LogFAQs > #911851961

25. Eraserhead (24.5 points)
Nominated by: Johnbobb (2/6 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoG8V7ydPsE" data-time="


Importance: 7
Fear: 8.5
Snake: 9

David Lynch's first feature-length film is an absolute masterpiece and cornerstone of both the surreal horror and body horror genres. With an oppressive, dark and dreamy atmosphere, Lynch has total control over his audience, dragging us along with him into an industrial hellscape where we follow the story of Henry Spencer, a plain, nondescript man with obvious problems relating and committing to other people. His girlfriend, Mary X, has a baby, a horribly deformed abomination that cries incessantly and is impossible to feed. The baby also forces Mary X to move into Spencer's small, one-room apartment, until the impossible needs of the baby drives her out completely, leaving Spencer alone to fend for it himself. Spencer's baby is one of the most infamous incidents of body horror in history, and it's hard to watch at times as the baby grows increasingly more sick and vile, gaining grotesque sores before eventually splitting open completely. The film also uses sexual imagery throughout, most prominently the image of a sperm which emerges from Spencer's mouth in the film's dreamy opening. Spencer is also surrounded by women, between the Beautiful Girl Across the Hall and the Lady in the Radiator, all serving to illustrate Spencer's sexual frustration, struggling libido, and fears of commitment and taking that next step into adulthood. In addition to the film's sexual themes, Eraserhead also uses the concepts of destiny and fate from the very beginning, as Spencer appears to be controlled by the Man in the Planet, who pulls levers to dictate the former's actions. Spencer notably has little agency over the events in the film: he's forced into moving in with Mary, he's forced into taking care of the baby all by his lonesome. In a dream sequence, his head is decapitated and turned into a tool used by others, indicating a completely loss of control. However, Spencer finally takes action by the film's ending, killing his deformed baby and embracing the Lady in the Radiator, while the puppet master, the Man in the Planet, loses his power over Spencer as his equipment malfunctions and the planet bursts.

Of course, Eraserhead can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. Lynch's visuals, constant humming, and use of dreams repeatedly cast all events of the film into question. Is it all literal, is it all fantasy? Is it all about sex, or is it more a commentary on the post-nuclear age and the desolate world it could lead to? I love that anyone can watch this film and get something new out of it. Even if you want to watch it purely for its body horror merits, or for the darkly humorous stilted acting, that's perfectly fair too, because even though Eraserhead sounds like a depressing drag at times, it can reach surprisingly levels of hilarity at times, but never in a way that detracts and distracts from the themes of the film. It's all part of the wonderful enigma that is, Eraserhead.
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If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - https://i.imgtc.com/3qwvxhc.jpg