Lynch’s feature-length prequel to his ‘Twin Peaks’ series is a psychedelic head trip into the lower rungs of hell, backed by an extraordinary if unexpectedly emotional performance from Sheryl Lee, as the narrative traces the final days leading up to her character’s demise.
Largely critically-derided when first released, this violent and erotic nightmare gleefully explores male guilt and fantasy, one that now makes so much sense in Lynch’s terrorising world of weird-ass folks with weird-ass obsessions.
Spectral, hallucinatory images abound as Lynch boldly and abstractly experiments with digital video in what could be his most nightmarish and impenetrable odyssey into the dark recesses of the mind since 1977’s Eraserhead.
Arguably David Lynch’s magnum opus, this is the cinematic equivalent of the ultimate Rubik’s cube – mysterious, unsolvable, haunting and a psycho-emotionally shattering experience.
Lynch’s masterpiece is a surreal experience complete with sensational performances, a disturbing film that portrays the moral rot that comes with the American Dream.
This could be Lynch’s most enduring film – an emotionally-resonating and psychologically-rich work about discrimination and compassion based on the true story of a horribly disfigured man.
Lynch’s delirious Palme d’Or-winning film starts very strongly but peters out as an incoherent if still fun, violent and erotic lovers-on-the-road movie.
Outstanding feature debut by David Lynch, this is as nightmarish and surreal as they come.
Eternality Tan 