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Eraserhead

Play trailer 0:46 Poster for Eraserhead 1977 1h 29m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
87% Tomatometer 86 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) left her pregnant, he marries the expectant mother and has her move in with him. Things take a decidedly strange turn when the couple's baby turns out to be a bizarre lizard-like creature that won't stop wailing. Other characters, including a disfigured lady who lives inside a radiator, inhabit the building and add to Henry's troubles.

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Eraserhead

Eraserhead

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Critics Consensus

David Lynch's surreal Eraserhead uses detailed visuals and a creepy score to create a bizarre and disturbing look into a man's fear of parenthood.

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Critics Reviews

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Bernard Zuel Sydney Morning Herald Apr 24
It feels like the very best of student film, but with more vivid imagination, more skill at the edges, more craft at the core. Go to Full Review
J. Hoberman Village Voice 01/23/2025
Eraserhead's not a movie I'd drop acid for, although I would consider it a revolutionary act if someone dropped a reel of it into the middle of Star Wars. Go to Full Review
Linda Gross Los Angeles Times 01/23/2025
Monster babies, like concentration camps, are bad subjects for jokes. Although Lynch's taste is objectionable, his directorial talent is unquestionable. Go to Full Review
Charlotte Simmons The Treatment (Substack) Apr 24
In a sentence, it is the sexful Henry’s anxiety-based wish to inhabit the destructive without the creative, hence "Eraserhead." Go to Full Review
Max Allen Horror Movie Talk Dec 4
7/10
Time moves awkwardly slow, a low hum and sharp static hang over most of the scenes, and even the mere movements of the characters feel so off. Go to Full Review
Pat Padua Washington City Paper 04/30/2025
...took several years to complete but unspools like a single, unforgettable fever dream. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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tommy 02/01/2025 The ugliness of the universe is pulling the levers to release the baby (spirit) into the world dropped in to the water (wet planet earth) hairy hole gurney dirty industrial area the dirtiness of man the torn photo is how he feels about her he’s torn she is attached to her mother like the puppies to theirs In American culture family is everything keep grandma involved a slight toward the poultry industry man made chicken has her in a trance the divine comedy she’s crying bill is smiling Americans getting married due to tradition they don’t want to be together a child out of lust may not be as nurtured as one out of love she is a prisoner of her own thoughts she’s packed her bag and made up her mind the light in the furnace everything in heaven is fine go to the light his wife is the parasite in his life she’s causing nightmares the woman in the furnace is the woman of his dreams his worm in the box is his dirty little secret you can experience the light and things you want but Henry is attached to his earthly wants the ugliness of the universe shows it’s face if you stay of you give up on your dreams you will become another object to be used someone will come along and steal your thoughts and get paid for it lust not fulfilled baby laughs kill what keeps you attached and you will obtain heaven See more Malka M @tealbri40 50m The mise-en-scène throughout this entire movie is honestly mind-blowing. The surreal sets and those industrial nightmare visuals create such an intriguing, dark essence. People who haven't seen much visual storytelling like this will be completely amazed by how it looks. See more Alex Z @RT76626082 3h I'm not a fan of movies that rely on the psychological anxieties of the viewers to get a film liked or noticed, but it was fun, in a weird way, and enough to catch me continuing to watch more of it till the end. See more Brandon M @RT14839179 18h This was a really weird movie in general, compared to other movies. I didn't get what the plot of movies. Overall, it was ruff movie to watch. See more Jack P @RT76624209 23h A Reacher heads one of those movies that you could see why some people would like this film but others wouldn't I'm with the side that won it like this movie for the simple fact that it got super weird at some part that I just felt physically uncomfortable but I understand cult films like this are supposed to make you feel like that so with that it did succeed but it's personally non move for me nor something I would recommend See more Leslie A @Les233 3d This film made me feel stressed and uncomfortable because of the strange baby and disturbing scenes. It's like a film trying to describe what fatherhood is like in the worst way possible. Overall, I would not watch this again. See more Read all reviews
Eraserhead

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Movie Info

Synopsis Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) left her pregnant, he marries the expectant mother and has her move in with him. Things take a decidedly strange turn when the couple's baby turns out to be a bizarre lizard-like creature that won't stop wailing. Other characters, including a disfigured lady who lives inside a radiator, inhabit the building and add to Henry's troubles.
Director
David Lynch
Producer
David Lynch
Screenwriter
David Lynch
Production Co
American Film Institute
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 17, 1977, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 25, 2015
Runtime
1h 29m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)