David Lynch never actually made a Horror film, but his style is so nightmarish that five titles are scheduled to appear on this list in the Top 500. Like most of his work, Mulholland Drive has the unease of a nightmare with surreal imagery, aggressive sound and a haunting score full of danger and loss. I’ve already written about its greatness for Hollywood365, so I’m going to do the obvious thing now and talk about its one legendary scare.
While the film doesn’t have the nail-biting tension, thrills or violence you often associate with Horror, this is definitely a film of uncomfortably horrific scenes. The diner scene is a perfect example because most of it is a conversation. One man telling another about a nightmare he had the other night. He’s embarrassed to be sharing this, and while he talks the camera floats gently around them. The soundtrack grows silent and then an unusual drone creep in. They are here at this specific diner because of the nightmare and the friend believes the only way to fully release the anxiety is by walking to the dumpster out back and seeing that there is nothing to fear.
What happens makes no sense, but by this point Lynch has wound us up so tight that we share the anxiety generated by the nightmare. If we find emptiness, we’ll be left feeling empty. If there is something, anything at all, we’d be startled. If there is actually something to be afraid of we might just drop dead on the spot.
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