I’m not a maternal woman, yet every time I think of the Eraserhead baby, I’m nearly brought to tears. Just look at this TikTok of the Eraserhead baby set to Adrianne Lenker’s “not a lot just forever.” Maybe that means something. Or it could just mean I’m emotional and need a snack. Anyway, I love Eraserhead (1977). As a woman in her thirties who is still on the fence when it comes to having children, I appreciate its grotesque yet tender exploration of parenthood and the fears that come with it.
Directed by David Lynch, Eraserhead tells the story of Henry Spencer (Jack Nance, pre-Twin Peaks), a factory worker and first-time father with a “wild shock of hair” who is trying his best to learn how to care for and love his screaming, limbless, bulbous-headed baby. Henry is alone in this strange, industrial dystopia, where the apartments are cold and dark and there’s writhing chickens that spurt a mysterious goo for dinner. How can anyone raise a child—alien, whatever this creature is—in these conditions? How much longer can Henry stand it? This can’t be forever…can it?
“Eraserhead is my most spiritual film,” said Lynch in an oft-memed BAFTA interview from 2007. When asked to “elaborate,” he simply replied, “no.” Lynch’s refusal to explain is part of what makes Eraserhead—and Lynch’s work in general—so interesting. Eraserhead, in particular, has been passed around for decades as a midnight movie, or in my case, an essential part of any film theory 101 syllabus, but its reach goes far beyond cult fandom or TikTok users who really, really love this horrible, sick little baby.
Robert Eggers (Nosferatu) credits it as one of his influences. “To think about just how influential that film is to cinema history and to sound design… Lynch, in general, is massive, but Eraserhead is quite massive, too,” he said in 2023. You can see Eraserhead’s influence on his own work immediately—the suffocating atmosphere of The Lighthouse with its black-and-white visuals and the unnerving soundscape of The Witch immediately come to mind.
So whether you’re a Lynch devotee, a horror fan curious about Eggers’ influences, or if you just need a reminder to take your birth control, now’s the time to stream it on HBO Max. And as always, if you love it, let me know: @ashjenexi on Instagram and X.
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