Eraserhead Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Eraserhead

Year: 1977
Director: David Lynch
Country: US
Language: English

Eraserhead was my introduction to the weird world of David Lynch. As a teenager that was new to Cinema I had never seen such a strange film that left me wondering about what I had just seen. What was it about? Perhaps it was too intelligent for me back then. As I saw more Lynch films I realized they all had a similar tone and feel, though this film was definitely among the creepiest. The Elephant Man was among the most straightforward, despite very beginning. I was very hesitant to watch this again, but I gave it a shot.

Eraserhead is set in an industrial town in which giant machines are constantly working, spewing smoke, and making noise that is inescapable, Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) lives in a building that, like all the others, appears to be abandoned. The lights flicker on and off, he has bowls of water in his dresser drawers, and for his only diversion he watches and listens to the Lady in the Radiator sing about finding happiness in heaven. Harry has a girlfriend named Mary X (Charlotte Steward) who gives birth to Henry's baby, a frightening mutant child. This of course entices shocking imagery of fear, panic and depressive sexuality.

The film works on one level, it does have an incredibly creepy atmosphere. You do get a sense that Henry Spencer's world is almost post-apocalyptic. He lives in a wasteland of fear and doubt, almost in isolation from the rest of the world. The little scenes, such as the odd chicken one, add to the tension and sense of fear that looms throughout the film. The lack of dialogue also contribute to the strange fear. Something is wrong and the baby is likely the tipping point where everything spills out in the open.

However, what IS this film about? I have seen many films with peculiar imagery such as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) but at least there was a tremendous story behind it to back it up. Lynch's Eraserhead just seems to be weird for the sake of being weird. Which seems fine for some people, but I would like a little coherency as anybody can flash odd images on a screen and claim it is "art". The audio commentary on the current dvd does not suffice at all as Lynch fails to provide any sort of clearancy. Though his entire career is based upon being strange so why should he?

In conclusion, don't bother with this film, or any of Lynch's work (besides Mulholland Drive) for that matter. It is contrived nonsense that attempts to pass itself off as "art". As I said, anybody can slap strange images together, Lynch is nothing special. He is merely a man who tries much too hard to be "different". Piss on it! 2/5