ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses two films that are uncanny, where evil is a disembodied, vague state of cosmic affairs: The Shining and Eraserhead. The Shining and Eraserhead share a number of features. Each is the story of a father threatened by an uncanny or monstrous child. The effectiveness of The Shining's depiction of the uncanny depends not just on the story, plot, characters, and acting but also on nonnarrative aspects of the filmic medium. The author discusses these movies in turn to describe their complex and synoptic visions of the horror of uncanny evil. Horror movies also depict uncanny evil through an emphasis on claustrophobia, suffering, eerie attacks, and the passivity of the characters in the face of larger mysterious evil forces. The horror in Eraserhead is centered upon the monstrous baby. Films of uncanny horror prompt a complex cognitive and emotional response of appreciation for the kind of worldview they present.
