Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

89% Tomatometer 66 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

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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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Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Peter Bradshaw Guardian It's beautiful and strange, with its profoundly disturbing ambient sound design of industrial groaning, as if filmed inside some collapsing factory or gigantic dying organism. Rated: 5/5 Oct 14, 2014 Full Review Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune What makes Eraserhead great -- and still, perhaps the best of all Lynch's films? Intensity. Nightmare clarity. And perhaps also it's the single-mindedness of its vision. Rated: 4/4 Oct 14, 2014 Full Review Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Tom Buckley New York Times A murkily pretentious shocker. Oct 14, 2014 Full Review Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Sean Burns Crooked Marquee Basically, if you’ve ever had a panic attack worrying that you might have knocked up your girlfriend, this is the movie playing in your head. Aug 4, 2023 Full Review Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Richard Schertzer ScreenAnarchy All I know is that this film zig-zags through its story's trajectory and fails to make me look at it thinking that I have seen something that makes a modicum of sense. Jun 16, 2023 Full Review Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Joe Lipsett Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network Confronting and nightmarish in equal parts, David Lynch's infamous first feature is a surreal masterpiece. The imagery might be iconic, but its the omnipresent industrial score that sticks with you. Apr 11, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Brian H One of those movies that is objectively good, but I detested. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Audience Member Oh my god. This was a Fever Nightmare man, I cannot believe how many times this movie genuinely shocked me. I imagine David Lynch wrote down everything that happened during a trip, and made a script out of it. I don't think I'll ever watch anything this genuinely insane again. This and "Meshes of the Afternoon" you should avoid when on drugs, that's how odd they both are. 5/5 stars YOU ALL NEED TO WATCH THIS. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/07/24 Full Review Arid S Well this was something new, I knew about the film for a long time but only just got round to watching this, its really something, I am finding it hard to put into words, very unusual and creepy, like a parasitic warped nightmare. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/24 Full Review JA S Eraserhead has garnered a cult status over the decades, but truly the performances are below average and the story takes itself a bit too seriously. For those looking for good work from David Lynch, watch "The Elephant Man" or "Mulholland Drive". Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/22/24 Full Review Jerry F I read that this was the most weird movie ever filmed, and in my opinion it is. I found it extremely boring, but still watched until the end. Some scenes are so graphic and crude that almost made me vomit. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/07/24 Full Review Dar S I saw this movie several years ago. It is on my worst movie ever list. It was the most bizarre movie I have ever seen. Boring as hell too. I must of missed what the critics saw. There is no way I would watch it again let alone endorse it Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/03/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Eraserhead

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Cast & Crew

David Lynch Director Jack Nance Henry Spencer Charlotte Stewart Mary X Allen Joseph Mr. X Jeanne Bates Mrs. X Judith Roberts Beautiful Girl Across the Hall
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Eraserhead

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Eraserhead

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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)
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Eraserhead | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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