Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Eraserhead (1977)

Director: David Lynch

Time Out rating

Average user rating
3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

The Greatest Student Film Ever Made returns to screens in a brand new print personally remastered by the director. The story– if it could be described as such– concerns Henry, a lonely man who discovers that the girl he loves has carried and given birth to something that might or might not be a baby…

Watching ‘Eraserhead’ today, what emerges is the sheer, immersive clarity of David Lynch’s vision, the sense of a world unlike our own and yet inextricably bound to it: a world in which all the light has been sucked out, leaving only horror and isolation, desperation and unattainable dreams.

Knowing the struggles Lynch and his crew underwent to complete this wildly uncommercial labour of love, over five years of scratching for every budgetary dollar, the absence of compromise astounds. ‘Eraserhead’ is a singular work of the imagination, a harrowing, heartbreaking plunge into the darkest recesses of the soul.

Author: Tom Huddleston

Time Out London Issue 1986, 11-17 Sept


User reviews of this film

  • Diane said...
    Posted on Jan 06 2010 03:39 Eraserhead Worst junk film of the 20th Century
    Report as inappropriate
  • Fiercehairdo said...
    Posted on Sep 09 2008 16:59 This film is an absolute work of art.
    It still is so startling, magical and shocking.
    Its complete lack of compromise and sheer originality and power puts so many other film-maker's efforts to shame.
    Lynch's first and one of his best.
    Report as inappropriate
  • Magmabulle said...
    Posted on Jun 08 2008 21:52 Eraserhead is by far the most disturbing, and at the same time fascinating, movie I have ever seen. It is slow, dark and sinister, and really leaves you thinking.
    If you let ten persons watch Eraserhead, you will probably hear ten different interpretations. Furthermore, if you watch it ten times, the result will be the same.
    One might question the storyline of Eraserhead; the story is rather weak, but on the other hand it is full of feeling and atmosphere. David Lynch is a true master of both light and sound, even though it is an early work.
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields




Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing