Eraserhead (1978)

Very disappointing...

Thanks for the memories!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The thing that captivated me most about this movie is that when you dissect it into its distinct elements, you get to see many different well made sides to it. The most important element - to me - is the soundtrack. The experience of the movie is aligned in such a way that it feels like you are listening to an album by David Lynch, and the picture is an accompanying video for it. I could even name it as a dark ambient masterpiece. Of course, there are all kinds of musicians of that movement who could comparatively be much better than Lynch, but nevertheless a soundtrack so much tailored for a movie being dark ambient in origin makes it really worthwhile. The imagery is quite cerebral, I even found some parts that belong to my dreams. And it isn't meant to be horrific, but something more rather innately disturbing, something that lurks beneath that is mutual for many people but unexplored. And of course, the soundtrack draws these out of the picture and makes it all work.My only issue is that the plot wasn't on par with the other elements, it feels like the movie isn't meant to be viewed as a film, but rather a audiovisual collage that aims to express something subliminal. That doesn't of course mean bad news, but there were shifts from the visual aspects of the movie to narrative sections that didn't really express as much and didn't really convey any useful information about the events. I didn't really expect the movie to tell me a story in the first place, I just wanted to see how dark ambient would look like, to be honest.Summary: The movie didn't need a story, it didn't even need to label itself as a movie. Really good soundtrack, accompanying and being accompanied by really nice subliminal imagery.

David Lynch is a master of atmospherics & creepy. He's a legend. But, 'Eraserhead' is a disappointing film, that pushes the creepy button a bit too far. I was unimpressed.'Eraserhead' Synopsis: Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.'Eraserhead' is a tale of a man's creepy journey into parenthood. Lynch, a master, limps here, as his story comes across as half-baked & his dependency for creepy images & sounds, wore me out. Though regarded as a classic by many, I found 'Eraserhead' to be anything but memorable.The sole saving grace is Jack Nance. The Late/Great Actor portrays the protagonist on the verge of insanity with brilliance. On the whole, 'Eraserhead' is far from compelling.

The first time I saw "Eraserhead" was in the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton. My friend Gerry had already seen it in San Francisco and was still in paroxysms of praise for the picture so I went in with high expectations; even so, I still wasn't prepared for what I saw that night. I was meeting Gerry in the bar next door afterwards but when I left the cinema I was still in something of a daze, or perhaps a trance, and started walking in the wrong direction. I knew I had seen some kind of masterpiece but I also knew here was a film I wouldn't want to sit through again, at least not for a very long time. Well, here we are 40 years later and I've just seen "Eraserhead" again.For anyone still ignorant of the fact, "Eraserhead" was the film that introduced David Lynch to the world and a few minutes into the film was enough to tell us that here was a singular new talent worthy to sit on a pedestal next to the young Welles, not that Welles would ever make a film like "Eraserhead"; indeed who, other than Lynch, would.There is a plot of sorts but essentially Lynch's film, luminously shot in black and white by Frederick Elmes and Herbert Cardwell, unfolds like a living nightmare, but whose? Lynch's? Henry's, (the central character that established Jack Nance as a cult actor for a new generation), or our own? Certainly there are images here enough to give the strongest of us nightmares, images and sounds, (this film has some of the finest sound designs ever recorded).It has been described as experimental, as avant-garde and by some just as a plain old horror film. You could say it's also a kind of love story, though a very warped and forbidding one. Lynch, of course, would go on to the likes of "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks" and would never fully abandon the sensibilities first seen in this extraordinary film. I was more prepared for it this time but it still blew me away.

Horror movies have become pretty formulaic these days. They consist of either zombies, a masked killer, or a spooky entity terrorising a family. Even the better ones that subverted those sub-genres were still instantly recognisable as what they were and any that were hailed as 'original' were most likely remakes from Japanese films. However, back before CGI blood had become the norm and a group of five American teens could go on a road trip to the middle of nowhere without being picked off by pitchfork-wielding locals, came David Lynch's horror masterpiece, 'Eraserhead.' I guess it could be described as a bit of a 'passion project' as it took him years to make, due to him filming it while he studied/worked other jobs and generally did his best to get this movie financed. Now, you can probably tell that I'm a fan, however I will admit that no matter how much it appeals to me, it's definitely not for everyone. You could almost call it an 'art film' as it's filmed entirely in black and white and has little to no dialogue. The story – or at least what we can tell is a story – centres around a young, downtrodden man called Henry (played by long term friend and actor of David Lynch, Jack Nance) as he shuffles back and forth to and from his job to his flat in what looks like some sort of post apocalyptic industrial landscape. It's a bleak and meaningless existence for a man in a bleak and meaningless environment. I think the black and white adds to the overall mood of the tale. Whatever is really happening in Henry's world, he is merely a small cog in a much larger machine. However, just because his life is bleak doesn't seem to make it dull. He does seem to have a girlfriend. I use the word 'seem' as their relationship is never made truly clear. And, upon meeting her parents for the first time, discovers that there's a baby at the hospital and he's going to have to help look after it.Now, this may not sound like the most sinister and horrific story ever told. However, I may have slightly overlooked some of the other things that occur. For example… the 'mini chickens' Henry eats at his potential inlaws' house appears to be alive. The baby is a deformed freakish-looking thing that may or may not even be human. It whines continuously and there's a lady living in his radiator with bizarre cheeks who crushes slithering worm-like creatures underfoot. Yes, it's weird. But then this comes from the mind of David Lynch – the man who eventually went on to give us Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, Mullholland Drive and almost every other twisted, surreal modern nightmare ever put down on film.Now, as I say, it's not for everyone. It's hardly a 'date movie' and most people will probably be either bored or confused (or both). It's very slow. It doesn't make as much sense as most films with their classic Hollywood narratives and overall many will find it just too damn weird to be watchable. However, if you're in the mood for something a little different (and when I say 'different' I mean horrifically different!) then 'Eraserhead' is certainly a film that has to be watched to be experienced. Whether you end up loving it or hating it, it will definitely stick in your mind for many years to come.