My Horror Icon: David Lynch

David Lynch is a director, musician, writer, and more with such a strong vision his last name is, at this point, a noun. Calling a film, show, or piece of music “Lynchian” conjures a specific atmosphere in the audiences’ mind. His surrealistic, dreamy works veer between mundane events, goofy comedy, domestic horror, dark fantasies, and bizarre imagery. While his works may not feel as horror filled as those directed by Argento, Cronenberg, Craven, Raimi, or Romero and even modern folks like Rose Glass or Jordan Peele, Lynch’s works feel worthy of inclusion to me at least!

Lynch seems to be an exacting director, but one people continue to work with, as seen with how many performers repeatedly show up in his works. The themes he often touches on have always resonated with me as suburban gothic. He often focuses on how the small towns in the US hide the dark side of American individualism, greed, and abuse. He also seems to focus on the dark realities and cynical outlooks people get when working with Hollywood. Other beloved horror IPs, like the Silent Hill game franchise, took inspiration from several of his works.

Twin Peaks (Original Run, Fire Walk with Me, and The Return)

Twin Peaks is probably one of Lynch’s most popular works, but it’s not just his own. Through the collaboration of Lynch and Mark Frost, the series takes on its own blend of these two creators’ interests. You can feel both of their hands guiding the storyline at times. Lynch’s love of transcendental meditation and adoration of the central figure of the story as well as Frost’s fondness for esoteric beliefs like theophany bred wonderfully quirky, sometimes heartfelt or horrifying series. Some scenes from each entry are burned into my brain, the most standout ones being Laura’s realization of BOB’s identity and the “wash your hands” scene in FWWM.

It was famous when airing for being a “watercooler” show where people would try to figure out the mystery of “Who Killed Laura Palmer”. The series follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper as he investigates the death of the wonderfully complex Laura Palmer. The series was fraught with production issues and squabbles behind the scenes that somehow all make it more magical. The prequel film, Fire Walk with Me, is probably my favorite entry in the Twin Peaks universe but there are so many amazing moments in the original run as well as The Return.

The series is a hard look at the face of domestic abuse and how a death can reveal how rotten a town has become due to human evil. While there are supernatural beings at play, Fire Walk with Me firmly laid the worst of the abuse at the hands of humans, suggesting that those saying “the Devil made me do it” were giddily assisting him or using him as an excuse. One thing I loved is that Lynch almost refuses to do fan service in each subsequent entry of Twin Peaks, testing his audience but never in a way that feels truly cruel or like he hates us.

Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet follows Jeffrey Beaumont undertaking a foolish, boyish fantasy of solving a crime. While he succeeds somewhat, he realizes his “normal” town is filled with seedy, violent criminals and must face his own darker impulses. Perhaps Lumberton is just another town in the world of Twin Peaks, but it is another example of how Lynch wants to show the rotting, bug-filled underside of the white picket fence world. Blue Velvet pays tribute to noir films and is simply beautiful to watch. Laura Dern’s entrance as Sandy is always so dramatic and highlights her role as the “light feminine, good girl next door” compared to the “dark feminine, dangerously alluring” Dorothy. That said, Dorothy, while being portrayed as very sexual, is also shown in a compassionate light. Lashing out and unhinged due to the extreme situation she has found herself in. I love how both women are both attracted to and wary of Jeffrey.

I also enjoyed how both Dale and Jeffrey are presented as earnest heroes and flawed men. They have more in common than just being portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan. Sandy was right when she wondered if Jeffrey was a detective or pervert. These men both assume they are the white knight, but often fail to accept or even acknowledge why they feel compelled to rescue Laura or Dorothy and how they themselves harm women. They are trying to be “good men” but are stuck in rigid, traditional ideas of what that means.

All together though, this film has one of Lynch’s most positive endings. Things will never be perfect and the hidden grotesquerie in any small town will always remain, but the robins have returned and maybe we can eliminate some of the problems.

Mulholland Drive

Famous to some purely for the fanservice, there is something incredibly raw and moving about the strange, surreal world of Mulholland Drive. Mulholland Drive is a wild, dreamy ride filled with demanding studios exerting control over directors, the mysterious man behind Winkies, doppelgangers, love, murder, and pettiness. Lynch weaves many themes and seemingly disparate plots together to write a toxic love letter to Hollywood. If you have yet to see the film, I cannot recommend it enough for the ride you go on. Is it creepy and exploitative? Is it calling out the exploitative nature of the film industry? Or simply trying to show how destructive desire itself can be? Is it that even the most surreal dreams can impact reality? While I don’t think the story is incomprehensible by any means, there are so many moving pieces to the film it is hard to even discuss it without spoilers or getting into heavy theorizing and speculations.

One of my favorite things in the film is Naomi Watts’s performance. This role was her big breakthrough in Hollywood and it truly is a masterclass. She effortlessly plays a wide-eyed, hopeful actress as well as the jaded, vengeful woman who’s been through the ringer. I think it is one of my most favorite performances in film and it is wild she won little awards for it. It did make her a bigger name though, leading to her continuing to work in the industry and starring in my personal favorite J-Horror adaptation.

Many have tried to divine the meaning of this film and exactly what Lynch is trying to say. I feel like this is sort of missing the point of the film (as well as his other works). It is simply meant to be experienced and to get you thinking. In my opinion, no one interpretation is correct and folks who claim to have “figured it out” are forcing their interpretations onto others. My own ideas may not mesh with your own or others and I think that is part of the fun.

Conclusion

Lynch’s other films like Eraserhead, Inland Empire, and Lost Highway also have deeply empathetic and horrifying stories within, but the three I listed resonated with me the most. You can find Lynch making weather reports or working on music these days. He recently was very honest about his health issues with emphysema but has reaffirmed he has no plans to retire. You can follow him on Twitter, @DAVID_LYNCH, or watch some of his weather reports and other musings on David Lynch Theater on YouTube by clicking the link. No matter which one you decide to watch, it is a guarantee that you are going to end up on a journey both wonderful and strange when you cue up on of Lynch’s works!

By Dee

Twitter @Sirenofscience