Werner Herzog does David Lynch. Or maybe Lynch does Herzog. Either way, they're in bed together for MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE, the other half of Herzog's crazy coin after the recent BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS. Very loosely based on a real murder case in the late 1970s involving a deranged actor, a saber, his mother, and Sophocles' ELECTRA, MY SON has been described by Herzog as "a horror film without the blood, chainsaws and gore, but with a strange, anonymous fear creeping up in you."

Discussion among film nerds of course includes the Lynch factor. Who influenced whom? How much of it is Lynch? Does Herzog make knowing nods to Lynch because he's a producer or are the dwarf, eerie suburb, and Grace Zabriskie coincidental, organic parts of the project? And who really cares? To the play the auteurist card is one thing, but to wrap blanket statements around the film is to smother it before it has a chance to breathe.

Herzog is no more a stranger to surreal imagery than Lynch -- a boat in a tree in a AGUIRRE, the end of STROSZEK, the entirety of EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL, etc. But whereas Lynch's strangeness is more about mood and consciousness, Herzog often employs such imagery as a juxtaposition to a realistic context, imbuing it with an emotion or baroque meaning that might only be explained in Herzog's obtuse way. MY SON's meeting of the minds is less about who influenced what, but how each talent's bizzaro sensibility might be handled.

That said, so far MY SON, MY SON has been received coolly. The timing of BAD LIEUTENANT and inevitable comparisons may have something to do with that, but mixed reviews can also be a boon when headscratchers like Herzog and Lynch are involved. At the very least, it's a decent alternative to the season's holiday fluff and Oscar bait.

WHAT: MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE

WHEN: Friday, December 18, various times

WHERE: Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA

and IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY

A lot of specialized venues are closing for the holidays, but some interesting fare is still in order in Los Angeles:

• Tony Nigro's blog
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