Directed by David Lynch
89 minutes
Floor 3 Pink Zone 791.4372 ERA
I will start my review for Eraserhead with a simple statement – this is not a film will not suit everyone’s taste. However, it is good to try new things – especially the weird and wonderful, which is a perfect way to describe David Lynch’s surreal film. Eraserhead is now a cult-classic particularly as ‘midnight movie’, so gather your friends and some popcorn for a strange late night!
The Plot of Eraserhead is very loose, broadly following Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) and his relationship with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart). Together they have a baby, born looking more alien than human, with no limbs, a beak, and goat-like eyes. The effects for this baby are realistic and impressive for the 1970s, and Lynch has never explained how he created and controlled the creature. The surreal nature of the film is emphasised in its rather long opening scene which sees a pox-ridden man, The Man in the Plant (Jack Fisk), pulling leavers to control a worm like alien into a pool of water. What this opening means is very much open to your interpretation.
The film reminds me off some Avant-Garde dada plays where every time the audience start to understand a scene the plot would suddenly change to something different. You struggle to comprehend Lynch’s world and the plot of Eraserhead, every time you start to understand a surreal moment breaks the flux of the narrative. Your mind is as restless as the film to keep up; but to me that is not necessarily a criticism as you are forced to focus and ponder on its meaning. My favourite interlude is of a performing women (Laurel Near), who lives in Henry’s radiator – she takes rapturous applause whilst she attempts to avoid alien-worms that are dropping onto her stage.
Eraserhead took a long time to film, being over six years in the making. To me the film reflects some of the anxieties of the 1970s, the desolate landscape is bleak – almost post-apocalyptic. It suggests the fear of nuclear war, less subtlety presented by a picture of a mushroom cloud framed by Henry’s bed. There are also some reflections of Lynch in the film, showing his fear of parenthood. You make your own sense of the film, but there is also a strong visual style to enjoy. The film reflects German expressionism, which is a beautiful artisc style, for example see The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and shows a good use of light and shadow. This is a difficult film, but it is not without its bizarre pleasures.
Why It’s Significant?
Eraserhead is a cult classic gaining popularity as a midnight movie. The film is David Lynch’s first feature length in a long and varied career.
If You Like This, You May Also Like From The Library:
Blue Velvet, dir. by David Lynch (De Laurentiis, 1986) – Lynch earned a nomination for Best Director for Blue Velvet, the film blends psychological horror with mystery. Again a surrealist film, and is at times shockingly graphic. (791.4372 BLU).
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, dir. by Jim Sharman (20th Century Fox, 1975) – A very different film from Eraserhead, but if we are talking about midnight movies we need to mention this musical parody of horror and science fiction films. (791.4372 ROC).
Written by Phil Wintle
