‘Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes’ review: Dir. Kevin Kopacka [FrightFest]

In Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes we might just have the most visually beautiful film of this year’s Arrow Video FrightFest. This isn’t too surprising given that the director and co-writer, Kevin Kopacka, comes from a background in painting. The imagery on offer is stunning, sumptuous and occasionally strikingly disturbing. It isn’t just the visuals that offer a feast for viewers, they are also spoiled by the enigmatic narrative that is forever morphing and evolving. What begins with couple Margot (Luisa Taraz) and Dieter (Frederik von Lüttichau) moving into the Gothic castle Margot has inherited, ends someplace completely different. The journey from A to B should be kept shrouded in mystery to fully enjoy the experience, but we will at least share that Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes taps into the same mind-twisting brand of storytelling as Lawrence Michael Levine’s Black Bear. The two movies move on their own separate paths, but when you break them down, they tackle some similar themes and ideas.  

Whilst we are not able to share many plot points, attention can be paid to the aesthetic of the scenes within the film and the atmosphere that Kopacka evokes with them. Visually we open strong with a Gothic horror playground in front of us. Margot and Dieter wander around this rundown but stunning building, investigating all its little intricacies and lit purely by glowing candlelight. Shadows are cast around and in the gloom we see all the trappings of a long barren building featuring lots of creepy crawlies. Those with an aversion to spiders should be warned that there are a few of them on screen and Kopacka manages to capture exactly what makes them so darn creepy as the legs elongate and scurry in deliberately drawn out slow motion.  As the story progresses so too does the intensity of the images thrown together, capturing intense (and intimate) mutilation, psychedelic hallucinations, and an orgy inferno. All are strong bold choices that burn into the brain. Even the subtitles are stylish; the German language movie is accompanied by yellow captions, the hue of which matches the title treatment perfectly. 

Running alongside these images is some effectively layered sound design that sells the location and environment of the Castle. Those spiders mentioned earlier? Not only do they look terrifying, Kopacka’s team have captured the sound of movement so meticulously that you can hear every one of their eight legs land and scuttle away. With man having been vacant for so long, nature has encroached the castle, trying to reclaim it, and that is highlighting perfectly within the audioscape. Outside the castle is rich with animal noise, mainly owls, which adds to the forgotten house in the middle of nowhere side of the story. Inside the castle there are lots of whispers and chanting that chill the blood and point to dangerous things to come. As the narrative shifts, distorts and changes, so does the music score. What begins as tinklings on the piano, becomes loud organ sounds before moving on to synths and rocky guitars. It takes the audience on an aural journey through music and may subtly point at what is happening underneath the on screen action. 

A technical masterpiece made even richer by a compelling narrative that explores themes of love, loss, jealousy, lust, anger, duality, and the concept of eternity. As Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes is best viewed blind. Settle in, sit back, and let the film wash over you and transport you to another world.  

Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2021. Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes will arrive in select UK cinemas on 2nd December 2022. The film will arrive on physical media in February 2023.