Eraserhead

Name: Eraserhead
Genre: Horror
Released: February 3, 1978
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 87
Cast: Allen Joseph, Charlotte Stewart, Jack Fisk, Jack Nance, Jean Lange

1978

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 86 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 86 Ratings

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Eraserhead

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Movie Details & Credits

Libra Films International | Release Date: February 3, 1978 | Not Rated

Starring: Allen Joseph, Charlotte Stewart, Jack Fisk, Jack Nance, Jean Lange, Jeanne Bates, Judith Roberts, Laurel Near, Thomas Coulson, V. Phipps-Wilson

Summary: Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Director: David Lynch

Genre(s): Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 89 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Mike D'Angelo

See Eraserhead once and it’ll lodge itself firmly in some dank recess of your brain and refuse to vacate. Read full review

100

Tom Huddleston

Eraserhead is a singular work of the imagination, a harrowing, heartbreaking plunge into the darkest recesses of the soul. Read full review

100

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

It's a creepily sensuous film that suggests that the dark and troubling things we like to repress inhabit dresser drawers, live behind the radiator or lie under the bed. They are part of the environment. Read full review

100

Empire Steve Beard

Gothically shot in black and white and numerous shots that have influenced the next generation of directors, this is a classic, no matter how comfortable it is to watch. Read full review

Jack Kroll

Lynch comes amazingly close to the logic of dreams and nightmares, in which successive layers of reality seem to dissolve, sucking you into a terrifying vortex. [11 Sep 1978, p.95]

Pauline Kael

The slow, strange rhythm is very unsettling and takes some getting used to, but it's an altogether amazing, sunsuous film; it even has an element of science fiction and some creepy musical numbers, and the soundtrack is as original and peculiar as the imagery.

Staff (Not Credited)

Eraserhead is a sickening bad-taste exercise made by David Lynch under the auspices of the American Film Institute. Like a lot of AFI efforts, the pic has good tech values (particularly the inventive sound mixing), but little substance or subtlety.

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User Reviews

Habibiehakim

Aug 17, 2021

David Lynch is probably already been named as the master of weird movie just based on Eraserhead, the weirdness are just too weird and disturbing yet it's great, it's incredible, it's amazing.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Gamzguy17

Aug 21, 2021

An excellent David Lynch debut in both abstract visual and sound, "Eraserhead" has enough of a plot to follow underneath its hazy horror.  The film's horror can be multi-interpreted and effectively made me scream twice during the runtime. An accomplishment no other film, even horror film,An excellent David Lynch debut in both abstract visual and sound, "Eraserhead" has enough of a plot to follow underneath its hazy horror.  The film's horror can be multi-interpreted and effectively made me scream twice during the runtime. An accomplishment no other film, even horror film, has managed to do.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Dunkaccino

Mar 20, 2023

A fearless film, not holding back, and not following traditional film formats in expressing its concepts. It remains a bold and confident piece of art.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

kyle20ellis

Mar 19, 2022

Of a very divisive director, along with Mulholland Drive Eraserhead is one of his most polarising films, with people finding it wonderfully surreal, funny and unsettling and others will find it for their tastes confusing, too out there and weird. On first viewing the latter was the case withOf a very divisive director, along with Mulholland Drive Eraserhead is one of his most polarising films, with people finding it wonderfully surreal, funny and unsettling and others will find it for their tastes confusing, too out there and weird. On first viewing the latter was the case with me(after being so amazed by the accessible emotional power that The Elephant Man and The Straight Story gave) but after further viewings(Lynch is one of those directors where each of his films should be seen more than once) now it's the former. While Eraserhead is not quite among Lynch's best films(Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive and The Straight Story) it is still a very good, even great debut from him, albeit with some parts that are a bit too draggy and drawn out. Eraserhead looks splendid, it's beautifully shot and coupled with the film-noir-ish lighting it's a highly atmospheric-looking film. It's not a Lynch film without surreal imagery and Eraserhead is filled with that and in a way that even early in his career is very distinctive of Lynch. The score has an eerie tension and used in an understated way, not one of the best film scores out there but it suits the film well. The dialogue is spare, only about 21 minutes worth and while not exceptional it is a long way from poor, though maybe Eraserhead may have fared even better without it(big emphasis on maybe). Lynch's direction is for a debut very accomplished if not at his best, his direction in the likes of Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive was pretty much masterly. The story is distinctively surreal and oddball but also very expertly unnerving, Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man feel more accessible but Eraserhead is essentially a mood piece and works amazingly as one. The theme of a man fearing fatherhood will resonate with a lot of viewers too. The mutant baby is incredibly creepy but there is room for some funny moments in a very low-key way especially the dinner-table scene. The acting is great, especially from lead actor Jack Nance, what was most effective about his acting was how personal it felt, in fact the whole film felt very personal. Overall, will divide viewers, it did bewilder me at first, Eraserhead proves to be a very, very good debut as well as a very, very good film where no matter how you feel about the film you cannot deny that a lot of effort had been put into making it. 9/10 Bethany Cox… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

sachineldho

Apr 4, 2019

This movie haunted me for like a week. The visuals are so disturbing and creepy. Also, Lynch uses symbolism throughout the whole movie which makes it difficult to percieve and understand for the general audience. This is a brilliant work of art.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

BeastJ18

Apr 23, 2018

While this may seem like an exercise in the bizarre, with the right analysis and research, it becomes clear and extremely meaningful. Every scene, shot, edit and artistic choice had meaning and were all necessary to tell the story. As it comes together, the sequences of emptiness and aWhile this may seem like an exercise in the bizarre, with the right analysis and research, it becomes clear and extremely meaningful. Every scene, shot, edit and artistic choice had meaning and were all necessary to tell the story. As it comes together, the sequences of emptiness and a character that wonders from place to place, start to work together to tell a very deep story of depression, loneliness, suicide, conscience, adulthood, alienation, desire, limitations, fear, paranoia and at the heart of it all, the disgust and regret of becoming a father, that take severe psychological and physical effects on the main character. This is art. It presents it in the most formalistic and unconventional way, but this only accentuates and intensifies the themes.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Cees_Timmerman

Oct 17, 2020

A piece of crap with some interesting shapes. Could be communist propaganda as well as a cold war expression of capitalist freedom.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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