Review of Eraserhead (1977) by Michelle H — 01 May 2014

The most bizarre and surreal movie I have ever seen! I am still trying to figure out what it all means! I feel sorry for the character of Henry, he seems cursed! His child is a monster and his hallucinations are completely possessing all rational thought. Is he actually hallucinating, or is this an alternate reality? That question is never answered and is not meant to be. The film is disturbing on a psychological level and has some of the most striking visual effects I have ever seen. There is a bleeding pulsating chicken, there is a hideously deformed child, there is a woman with puffy cheeks singing about heaven in Henerys radiator. I just goes on and on! There is almost no dialogue, but it is not.

Needed. It is meant to be a purely visceral sensory experience. Some people may not get this film or enjoy it at all. If you are not a fan of surrealism, you are.

Probably going to be bored by this. I was completely mesmerized by this. To me, it is about sexual perversion, procreation, and intense fear in a bleak factory wasteland. Do not take my word for that however, as there are countless ways this film could be interpreted. There has never been a film like this and I do not think there ever will be again. A unique and groundbreaking art-house film debut by the creatively twisted David Lynch! I will never stop watching it, analyzing it, and trying to figure it out. It is a truly fascinating and psychologically disturbing mind fuck! Jack Nance as Henry was amazing in this! His acting ranges from controlled panic, to extreme confusion and social awkwardness. All the female characters find him irresistible, even the mother of his impregnated girlfriend and his hot next door neighbor. The film is in fact,loaded with sexual symbolism such as sperm, womb, and vaginal openings. Perhaps Henry is not of this world, but some kind of alien force in a human body who is tapping into another dimensional reality. Perhaps he is a schizophrenic with a paranoid fear of procreation that is causing his sever.

Hallucinations. Here I go again trying to interpret it! See it yourself,and decide what it means to you!!! Overall, this is a masterpiece. The only flaw is it gets a little slow and stagnated at times, mostly during the scenes that are set more in reality.