Heavy Eyes

Heavy Eyes follows Emily (Chloe Ledger), a young woman struggling with the aftermath of her recent abortion, as she’s confronted with vivid dreams of a beating red heart and a wooded path. Deeply drenched in melancholy and grief, the piece is a challenging psychological horror that tackles ambiguity and surrealism in an incredibly brisk runtime.

The piece heavily focuses on visual storytelling, which is a refreshing aspect as it genuinely trusts its audience to follow along with its dense narrative. Despite being incredibly ambiguous in its dream sequences, it allows the viewer to piece together aspects of symbolism and the brief context provided during dialogue-heavy scenes. While the piece was made on an astoundingly low budget, the visuals are arresting and stunning to witness. The deep red photography, in particular, is haunting and evokes a sense of terror and ambiguity in the film’s central ideas and themes.

Brandon Quan, serving as the film's cinematographer, primarily utilises extreme close-ups to evoke intimacy during moments of surrealism and dialogue, feeling heavily influenced by Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) in specific scenes. It's an impactful way of framing both central characters, as it feels like a mirror into their grief and love for one another. Its surreal and haunting visuals sink their teeth into the viewer instantly, and it may stick with them long after the credits roll. Theodore Sandberg, serving as the film's composer, delivers an undoubtedly sombre and melancholic musical score accompanying the central themes aptly. The use of sound and score creates a profound level of tension, making the experience deeply haunting and uncomfortable to witness.

The piece explores themes of grief and separation, which are briefly examined; however, the film unfortunately feels too ambiguous to a fault and never fully explores the implications of these ideas. The ambiguity can feel alienating; however, it's a rather challenging aspect of the piece that tries something unique with its concept. While the film can be confusing to piece together at times, the formalism on display makes the experience deeply rewarding despite its pitfalls. The psychological horror aspects, in particular, feel executed incredibly confidently, even with its raw production value.

Both central performances from Chloe Ledger in her portrayal of Emily and Hector Moss’ portrayal of Liam are incredibly impactful. They both convey a profound level of restraint and nuance in their performances as Emily is dealing with the aftermath of her abortion and the vivid dreams haunting her. Liam attempts to understand her pain; however, he can never truly understand the impact and severity of the situation, as the physical and mental toll on Emily haunts her. It's incredibly difficult to witness, and both performances elevate the material incredibly well.

Whilst the conclusion to the narrative amounts to fairly minor, its execution and ideas are promising, leaving the viewer to make up their own mind about the implications the conclusion suggests. It's ultimately frustrating, as the narrative and themes are mostly apt, but it just isn't given enough time to flesh out its conclusion and characterisation.

Heavy Eyes is a rather challenging piece of indie filmmaking that trusts its audience to follow along despite its ambiguity and surrealism. Assisted by two terrific performances from Chloe Ledger and Hector Moss, Heavy Eyes is an uncomfortable and visually stunning experience.