DISSECTING THE DIRECTOR: David Lynch

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

“DAVID LYNCH”

When it comes to directors, none are more unique than David Lynch. Once you have seen a David Lynch film you won’t soon forget it. His work changes with each film, however I do think that horror is a common theme amongst a majority of his films. While not horror in the typical sense, I think Lynch has that perfect ability to tap into each individuals mind and expose our deepest fears. With each film of Lynch’s I have walked away with something different, and they always affect me on a personal level. Whether it is a character I can relate to, or an event that seems to eerily resemble something in my past, I can’t help but feel he’s been in my mind. It is very rare to find a film that can make me feel this way, but Lynch manages to keep doing it.

BEST WORK

David Lynch has an impressive resume, and personally I have a hard time picking out what I believe to be the best of the bunch. If I look at the films, which I could easily classify as horror, I am left with two films to call his best. Those two films would be Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. These are two very different films, and each one has their own strange story and very disturbing conclusions. With Lost Highway there is only one real way I can describe it accurately; like watching a waking nightmare. This is a film that I love, but I can’t watch it often, it really does upset me in a way most horror films can’t do. There is an aura of mystery, which surrounds Lost Highway, and the beauty of it is that you can walk away with your own ideas of what went down. There are some scenes that I find truly frightening; I can’t reveal them because if you haven’t seen Lost Highway it would spoil the film. But the words “Dick Laurent is dead” will forever haunt me.

Mulholland Drive I find equally as haunting, however I do find this film easier to watch. This is another film where you can make up your own mind as to what is really going on, and it works perfectly. There were so many elements in this film that I could relate to, and this really hit me hard. One of the most beautiful scenes and also one of the most disturbing (at least for me) was the performance of the song Llorando (Roy Orbison’s Crying), I had the same reaction that Betty and Rita had when I first saw it. The character of the cowboy has got to be one of the scariest characters I have ever seen, Lynch has an amazing ability to do this in all of his films, but for me he takes the cake.

Visually both films are remarkable, which also makes those disturbing and horrific scenes such hard hitters. Once you begin to unravel the mysteries of these films, what you are left with is what makes true horror. Nothing is what it seems, and the nightmares are usually just the beginning with Lynch.

WORST WORK

If I had to name a film of Lynch’s that I would consider the weakest, it would have to be Dune. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually think Dune is a great film. But the fact is every time I do watch it; I can feel that Lynch’s heart wasn’t in it. I think this fact is what stopped this from being an excellent film, and it would be more widely liked. Hearing (in person) Patrick Stewart talk about his experiences with making Dune, it was really evident that Lynch wanted to be doing something else. Patrick himself told me he thought Dune was a wonderful film, and he was very happy to have been a part of it. But on set everyone could feel that Lynch wasn’t making what he wanted, and the film didn’t turn out how he wanted (there are versions where Lynch’s name has been removed, see Alan Smithee). The film however still feels like a Lynch film, and there are nightmarish visions throughout the film. I would say Dune might just be his least accessible film to the general public. Dune is the book that was said to be impossible to turn into a film.

TRADEMARKS

Even though all of Lynch’s films are very different, you can still tell you are watching a Lynch film. Lynch loves to have shots of the highway at night, there is something chilling about it whenever that shows up in his films. Most notably the use of that shot in Lost Highway, not sure what it is but the first time I saw that film I did not want to go near a highway at night.

He often uses the works of Roy Orbison in his films; one of the most memorable would be ‘In Dreams’ from Blue Velvet. There is always one character that really stands out, he often uses very strange looking characters, like the cowboy in Mulholland Drive, the midget in Twin Peaks or the lady in the radiator from Eraserhead. One thing I absolutely love about David Lynch’s casting is that he likes to use singers, I find this fascinating and each time he manages to make them all work. The creepiest character would have to be David Bowie in Fire Walk With Me; he still gives me nightmares (on par with the cowboy.)

HIDDEN GEM

Lynch is not exactly a mainstream director, but one film I feel that has gone under the radar would be his most recent film Inland Empire. This film is another example of watching a nightmare, I have only seen this film once and it might be a long time until I am comfortable to watch it again. The film is filled with strange images; the scene where Laura Dern’s character wonders the streets whilst Lynch’s song ‘Ghost Of Love’ plays still haunts me. This film might be Lynch’s longest film, but if you want to be disturbed and scared to the core this is the hidden gem I would recommend.

NEXT PROJECT

While David Lynch does not currently have a full-length feature as director coming soon, he does have a new short film in the works. It is called Lady Blue Shanghai, and as I understand it was filmed in China. The genre falls under that of a mystery and Lynch also wrote the story.

A nameless woman (Marion Cotillard) enters her Shanghai hotel room to find a vintage record playing and a blue Dior purse that seems to come from nowhere. The security guards that search her room find nothing and ask if the bag belongs to an acquaintance. The question reveals to the woman a vision of her traveling to the Pearl Tower and old Shanghai in search of a lost lover who can’t stay with her.

OVERALL 

David Lynch is without a doubt one of my favorite directors; everything about his work is unique, strange, nightmarish and haunting. Every film of his has always stuck with me; they continue to be on my mind even years after I have seen them. When a director can manage to keep a film with you, I do believe he has done something very right. While he might not be the typical director of horror films, his films have a much stronger impact on me than any others. These are the things that true nightmares are made of.