Review of Eraserhead (1977) by Chris C — 09 May 2010

For a description, read something else. After years of watching movies that were dictated to make sense by a system of feeding audio-visual candy to a catatonic audience I saw Eraserhead and was relieved to see that a movie can be driven by a person's singular vision without great consideration for the audience's interest, and still be one of the most interesting movies ever.

I felt marked after watching this, nothing to do with grotesque things that you can't unsee. But seeing what someone can do so simply with a few dollars, lots of time, a camera, and an idea puts everything else in context.

The pitiful business of cranking out blockbusters, etc. More than that, it burned a hole in my mind. It really was like having a nightmare and not being able to forget it, wondering where in my mind (or Lynch's) did it come from.

Even worse if it means something. Simply put, a dream/nightmare caught on film. Something about the fear and anxiety of a shy man becoming a father to a deformed baby and a dream girl stepping on fetuses.

God is in an orb pulling levers and Henry's tiny warped-face girlfriend lives in his radiator. Giant floating baby head. Absolutely off limits for expecting couples. And children, dogs, cats, Michael Bay fans (large children), etc.