"The Grandmother" and "Eraserhead" are Lynch's seminal films, and they also both make a perfect pairing for a multitude of reasons. Both are cryptic portraits of a tragic central character, both are wildly surreal and abstract, and both tell a clear story through strange imagery and symbolism as opposed to any methods conventional to narrative filmmaking. It isn't until you are able to decode the many metaphors (which, in "The Grandmother" specifically, is a rather easy task if you pay attention) before you realize how truly sad these stories are. Watching it for a second time, "The Grandmother" comes across as less of a horror film and more as a tragedy. Don't get me wrong, it has horror elements and is genuinely scary in parts, but overall the atmosphere is one of dark fantasy and downbeat drama. The film foreshadows Lynch's following works in a few ways. It covers many of the themes Lynch has explored throughout his career, most notably the dysfunctional family, a fear of human sexuality, bizarre reproduction-type scenes, tragic and outsider protagonists, etc. Tonally, it is also your typical Lynch affair, with tons of surrealist imagery, a creepy and discomforting atmosphere, (in this case, unfortunately minimal) black comedy, absurdist visuals, enigmatic characters, a perplexing, nonlinear structure, and plenty more that fail to come to mind right now. If you're a David Lynch fan, this is an essential viewing, and if you haven't yet seen a Lynch film, or have seen very few of them, then I would definitely recommend you view this short as soon as possible (I'm pretty sure it's available in rather high quality on YouTube, and it is also an extra on Criterion's great "Eraserhead" release on DVD and Blue- ray), because I think that it (along with "Eraserhead", "Blue Velvet", and maybe a few other early Lynch shorts) is a fantastic introduction to his work. It embodies many of the elements that make him great and acclaimed worldwide, and perfectly presents his overall mood and style in a brief, haunting, and masterful way.

A dejected little boy (an effective performance by Richard White) who suffers at the hands of his monstrously abusive parents (portrayed with startling ferocity by Robert Chadwick and Virginia Maitland) plants some weird seeds in order to grow himself a caring and nurturing grandmother (sweetly played by Dorothy McGinnis).Naturally, this spooky and unsettling early short by David Lynch doesn't have much in the way of a coherent story (the whole thing unfolds like a child's bad dream complete with evil adults who bark like dogs and even crawl around on all fours), but nonetheless still makes a strong impression due to its surreal brooding atmosphere, striking wealth of bizarre visuals, inspired use of jarring sound effects that really add to the overall nightmarish mood, occasional bits of funky stylized animation, and the way the narrative works as a loopy meditation on birth, life, and death with a poignant central point on the basic human need to feel loved and accepted. Worth a watch for fans of challenging outre fare.

THE GRANDMOTHER is the kind of experimental film that could have only came out of the early 70s. Nowadays it would be considered too weird for general audiences. Thusly, Lynch would probably have a difficult time getting funding for it. For one thing, you can't show the parents abusing the kid merely because he wets the bed. No one would let their kid participate. Lynch would probably be told to put some dialog in the movie rather than have the main characters bark at each other. "You want me to crawl on the floor and say what?" the actors would say, "Can I win a prize?" The jumps from animation to live action would probably be discouraged, too since that pulls people out of the reality . So experimental films such as this are rare these days. They are also a refreshing alternative to "reality" TV.As someone else pointed out, THE GRANDMOTHER could easily be considered a prequel to ERASERHEAD. The boy here could easily be the later film's Henry in his younger years. I like the way Lynch painted his set black, too. It gives the setting an other worldly feel. ERASERHEAD was described by Lynch as " a dream of dark and troubling things". THE GRANDMOTHER could be called " a dream of a dark and troubling place." Not everyone's cup of tea, but if you like unusual films, it's a must see.

Long-time Lynch collaborator Jack Nance once said that watching The Grandmother was like spending half an hour in the electric chair. Mixing live action (both colour and black & white) with animation, along with a dark & unsettling soundscape created by Alan Splet (still Lynch's sound designer today, three decades later), the film is an intensely disturbing experience.The Grandmother deals with the story of a boy, abused by his brutal, animal-like parents, who grows himself a kindly grandmother in the attic. Although it does suffer from a certain 'student film' feeling, this half-hour short is a must-see for all fans of David Lynch, particularly those who admire the stark & surreal world of Eraserhead. One can definitely see the genesis of Lynch's next film within it.