Day 230: Eraserhead

Eraserhead

Crazy is as crazy does

There's weird, there's crazy, and then there is David Lynch. As the creator of such mind-melting media as Twin Peaks and Lost Highway, Lynch has been able to forge an entire career based on being insanely weird, yet amazingly compelling. Nothing is ever quite what it seems when it comes to his work. I knew all of this prior to watching today's review and this prior knowledge did absolutely nothing for me. I was ready to stare into the abyss, but not ready to see something staring back at me.

Eraserhead is a 1977 surrealist movie, which can be interpreted as horror, starring Jack Nance (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) as Henry Spencer. Henry lives in an urban wasteland, currently on vacation from his job as a printer. A deformed man inside a planet pulls levers and we see something float out of Henry's mouth. Henry goes to his girlfriend Mary X's (Charlotte Stewart, Twin Peaks, Tremors) house to have dinner with her strange family. Mary's mother corners Henry and asks him if he has had sexual relations with Mary. Henry is incredibly uncomfortable especially when she tries to kiss him. She reveals that Mary has given birth extremely prematurely and that Henry must marry her. Mary and the baby, which is extremely deformed and almost lizard-like, move into Henry's tiny one-room apartment. The baby cries incessantly, causing Mary to flee, leaving Henry to care for it. The baby becomes sick and Henry begins to have strange and inexplicable experiences. He sees the “Lady In The Radiator,” a woman with an abnormally puffed-out face dancing on a stage and singing, “In Heaven, everything is fine.” He also sees the Man In The Planet and dreams that his head falls off, replaced by the head of his deformed baby. While Mary is gone, Henry has a brief affair with a woman from across the hall. Later, is crushed when he sees the woman with another man and the visions continue. What does this all mean?

I wish this hairstyle caught on instead of that swoopy, emo Zelda haircut

I did my best to explain what happens in Eraserhead, but honestly, there are some things that can't be described and do not make sense unless you see them for yourself. David Lynch has never revealed exactly what the movie is about or what certain scenes are supposed to mean. I am hesitant to interpret them, not for fear of being wrong, but there are just so many surreal scenes that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what is happening. Is Henry's story all a dream or a nightmare? Is he dead and this is some sort of limbo? Is the Man In The Planet a god or a devil? While it's not a traditional horror movie, it is scary on a cerebral level. The movie is incredibly unsettling and disturbing. Nothing ever really makes sense, making everything far more creepier than it appears.

Despite the movie being incredibly weird, Eraserhead is still an important film, showcasing David Lynch's earliest work and earning a place in the National Film Registry. The black and white aesthetic appeals to the off-the-wall nature of the movie. Sound is an important part of the movie as the audience is constantly bombarded with countless noises. Howling wind is a big constant throughout, along with the whining cry of the baby and the hissing of the radiator. While our sight is assailed with bizarre and often times baffling imagery, the noises attack our hearing, leading to a full auditory assault. All of this makes for a difficult viewing experience, forcing some people to take a break from viewing. The acting is good for what it is, although I have no idea if bad acting would actually hurt the film. 

In Heaven, everything is AAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Eraserhead is a mesmerizing and mysterious film that can shock, scare, and baffle people. I'm not totally sure if I enjoyed the movie, but I felt compelled to watch it. Eraserhead is an experience unto itself with crazy visuals, interesting sounds, and a story that goes nowhere and everywhere at the same time. You will leave with more questions than answers and unsure of what you've just seen. Film school students will enjoy this as well as fans of horror. It shows how something can be scary without having monsters or violence. Eraserhead is a unique experience worth your time, but it does take a considerable amount of effort to get through and absorb. I have no idea what I just watched, but I'm OK with that.

7/10

Day 115: Masters of Horror: Sounds Like

Masters of Horror: Sounds Like

I can't ear you

Personally, I like noise. Now, I'm not saying I like to hear gunshots or screams coming from the other room. I'm talking more about background and ambient noise. I prefer to sleep with music or a fan on, just so there is something going on. There's something comforting about a background that breaks the silence. Maybe it's because it stops the mind from focusing too much on the everyday problems. But what if every sound was excruciating to you? What if a scratching pen was like a rake being dragged over your brain? How would that effect you?

Masters of Horror: Sounds Like stars Chris Bauer (The Wire, Face/Off) as Larry Pearce. Larry is a quality control supervisor for a tech support call center. His job is to listen in on his worker's conversation to insure that they are meeting the customer's needs in a timely manner. Larry has an extremel ability to hear even the slightest sounds. He can hear conversations from across the room or the clicking sound of his wife Brenda's (Laura Margolis, Dirty Sexy Money, The Strangers) knitting needles. It was this ability that allowed Larry to hear that something was wrong inside his son. Despite hearing the anomaly, Larry was unable to save his son. Wracked with grief, Larry can no longer stand his wife Brenda, who desperately wants to have another child. Larry overhears a tech giving comforting personal advice to a woman caller. Rather than fire him, Larry confides in the tech and even takes him out to lunch. He is shocked when he finds out the tech reported him for being inappropriate. Larry's heightened sense of hearing gets worse, slowly driving him insane. He finally snaps when Brenda tells him she is pregnant by smashing everything making a noise in his house. The next day, sounds no longer bother him. That does not last long as the sounds become more intense with a very specific, almost squirming sound. What is the sound and what will Larry do to silence it?

"What's this horrible noise? Dubstep you say?"

While it may not seem like Sounds Like is a horror movie, in fact, it fits in very well with the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. You can practically hear Ron Serling's voice talking about an ordinary man with an extraordinary ability. To me, that's a very high compliment. The movie doesn't have any supernatural monsters or loads of horrific violence. It makes it's horror through the slow, agonizing torture of one man just through his sense. Chris Bauer puts on a very convincing role and without him, this movie would not have succeeded. Laura Margolis is just the right amount of annoying to make us feel like we are in Larry's shoes. When Larry hears a sound, the audience hears it too. It can be very grating, and I know that's the point, but it does become unpleasant at times. If you have sensitive ears, turn down the volume while watching.

The Masters of Horror hour-long format usually works for the short stories the movies are based on, but it felt too long for Sounds Like. Some episodes have too much crammed into them, but this movie was stretched out with not a lot of action. There is some mystery and intrigue to keep the audience from drifting into boredom, but there could have been a little bit more action. Maybe another flashback with Larry's son or an explanation of how his hearing became so sensitive. 

Larry smash!

If you're a fan of old school horror like Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and even Hitchcock, I think you'll enjoy Masters of Horror: Sounds Like. If you prefer monsters and bloody violence, you're be incredibly bored. The story is simple, but creative and the acting really makes the story work. The hour-long format is a bit of a stretch, but not enough to stop watching. Sounds Like is the thinking man's horror movie and worth your time.

7.5/10