Review of Eraserhead (1977) by Victor T — 06 Sep 2015

When it comes to acclaimed directors, David Lynch is one that is always brought up, and is even considered a "Renaissance man" of the industry, due to its extremely complex and beautifully crafted surreal style. Admittedly I love surrealism thanks to masters of the movement like Salvador Dali and Max Ernst, so back when I was starting to get into the seventh art, people recommended me this film as it is the perfect example of surrealism in film, and that was the beginning of my appreciation and love for David Lynch´s work.

Normally I write a plot synopsis but "Eraserhead" is a film that can't be described in words (I dare you to watch the film and then explain me what did you just watch).

"Eraserhead" is one of those films that are difficult to review or even talk about as it is this surreal experience opened to interpretation, so in order to make a standard review, I will just say that Lynch´s directorial debut is one of the most artistic and bizarrely beautiful films I´ve ever seen. "Eraserhead" is a film that many people dislike due to its surreal and complex structure and storytelling, so it is easy to overlooked it´s greatness and just classify it as "pretentious and random garbage". This extremely peculiar directorial debut has minimal but subtle acting that bizarrely manages to help the creepy atmosphere, unforgettable, shocking, bizarre, inventive, gorgeous and mesmerizing visuals that will remained in your subconscious; Lynch´s direction manages to meticulously create an organized chaotic vision, a slow pace that forces you to enter in this dark vision and observe every detail of it, themes and metaphors that are opened to interpretation, a gigantic shock value, the perfect amount of ambiguity, a expertly crafted atmosphere that creates this claustrophobic sense in the viewer, a creepy score, and a shocking ending. Sure, you can argue this film is nonsense or that it's about nothing, but this is the type of film that's not about story, characters or messages; but about visuals and evoking a variety of feelings and interpretations in the viewer (the ultimate objective of art itself).

"Eraserhead" is not only a masterful movie, but a beautiful piece of art. It is shocking, interesting, unforgettable and ambitious, thus it offers one of the unique most film experience you can get. Even if you don't like artistic films or surrealism, this is a film that needs to be seen at least once. David Lynch´s directorial debut truly shows his genius and directorial potential.