“Eraserhead” (1977)

Despite the initial negative reviews upon its release, David Lynch’s first feature film, “Eraserhead,” has become a cult classic throughout the years and for a good reason. The surrealist film follows new – and unexpecting – father, Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), who is left to care for his abnormal child. What I love most about this movie is how abstract and ambiguous it is. It gives the viewer a lot to think about in terms of connecting the dots.

Through a disturbing and nightmare-ish depiction, “Eraserhead” explores the anxieties and fear of fatherhood. The viewer sees Henry’s internal struggles with free will and responsibility as he finds it difficult to fully grasp onto the new change in his life. Additionally, the black and white cinematography was an excellent choice. Not only did it fit the aesthetic of the film, but it made it feel all the more haunting and colder. I’ll admit that this movie isn’t for everyone, as it can be a bit out there. However, if you’re willing to give more “weird” conceptual films a try and enjoy having room to interpret the story for yourself, “Eraserhead” deserves a watch.
TW: Mature language, mild violence, disturbing imagery
– SI

“Mulholland Drive” (2001)

“Mulholland Drive” is an amazing, dreamlike film. The plot follows aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts), who takes in and helps an amnesiac woman (Laura Harring) after she stumbles into Betty’s aunt’s home as a result of a car crash. However, as the movie continues, you realize that nothing is as neat and tidy as it seems. Taking place in Hollywood, Lynch does an excellent job at paralleling the turmoil between the characters to the dirty reality of Hollywood underneath the dreamy glitz and glamour.

As with all of Lynch’s projects, a viewer would be naive to assume “Mulholland Drive” is upfront with its approach. Throughout the first half of the movie, I kept thinking about how well-done the film was. Yet it somehow got even better by the end, and I simply had to sit there and rethink all the details. In fact, I wanted to immediately rewatch the movie just to look at it from a different perspective. “Mulholland Drive” is truly genius with an abundance of thought and symbolism put into it, and there’s a reason it’s often revered as one of Lynch’s best films.
TW: Strong language, violence, suicide, sexual content, nudity
– SI

“Blue Velvet” (1986)

Controversial for its deranged nature, “Blue Velvet” feels like a crazy fever dream. Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) returns to his hometown after his father has a stroke, only to find a severed ear in a field. Beaumont joins forces with the main detective’s daughter, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), to find out where the ear came from. Through this, he encounters Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), a mysterious and alluring lounge singer who is believed to be connected to the case.

Though all of Lynch’s films have zany elements, I found “Blue Velvet” to be the most bizarre of them all. I admired how Lynch used the differences between Sandy and Dorothy – as well as Beaumont’s interactions with them – to create a juxtaposition of innocence and darkness. It explored the ideas of evil hidden beyond a perfect exterior, corruption and the duality of human nature/desire. The actors bring such raw emotion to the table, which added an unsettling feeling and made the movie frightening in a way. While “Blue Velvet” is a difficult watch due to its subject matter, the approach of these serious themes leaves the viewer with a bigger picture worth contemplating.
TW: Sexual abuse, nudity, mature language, violence, substance use
– SI

“Inland Empire” (2006)

“Inland Empire” lands in a unique space in Lynch’s filmography. It was his last film prior to his death; it was recorded on a Sony camcorder and was shot without a finished screenplay. Quite the surrealist circumstances lead up to this film. “Inland Empire” is about a Hollywood actress named Nikki (Laura Dern) who gets casted to star in a cursed film.

The film feels disjointed, and the dream aspects occur so subtly that you must take a step back to realize that the characters are in a dream, and you didn’t even know. We see Nikki move back and forth between her real life and morphing into the life of this cursed film. This film, in my opinion, is what I consider to be underrated among Lynch’s filmographies. Yet, it’s such a unique experience compared to his other movies for being more out there and having a unique approach in the making of this film – all the while having that twisted nightmare fueled story one would expect from Lynch.
TW: Language, some violence, sexuality/nudity
– DZ

“Lost Highway” (1997)

David Lynch takes the neo noir genre into a male power fantasy driven story. The lighting of this film is grim and foreboding with a very complimentary soundtrack that keeps the edge up through the entire film. It breaks reality and fantasy very well to the point where it feels like you are watching two different films.

The film follows Fred (Bill Pullman) and his hatred of the kind of man he sees himself as. He ends up imagining himself as a different person living a different life where he could make changes as he sees fit. If I had to sum up this movie, it would be a nightmare mafia-esque film done quite well.
TW: Language, violence, sex/nudity
– DZ