You want weird? This. This is weird. Visually and sonically, pretty cool. Should you be high as giraffe balls before watching? Maybe. I do not recommend watching this film on acid, though. That may lead to long-term psychological trauma. I’m not a doctor, but I still strongly advise against. But I’m sure a lot of people have in the time since this was released, and I feel sorry for those poor souls. It’s all in black and white, but I’m sure people have seen colors watching it. Possibly one of the reasons it’s been one of the biggest cult films out there since its release.
This is more of an interesting visual and audio experiment than a linear story. Does time pass during the film? Sure. Do things happen? Absolutely. Main character Henry seems to like to walk through a lot of somewhat daunting industrial places when not in his, uhm, daunting growthy one-room apartment with a Spectacular view of a brick wall like two feet away. Lovely. A visit to a relatively recent girlfriend’s home to meet her parents brings awkward social interactions and a ruined dinner with...chicken? Then it’s weirder after that.
This movie is a lot like finest of Swedish Liquors known as Malort. You wonder, is it really THAT bad? So you do a shot. Time heals all wounds, and a decade or three later, you ask yourself, was it really THAT bad? The first 1/8th of a second you’re like, yeah, this doesn’t suck. Then you get to experience the lingering aftertaste of defeat for an indeterminable length of time. The product of a gypsy curse, indeed. Well, maybe it’s not Malort bad. It’s just different level similar to touching an electric fence with your genital area. Ok, maybe not like that either. It does achieve that rare state of simultaneously cringy and awe-struck, though.
But the thing is, you have to see it at least once (well, if you’re into fucked up experimental films, this being David Lynch’s first, so that does give you an inkling). Jack Nance does a good job emoting through most of the film, it’s almost like a silent movie in that respect as there’s fairly sparse dialogue. And the visuals, while sometime pretty disturbing, are mostly pretty well done, especially the, uhm, let’s just call it new visitor? And the audio work is notably superb. Can totally see the influence on future filmmakers, most notably Darren Aronofsky’s Pi. I guess I’m just jaded because I’m not sure regarding the fate of the cabinet tentacle. I am Jack’s Complete Remorse.
