While Heart Eyes is undeniably a horror movie, there was one particular scene that had the entire cast and crew struggling to contain their laughter, according to leading actress Olivia Holt.
“On the first day of shooting, it was my first time working with Mason [Gooding], my first time working with [director] Josh [Ruben], and my first day on set with the full crew—so of course, it had to be the vibrator scene,” Holt, 27, shared exclusively while discussing the film, which premiered in theaters on Friday, February 7.
“I hadn’t built any relationships yet, so it felt really uncomfortable and awkward. But I actually just leaned into it because that’s exactly how the scene is supposed to feel.”
In the clip above, Holt’s character, Ally, confides in Gooding’s Jay about why she dropped out of medical school. Just as she begins to open up, she notices a hot pink vibrator sitting on her nightstand.
Trying to discreetly hide it, she opens her closet door—only to discover the film’s masked killer lurking inside. In a panic, she instinctively hurls the sex toy at the murderer’s face in self-defense.
Unlike Ally, who acts on impulse, Holt found herself feeling guilty about repeatedly hitting the stunt performer with the heavy prop.
“I don’t think I threw it at him too many times because the first toss was pretty intense,” she explained.
“It hit our stunt performer—who was wearing the mask—right in the face, and it was so aggressive. He really tried not to react, but I could tell it hurt. After that, I think we only did a couple more takes.”
A Set Filled With Laughter
According to Holt, this scene led to plenty of uncontrollable laughter from both the cast and crew.
“I think it was actually really difficult for everyone—not just me—to keep it together,” she recalled. “The second Josh yelled ‘cut,’ we all just lost it.”
Heart Eyes follows a dangerous serial killer who targets couples on Valentine’s Day. When Ally and Jay are mistakenly identified as a romantic pair by the murderer, they’re forced to team up in an effort to unmask him and put an end to his deadly spree.
Heart Eyes Movie (Photo: Sony Pictures)How Holt Handpicked Her Character’s Most Personal Items
While the vibrator scene may be a quick comedic moment in the film, Holt revealed that it was just one of several props she had a hand in selecting for her character.
“I’ll never forget my meeting with the props team where I had to pick out Ally’s phone case, her coffee order, and even which metal straw she would use,” she shared. “And, of course, I had to choose what the vibrator would look like—but they didn’t give me many options.”
She went on to describe the selection process, noting that the choices all had a similar aesthetic.
“They all kind of looked like they belonged in the same world—everything was pink,” Holt said. “So, I just closed my eyes and went, ‘That one.’”
Holt’s Horror Legacy Continues
Holt is no stranger to the horror genre. She starred in season one of Freeform’s psychological thriller Cruel Summer and also appeared in the 2023 slasher comedy Totally Killer.
Horror fans may also recognize Gooding, 28, from his role as Chad Meeks-Martin in the Scream franchise.
Celebrating the Film’s Release
To mark the debut of Heart Eyes, Holt shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos from the set on Instagram.
“Happy Heart Eyes day!!!!!!! Our movie is officially yours,” she wrote in the caption of her Friday post.
“We hope you love it just as much as we loved making it. And man, did we really love making this one. More emo words to come (naturally), but for now—RUN FOR YOUR LIVES TO THE MOVIES AND SEE.”
Heart Eyes is now playing in theaters.