''Eggshells'' is a 1969 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

directed by

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influenti ...

in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. Hooper, who co-wrote the film with

Kim Henkel Kim David Henkel (born January 19, 1946) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He is best known as the co-writer of Tobe Hooper's horror film ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre''. Early life Henkel was born in Virginia and g ...

, also served as one of the film's producers. The film centers on a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of young

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

, who slowly become aware of an otherworldly presence that resides in the basement.

Plot

A group of young

, 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

* Mahlon Foreman as Mahlon * Ron Barnhart as Ron * Amy Lester as Amy *

as Toes * Pamela Craig as Pam * Jim Schulman as Jim * Allen Danziger as Allen

Reception

In 2017, Zane Gordon-Bouzard of '' Birth.Movies.Death'' stated that the film "lay 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 ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' gave the film a positive review, stating that the film very much emulated the works of

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

. Black also praised the film for its capturing of 1960s

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

attitudes and lifestyles, as well as the psychedelic visuals and Hooper's direction.

Citations

Sources

Books

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Websites

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External links

* * * 1960s avant-garde and experimental films 1969 films 1969 directorial debut films 1969 independent films American avant-garde and experimental films American independent films Films directed by Tobe Hooper Films with screenplays by Kim Henkel Films shot in Austin, Texas Hippie films Psychedelic films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films {{indie-film-stub