End of Evangelion Similarities to Eraserhead

[NAveryW]

They're both great mindfrak movies, and if you like that sort of thing (wow, it sounds kind of disparaging the way I say it) I highly recommend Eraserhead to those who haven't seen it. It's David Lynch's first film and, of course, it's full of strange, surreal imagery and symbolism.

As such, End of Evangelion and Eraserhead indeed have similarities, though it is quite likely that they are coincidental and Anno was not directly referencing Lynch's film. That said, here is one of the main things that I saw similar in both films:


You must surely remember this scene from EoE, right? It is a brief reference to the first episode, and, in my opinion, one of the most chilling parts of the film. What made it more unsettling to me here was that in "Angel Attack", Shinji was distracted and then looked back, whereas in EoE, he just kept looking, wide-eyed in the same direction. That's more unsettling to me, I suppose, because as a child at night I often feared that if I looked at something, and kept looking at it long enough, it would eventually end up looking different from what it originally was. I think that happened to me in my dreams a few times. I was a very frightened youth.


Anyway, the same type of thing was actually done twice in Eraserhead.

First time, from Henry's perspective.... aaannnd second time from his promiscuous neighbor's perspective.


I personally think this is a coincidence, but it's still rather similar and was quite chilling in both situations. There were more things, but instead of posting them here at the moment, I'm going to eat lunch.

[CorporalChaos]

Neato...I suppose I'll have to go find Eraserhead sometime.

[BrikHaus]

Eraserhead might be the biggest WTF movie of all time.

I love David Lynch's movies.

[NAveryW]

You know, I thought recently... stylistically, Eraserhead is much more similar to FLCL than Evangelion. FLCL is sort of what Eraserhead would be if it were a comedy instead of a horror movie, and if it were about a 12-year-old. They're both coming of age stories, though Eraserhead is about the trials of marriage and fatherhood, where FLCL takes place at a much younger age. In my opinion, actually, some of the shots in FLCL are almost as disturbing and incomprehensible as things in Eraserhead, such as when Haruko drops Kamon's head while she's currently standing in a completely different position. Yes, Kamon was a robot at that time, but... she wasn't standing there... I think. I need to watch the episode again.

[CorporalChaos]

Whoa...just watched the movie...should I be trying to figure out what's going on, or is that a mystery?

[NAveryW]

Whoa...just watched the movie...should I be trying to figure out what's going on, or is that a mystery?

I would recommend reading some interpretations of the movie just to get your mind flowing, though Lynch has said that no interpretation he's read matches his own.

Good movie, wasn't it? :o

[CorporalChaos]

Whoa...just watched the movie...should I be trying to figure out what's going on, or is that a mystery?

I would recommend reading some interpretations of the movie just to get your mind flowing, though Lynch has said that no interpretation he's read matches his own.

Good movie, wasn't it? :o

It was kinda weird, but yeah, its one of the better movies I've seen in the last year.

[Hailtheplatypus]

Needs to find this movie... I think that a good mindfrag is always enjoyable... and its even better when theres someone else even more creeped out also watching...

[Opteron-O3]

Hmm... maybe I'll look it up myself.

[CorporalChaos]

Needs to find this movie... I think that a good mindfrag is always enjoyable... and its even better when theres someone else even more creeped out also watching...

Its not really that scary...although I crapped myself when the baby first started laughing.

[NAveryW]

In my opinion, the scariest part of the movie was the surprise that I won't spoil right before Henry says, "Oh, you are sick!" That made me jump more than anything else in the movie.

Yes, the baby's laugh was quite creepy. I don't dare watch that scene before bed.

[Szmitten]

Saw it. Wish I didn't. And not in a good way either.

[NAveryW]

Saw it. Wish I didn't. And not in a good way either.

You make me smile.

[CorporalChaos]

In my opinion, the scariest part of the movie was the surprise that I won't spoil right before Henry says, "Oh, you are sick!" That made me jump more than anything else in the movie.

Yes, the baby's laugh was quite creepy. I don't dare watch that scene before bed.

Actually, the "Oh, you are sick!" made me laugh. It was just weird enough to be funny to me.

[Bean Bandit]

David Lynch is a genius. Twin Peaks is perhaps the best live-action show ever made.

Interesting connection, Eva and Eraserhead...hmm, i'll have to think about that one.

And on that note, "We've got chicken tonight. Strangest damn things. They're man made. Little damn things. Smaller than my fist. But they're new!"

[BrikHaus]

And on that note, "We've got chicken tonight. Strangest damn things. They're man made. Little damn things. Smaller than my fist. But they're new!"

That reminds me of a great line from the MST3K episode "Squirm"

"We're having Eraserhead chicken."

[CorporalChaos]

"We've got chicken tonight. Strangest damn things. They're man made. Little damn things. Smaller than my fist. But they're new!"

And on that note....

http://evolution-control.com/sounds/DJ%20Pantshead/Weapons%20of%20Ass%20Destruction/08%20-%20DJ%20Pantshead%20-%20Chicken.mp3

[Bean Bandit]

Brilliant tune, Corporal! I salute you.


...how the hell did you find that btw?

[CorporalChaos]

Brilliant tune, Corporal! I salute you.


...how the hell did you find that btw?

I was checking out the ECC website one night after I heard "Rocked By Rape", and noticed the album in the free downloads section.

[Bean Bandit]

cool. i'll have to check it out.