David Lynch is a name that you're going to be hearing a lot of on this site, but ranking his films in horror is a tricky business. It's macabre, it's disturbing and it's extremely strange, but it was never meant to outright terrify the audience. Lynch wanted to mystify the public. He wanted to show them a story that was inward, something from the subconscious that only he could put to film. Eraserhead was his very first film, and it took him several years to create. From one scene of the main character walking through a door, to the other scene of him entering the room, there was a gap of an entire year where Lynch needed more time and money to continue filming. That is how cheaply he made this film.
This is a dystopian reality of some sort and many people label it as a dream world. It is industrial, dark and filthy. There is even a deleted scene of Henry, our very strange protagonist, getting his shoe caught on a dead cat. This was a real dead cat that he got from a vet who agreed, tentatively, to let him use it. Once again, that is the level of filmmaking that David Lynch was willing to go to. There are many theories as to what this movie means, and there are some good explanations as such, but he never revealed what it truly meant to him.
From the first frame, we have no idea what is going on, because nothing is really going on. Henry comes home and walks around his home for a bit, before going off to a dinner with his ex-girlfriend. The atmosphere is dark and very foreboding for a very strange series of scenes. The moment he walks through his girlfriend's door. The father's chickens, the daughter's reaction to Henry cutting it, everything about this was so strangely paced, and no one knew at that moment that this would become a staple of David Lynch films as a whole. The strange pacing and the mysterious reactions to very outlandish situations, or any combination of these elements, just brings about that "Lynchian" vibe that he had from the very beginning.
Then there comes the baby. This is the thing that everyone knows about this film, aside from Henry's haircut. This thing looks like it was made from a giant baby bird with its beak removed. It was supposedly an early birth. A birth this early would result in the child dying, but for the sake of this film, Henry is left with the responsibility of its care. Yes, it, we're just not giving a gender or even a human label to this... baby? The undertones of uncertain fatherhood is constant throughout this film and Henry's tripping and stumbling in his attempt is just so surrealistic to watch.
The woman in the radiator is another very well known character in this movie. Her cheeks, her sweet demeanor, and her song about heaven is another very largely remembered scene. The theories behind her character are all over the place. She is definitely one of the more mysterious things in this movie. The dream elements in general are some of the strangest things you will see in cinema itself. The scene of her stepping on "sperm bugs" and doing her little dance is just a precursor to what comes next.
The dream where Henry's head falls off will live in another part of cinema history. The part of cinema history where you need to rewatch it to make sure you saw it correctly. The fake head they used for the prop was so masterfully done, especially knowing what sort of budget they were going along with. Then some kid brings it to an eraser factory so it can make ends of pencils with Henry's brain. Does this make sense? Sure! Why wouldn't it? Did you find yourself having some questions? Oh well!
Seriously, then there is the girl from across the hall. Her sex she has with Henry comes... and then it goes when she takes one single look at what he has spawned. She cannot cope with the sight and Henry is very quickly dejected. Was this the reason he picked up a small pair of scissors and stabbed the baby? It's very unclear, but not as unclear as what happened next.
The baby bubbles up with more fluid than it could possibly have in its tiny body. Then it explodes after manifesting giant baby heads into reality. The radiator busts wide open and it is very clear that Henry is very dead as he embraces the lady from within. The End. That's all. Was there a lot of questions? Oh, you bet. David Lynch has been asked every single question about every single one of his movies and he will never reveal a thing, as far as others are concerned.
He has never even revealed what he used to create the baby in the first place. It is made of some disgusting organs of some kind and it is completely visible as its... blanket is severed. This movie is stuffed with unsolved, unresolved questions and mysteries, but it's pretty clear that people are okay with that. This film is made to be a mystery and a very macabre, surreal experience. It is also said to be a very large inspiration to Stanley Kubrick himself. He has stated that it is his very favorite movie of all time, and you can see a vast amount of stylistic similarities between the two giants of the filming industry. Eraserhead is an enigma in the best and worst way, and it is a classic as a result. Call it horror, sure, but Lynch used it as a statement. That statement is "LOOK at it! GAZE and enjoy the MYSTERY!" Grimey Guts.
