Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes

Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes is a film as mysterious and enchanting as it's title (and the gorgeous poster) suggests.

Exploring one relationship throughout parallel realities, it's definitely a film that needs multiple viewings, due to it's puzzle box nature. But it's a gorgeous and atmospheric film I can't wait to explore again and again.

Story-wise, it starts with a couple driving towards an old castle at night. The husband is an imposing one, the wife forbearing. The place which the wife is supposed to inherit, the richer of the two, has been left in a derelict form. It is a place, not simply housing unknown horror, but a locus to test their character i.e., habit, disposition, and morals.

The rest shall be left for the viewer to find out.

The movie has a multilayered narrative. It expects a lot of competence from the viewer's side to make sense.

The cinematography is magical. A love letter, indeed.

The sound editing is fantastic. And performance? To quote from the movie "You were born for this role".

The film students and nerds "of the higher order" will certainly be busy breaking it down piece by piece and then pulling it together again to see what becomes of it. But the average viewer with expectations of good old thrills and jump scares are not going to be able to enjoy it to the end.

It is a movie that not only pays homage to the horror cinema of the late 60s and early 70s but attempts a critique with the purpose of turning movies of the yore inside out. Does it succeed? By large, Yes.

But the more important question is this: as an average viewer do you really want to witness this success?

While this film already perfects the art of the Euro horror homage, it transcends all that in the second half and becomes a profound and intelligent meditation on eternity, relationships, being trapped & forgiveness.

A rewatch is a must since I definitely missed a lot from my first viewing, but can't wait to watch this one again!

Bravo!

While I was expecting a somewhat decent homage to gothic horror of the 70s, Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes goes much deeper.

Now, don't get me wrong - the film is a loving tribute to Euro horror of the 60s and 70s and especially fans of Bava and Rollin will be sure to have a great time - but I was particularly impressed by the shift (both narratively and in tone) the story takes around the halfway mark.

Without spoiling anything, I can say that the story evolves and morphs into something much more profound and thought provoking than it first appears - resulting in a unique cinema experience that is as visually captivating as it is clever.

If you've read the review that preceded mine you probably noticed all of the positive ones made a point of not spoiling anything or being too specific on what they like outside of the way the movie looked. It's mostly compared to 60's Euro Horror and called amazing. I mostly assume those reviews are from people involved with the film trying to steer the viewers perception in the direction they want prior to seeing the film. It is, visually, very well done. But everything else? This is an incoherent mess with no real plot, story or pacing that allow you to follow what is happening. There is a major shift about half way through that makes no sense at all and certainly does not help anything you've seen up until this point. The synopsis about time shifting around is very misleading as this is never really shown, nor is a change of setting, nor is anything else even vaguely supernatural. Unless you are looking for non-linear, no story art I would avoid this one.