Lynchian explorations

Filmmaker David Lynch, who died Jan. 15, guided viewers into territories beautifully dreamy, then to dreamlike darkness, then to a place of grotesque terror and back again.

A critical darling since his debut film, “Eraserhead” (1977), he left a body of work with enough similarities to establish a signature style but with plenty of variety. Jumping into his work blind can be jarring, so let me be your guide.

“Blue Velvet” (1986) contains most of what Lynch is well known for, at least in the first half of his career. It’s a safe bet for any viewer exploring the Lynch oeuvre. Set in an idyllic 1950s-esque town, it follows Jeffrey (Kyle Maclachlan) as he returns home from college after his father is hospitalized. Walking home one afternoon, he finds a severed human ear, which he turns in to the police. Not content to leave the incident to the police, Jeffrey begins his own haphazard investigation that leads him to the underbelly of his hometown as he’s torn between the innocent police chief’s daughter (Laura Dern) and a nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) caught in the web of a nefarious psychopath (Dennis Hopper).

Lynch expanded on the dark side of double lives and desire in a small town with the television show “Twin Peaks,” which premiered on ABC in 1990. Originally intended as a miniseries, the show’s immediate popularity led to its expansion into a series. Though it lasted just two seasons, its impact on popular culture was, and continues to be, massive.

For the casually Lynch-curious, “Twin Peaks” might be too big a commitment, especially with its wild tonal shifts that go from lovable soap opera campiness to darkly surreal to intensely sad — all within the same episode. The pilot episode is at least worth a watch and will give viewers an idea of whether “Twin Peaks” is for them.

The “Twin Peaks” universe continued after the show’s initial two-season run, though these aren’t ideal starting places. The prequel film, “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” follows Laura Palmer, the murdered teen from the original series, in the final week of her life. Naturally, there are spoilers for the show’s first two seasons. “Twin Peaks: The Return” is a continuation of the show’s original story and is essentially set in real time after the show ended in 1991. Fans of the show’s small-town friendliness likely will be thrown off, as “The Return” is more similar to Lynch’s work after “Twin Peaks.”

For many years, it seemed “Blue Velvet” would reign as his best known film, but “Mulholland Drive” (2001) usurped that reputation. In it, he perfected his narrative thesis on the duality of human nature and the ways people live with the destruction their dark desires sow. “Mulholland Drive” isn’t a bad starting place for the Lynch-curious, either, but it’s more abstract than “Blue Velvet.” If I’m curating a David Lynch film festival for you, dear reader (and I am), then I’d say to watch this one second or third, after “Blue Velvet” and the “Twin Peaks” pilot.

Once you’ve seen these three, you’ll have a good idea of what Lynch is best known for. He did direct some more traditional fare, though calling it “traditional” isn’t entirely fair to him — or to an unsuspecting audience.

“The Elephant Man” (1980), “Dune” (1984) and “The Straight Story” (1999) don’t directly contain the same surreal stylings or thematic fixations Lynch is known for but are still very much his films (though much less so for “Dune,” a film from which he had his name removed as director and which lead him to never give up approval on the final version of a film again).

For those who already have ventured through Lynch’s cinematic works, there’s more to discover in his photographic works, music albums and animations for his website in the early 2000s, as well as his daily weather report videos on YouTube produced during the pandemic. Last January, I dedicated this column to media influenced by and with similarities to Lynch’s body of work: bit.ly/lynchalikes. !

Lynch watchlist for the total newbie:

“Blue Velvet” (1985) — You can attend a screening of “Blue Velvet” at7 p.m. Sunday at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in Moscow.

“Twin Peaks,” pilot episode (1990)

“Mulholland Drive” (2001)

Recommended for those who’ve already seen some or all of the above:

“Eraserhead” (1977)

“Wild at Heart” (1990)

“Lost Highway” (1997)

Thompson, VHS.D., holds a doctorate of cult media in pop culture from University of Maine at Castle Rock. He delivers lectures on movies and other pop culture topics under the moniker Professor VHS. Find him on Instagram as @professorvhs and find more of his work at professorvhs.substack.com.