly Golightly, who becomes interested in a young writer named Paul Varjack. Like Holly Golightly, Ally seems unwilling to belong to anyone, leaning into self-sufficiency.
During the montage inHeart Eyes, Ally puts on a black lacy dress with a nude lining underneath and a piece of lace that goes across the neck, looking like a choker. In addition to being beautiful, this dress is an Easter egg to the moviePretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
5 Hints That Foreshadow The Killer’s Identity In Heart Eyes
The twist about the killer’s identity in the horror film Heart Eyes may have surprised some, but there are multiple hints that foreshadow the truth.
In the film, a business executive named Edward Lewis hires a sex worker to act as his date for some events, and they start falling for each other. During one scene, Edward meets Vivian at the bar before dinner, and she’s wearing the dress.Heart EyesreferencingPretty Womanfeels appropriate considering it’s one of thebest rom-coms of all time.
One of the central factors inHeart Eyes’ story is the fact that it’s Valentine’s Day when the Heart Eyes Killer attacks. Luckily, the writers provided a reason why Jay and Ally would be working together at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day. After the meeting,Jay reveals that he has to fly out of Seattle the next day for “my best friend’s wedding,”which is the title of a classic Julia Roberts romantic comedy from the 90s. The film tells the story of a woman named Julianne who tries to break up the wedding of her best friend, Michael.
Early inHeart Eyes, Ally starts stressing that she’s going to get fired from her job because of the issue with her marketing campaign. However, Monica’s willing to stand up for Ally, saying, “We’ll Thelma and Louise this sh*t.” This is a reference to the titular film that blends together the genres of buddy comedy, crime drama, and romance.Thelma and Louisego on a trip to get away from the men in their lives, and they get caught up in a crime. By the end, they love each other enough to kiss while driving off a cliff together.
Halfway throughHeart Eyes, Ally and Jay escapethe Heart Eyes Killer’sattack at the police station, running away until they accidentally arrive at the drive-in theater. On the screen is the classic 1940 screwball comedy filmHis Girl Friday, which Ally reveals to be a movie she loves.
Does Heart Eyes Connect to My Bloody Valentine?
Heart Eyes is the latest in a proud history of Valentine’s Day slashers, and today on Screen Rant we answer whether it has any connection to the original 1981 My Bloody Valentine.
The movie follows a newspaper editor named Walter Burns who tries to get back his reporter ex-wife, Hildy Johnson, by giving her a story about a convicted killer’s execution. TheHeart Eyescharacter even watches it when she gets home from the massacre. Ally’s love forHis Girl Fridayis a hint that she’s much more of a romantic than she seems to be and that she really wants love.
An extremely popular trope in the romance and rom-com genres is a person running to the airport to stop their lover from getting on a plane. The most popular example of this narrative choice happens inLove, Actually– a movie that weaves together many love stories around Christmastime. Sam goes to the airport to tell Joanna how he feels, and they end up kissing.
Variations of the “Run For Your Love” trope can be found in movies likeCrazy Rich Asians,How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,Sleepless in Seattle, andFunny Girl.
Heart Eyesalso uses this trope, albeit with a twist. Ally takes a cab to the airport to stop Jay from leaving and profess her feelings. However, she receives a call revealing that Jay never made it to the airport.
