History Film / Eraserhead

* AlienLunch: For dinner, Mary and her family prepare a batch of roasted chickens, which are noted by Bill to be man-made and unusually small. When Henry tries cutting one open, his chicken starts moving and bleeding out blood. Needless to say, the roasted chickens are left uneaten.

* ImprobableHairstyle: Henry. Just look at the page image!

** The Man in the Planet has a disease-ridden face and on closer inspection, his body isn't in better shape as his chest seems to be mutilated.
** The Baby resembles less an actual human baby and more an alien fetus that was born prematurely. It gets worse when [[spoiler:Henry kills it by slicing its chest open with scissors before stabbing one of its lungs.]]

* DerangedAnimation: At one point, Henry finds a worm-like creature in his bed and throws it away. It then leads a transitory scene in which the worm, which is animated in [[StopMotion claymation]], writhes across the ground in and out of holes before splitting open its body to form a mouth.

** The Baby resembles less an actual human baby and more an alien fetus. It gets worse when [[spoiler:Henry kills it by slicing its chest open with scissors before stabbing one of its lungs.]]

%%* DerangedAnimation: Perfectly describes the clay animation that the worm moves in during one transitory scene.

* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted and [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] in the case of the Baby. [[spoiler:Despite their love for each other, Henry and Mary were certainly not expecting a baby, and they are forced to become a family due to the birth of said baby. Eventually, Mary gets fed up with the Baby's crying and leaves Henry alone with the Baby.]]

** The Man in the Planet has a disease-ridden face and his body seems cut open.
** The Baby barely resembles less an actual human baby and more a reptile.
** The Lady in the Radiator has strangely bloated cheeks.

* FaceFramedInShadow: The Man in the Planet is [[CharacterEstablishingMoment introduced]] with his body and face partially obscured by the shadows to emphasize the mysterious nature of his role in the story.

%%* BodyHorror: Henry's baby, The Man in the Planet's skin, and The Lady in the Radiator's cheekbones are all examples of horrific deformities and unsettling anatomy.

%%* FaceFramedInShadow: Done occasionally, such as with the Man in the Planet.

* AlienLunch: For dinner, Mary and her family prepare a batch of roasted chickens, which are noted by Bill to be man-made and unusually small. When Henry tries cutting one open, his chicken starts moving and bleeding out blood. Needless to say, the roasted chickens are left uneaten.

%%* DysfunctionJunction: Except for Henry -- but who knows, [[MindScrew maybe this movie is just his hallucinations]].
%%* {{Dystopia}}: The world in this setting is less than ideal.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Henry kills the Baby]]. It comes back and eats him.
%%* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Horribly subverted. Wait until you [[BodyHorror see it]].

%%* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Mary leaves]].

%%* AlienLunch: "Just like regular chickens."

* AdultFear: If giving birth to a creature so horrible that no sentient being would want to touch it with a 10-foot pole isn't every soon-to-be parent's worst nightmare, then the fact that it makes your spouse leave you and force you to raise it by yourself certainly is. Loathing one's own baby to the point that [[spoiler:stabbing it through the lung (if you can even define it as a "lung") with scissors]] becomes a viable option is something no adult wishes to experience. Oh, and the fact that everything else in this movie is filled to the brim with the regular kinds of fears doesn't exactly help.

* AlienLunch: "Just like regular chickens."

* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Horribly subverted. Wait until you [[BodyHorror see it]].

* BodyHorror: Henry's baby, The Man in the Planet's skin, and The Lady in the Radiator's cheekbones are all examples of horrific deformities and unsettling anatomy.

* CrapsackWorld / CosmicHorrorStory: Crapsack mainly in the sense of having a world with no [[OntologicalMystery logical order or cause of events]]. Also in the sense of [[GodIsEvil The Man in the Planet]] controlling things or if you believe Henry's baby is the personification of fate.
* DeathBySex: Less of a DeathBySex than a Death by Parenthood.

* DerangedAnimation: Perfectly describes the clay animation that the worm moves in during one transitory scene.

* DysfunctionJunction: Except for Henry -- but who knows, [[MindScrew maybe this movie is just his hallucinations]].
* {{Dystopia}}: The world in this setting is less than ideal.

* FaceFramedInShadow: Done occasionally, such as with the Man in the Planet.

* OverlyLongGag: Paul, the desk clerk at the pencil factory, continuously buzzing his manager (with an incredibly obnoxious buzzer sound) for almost thirty seconds without interruption.

* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Mary leaves]].

* CrapsackWorld / CosmicHorrorStory: Crapsack mainly in the sense of having a world with no [[OntologicalMystery logical order or cause of events]]. Also in the sense of [[GodIsEvil The Man in the Planet]] controlling things or if you believe [[EpilepticTrees Henry's baby is the personification of fate]].

* TheEyesHaveIt: The Baby. While it isn't completely still, most of its other movements [[UncannyValley are stiff and artificial enough to make it look like it wasn't alive anyway]]. The eyes mainly move to remind you this thing is alive and is apparently [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman some]] kind of human in order to add to the wrongness.

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:Henry kills the Baby, and the Man in the Planet's planet explodes. The film's final scene has Henry and the Lady in the Radiator hugging as they are bathed in white light before the film [[NoEnding inexplicably and abruptly stops]]]]. When specifically talking about the beginning (in a case of [[InvertedTrope inversion]]), one of the more difficult scenes to place chronologically is the beginning, a slow zoom onto what appears to be an asteroid. It is inhabited by the Man in the Planet. ([[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory God? Satan?]])

* RiddleForTheAges: A rare ''meta-example'', in that absolutely no one involved in the production has ever explained how the prop for the Baby was made, except for Lynch, whose [[TeasingCreator answers]] are as exactly as helpful and clarifying as you would expect from him.

* NoEnding: The film just stops at the part where Henry embraces the Lady in the Radiator while everything goes light.

%%* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The manager's assistant at the pencil factory.
%%** Everyone. Save ''maybe'' [[OnlySaneMan Henry]].

%%* EldritchAbomination: The Baby.

* GainaxEnding: The film's final scene has [[spoiler:Henry and the Lady in the Radiator hugging as they are bathed in white light before the film [[NoEnding inexplicably and abruptly stops]]]]. When specifically talking about the beginning (in a case of [[InvertedTrope inversion]]), one of the more difficult scenes to place chronologically is the beginning, a slow zoom onto what appears to be an asteroid. It is inhabited by the Man in the Planet. ([[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory God? Satan?]])

* WorldOfSymbolism: Basically, it's about a guy not ready for marriage. That's it.

%%* ImprobableHairstyle: Henry.

%%* LargeHam: The Manager of the Pencil Factory.
%%-->OKAY, PAUL!

* NamelessNarrative: Almost. Henry and Mary are the only characters named within the film.

* MindScrew: Easily the masterwork of surrealism in cinema, and for good reason. What ''is'' this movie about?

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The manager's assistant at the pencil factory.
** Everyone. Save ''maybe'' [[OnlySaneMan Henry]].

* EldritchAbomination: The Baby.

* GainaxEnding: The film's final scene has [[spoiler:Henry and the Lady in the Radiator hugging as they are bathed in white light before the film [[NoEnding inexplicably and abruptly stops]]]].
** When specifically talking about the beginning (in a case of [[InvertedTrope inversion]]), one of the more difficult scenes to place chronologically is the beginning, a slow zoom onto what appears to be an asteroid. It is inhabited by the Man in the Planet. ([[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory God? Satan?]])

* ImprobableHairstyle: Henry.

* LargeHam: The Manager of the Pencil Factory.
-->OKAY, PAUL!

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: If the Baby, looking like the love child of a tadpole and the Loch Ness monster, counts as reptilian, then it's a sinister reptile.

* BizarreAlienBiology: The chicken and the Baby.

* BodyHorror: Henry's baby, The Man in the Planet's skin, and The Lady in the Radiator's cheekbones.
* BodyMotifs: Heads.

* DeliberatelyMonochrome

* DieselPunk
* {{Dreamland}}: One interpretation of the world in the radiator.
* DroneOfDread: Used extensively throughout the soundtrack.

* {{Dystopia}}

* FetusTerrible

* TheGrimReaper: A common interpretation of the Lady in the Radiator.
* GrumpyOldMan: Mr. X.

* MadeOfPlasticine: The Baby, as shown in the scene where [[spoiler:Henry kills it]].

* NamelessNarrative: Almost. Just Henry and Mary have names.
* NoEnding: The film just stops.
* NoIndoorVoice: The manager of the pencil factory.
* NoNameGiven: Lampshaded in the credits.

* NothingIsScarier

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Creator/JackNance's haircut. Also, some theories of David Lynch's fear of parenthood. The city is also inspired by Lynch living in an impoverished neighbourhood of Philadelphia while attending art college.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: If the Baby, looking like the love child of a tadpole and the Loch Ness monster, counts.
* ScareChord: Henry's baby ''is'' sick.

* SilenceIsGolden

* TheSpeechless: The Man in the Planet and Paul. Mary's grandmother is apparently paralyzed or something.
* SurrealHorror: One of the golden examples in the film. The Baby provides the trope image.

* TheVamp: [[NoNameGiven Beautiful Girl Across the Hall]].

* WorldOfSymbolism: Though just what it all symbolizes is a very open question.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] the Filipino rock band, Music/TheEraserheads.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] the Filipino rock band, Music/TheEraserheads.

-->''In Heaven, everything is fine.''\\

* SurrealHorror: Provides the trope image.