Eggshells is a 1969 American independent experimental film directed by Tobe Hooper in his directorial debut. Hooper, who co-wrote the film with Kim Henkel, also served as one of the film's producers. The film centers on a commune of young hippies, who slowly become aware of an otherworldly presence that resides in the basement.

Plot

A group of young hippies, having recently moved into an old house in the woods, slowly become aware of an otherworldly presence residing in the basement of the house.

Cast

Production

Hooper reflected on the film later when recounting his first efforts as a filmmaker: "It's a real movie about 1969. It's kind of vérité but with a little push. Like a script on a napkin, improvisation mixed with magic. It was about the beginning of the end of the subculture. Most of it takes place in a commune house. But what they didn't know is that in the basement is a crypto-embryonic-hyper-electric presence that managed to influence the house and the people in it. The influences in my life were all kind of politically, socially implanted."

Reception

In 2017, Zane Gordon-Bouzard of Birth.Movies.Death stated that the film "lay[s] out its rambling vision of hippie life in Austin, Texas in a series of acid-splashed reveries". Gordon-Bouzard also noted that the film displayed many of the themes and motifs that would become a staple in director Hooper's later films. Louis Black from The Austin Chronicle gave the film a positive review, stating that the film very much emulated the works of Jean-Luc Godard. Black also praised the film for its capturing of 1960s Austin attitudes and lifestyles, as well as the psychedelic visuals and Hooper's direction.

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