Review of Eraserhead (1977) by Thomas G — 18 Apr 2011

Eraserhead is David Lynch's first film from 1977, and it had a budget of only $10,000 for the wide release that it had. Despite it's low budget, the film has the most surreal imagery that I have ever seen in a horror film. There are disturbing and disgusting scenes and sequences that, I mean it, if you see them, you will not feel like eating anything after watching. It is not while you are watching the film that you become frightened, but it is after you've watched it and began thinking of it that it disturbs you. What I appreciate about Eraserhead is that it did not rely on jump-scares (ie a cat jumping at a window) and it stood away from amounts of gore or blood until the end. What plays into the fear of the film is the score as well, which does not sound much like an orchestra is playing it. It sounds more as if somebody blew cotinuously into a hollowed-out tube to create one note.

However, there are certain things that will annoy some of you. Be prepared because there is a very small amount of dialogue in the film. It is also filmed in black-and-white only. This is obviously a classic horror film that still manages to scare today.