Kiernan Shipka Reveals She "Was Sick" While Watching This Horror Masterpiece: "Disturbed Me"

Kiernan Shipka has long been recognized as an actress with impeccable taste, especially when it comes to the horror genre. Her performance in Oz Perkins' The Blackcoat's Daughter solidified her status as one of the genre's most promising young stars.

Kiernan Shipka Says She Was Disturbed by David Lynch's 'Eraserhead'

In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Shipka revealed the cinematic experience recommended to her by Perkins that had the most profound and disturbing impact on her.

To prepare for her role in The Blackcoat's Daughter, Perkins asked Shipka to watch one of his favorite movies, David Lynch's Eraserhead:

“That's a movie that I actually had to watch for Blackcoat's Daughter. It's one of Oz's favourite movies.

I was sick when I watched it the first time, but I've never seen anything that kind of like stuck with me and disturbed me in a cooler, more powerful way. I really, really enjoy that movie.”

What Is 'Eraserhead' About?

The plot revolves around Henry, a young man who lives in a gloomy, noisy industrial city. His languid nightmare of a life is further complicated when his girlfriend, Mary, announces she is pregnant and soon gives birth.

However, the child is revealed to be not a human infant but a pitiful, constantly moaning mutant creature that resembles a large tadpole.

Henry is forced to care for the creature in his tiny apartment, which causes him to sink deeper into an abyss of alienation, anxiety, and paranoia.

'Eraserhead', David Lynch's Debut Film, Became a New Word in Surrealist Horror

Filmed over the course of five years on a shoestring budget and deeply rooted in Lynch's personal anxieties about becoming a father, Eraserhead has achieved cult classic status since its release. It's not just a horror film – it's a feature-length embodiment of anxiety, existential dread, and despair.

Eraserhead creates a unique atmosphere of industrial limbo where factory noises merge with the main character's internal monologues.

Its surreal imagery, from a fairy singing in a radiator to erasers being made from human heads, defies literal interpretation yet powerfully conveys a sense of absurdity, loneliness, and psychological disintegration.

The movie impressed Stanley Kubrick so much that he used it to set up the filming of The Shining, believing it to be the perfect vehicle for the necessary atmosphere of existential nightmare.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Eraserhead'?

• Eraserhead has 87% from critics and 82% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 7.2/10.

• On Letterboxd, Eraserhead scored 3.8/5.0.

Where to Watch 'Eraserhead'?

Eraserhead is available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime Video.