Someone around here appears to be uncomfortable with the idea and the actuality of procreation! Plus, the lady in the radiator. David Lynch’s in/famous provocation is actually a multiple thing. The early visit to the in-laws is prime grotesque comedy. “They’re not even sure it is a baby!” The material with said infant seems straightforwardly hyperbolic new-parent anxiety. (Jennifer Lynch’s club foot?) Beyond that, I now find myself thinking that Eraserhead is willfully obscure, perversely or even punishingly so. You can make guesses as to the meaning (eraser as emblem and embodiment of oblivion; all that’s left of us is this spermatazoic pinhead thing), but that isn’t really in the spirit of the Lynch’s gleefully grotesque concoction. Strikingly set, and quite the sound design. That will be one of Lynch’s most distinguishing features, going forward. Wonderful. Beyond that, if I’m just thinking about my viewing experience, it grates and grates, more and more.
Speaking of grating, I once programmed this one as part of a double feature with Argento’s Suspiria, whic actually makes me much more annoying than Lynch almost ever has been.