Every David Lynch Movie, Ranked from Best to Worst | Wealth of Geeks

Like all great surrealists, there’s absolutely no one that has as distinct a creative vision as David Lynch. One of the most popular surreal artists in mainstream pop culture today, Lynch’s indelible talents have informed each of his artistic endeavors over the years, be it in the medium of film, television, music, or visual art.

Since his career began in the mid-1960s, Lynch has continued to rank among the most original filmmakers working today, his unique style resulting in numerous unforgettably odd films. From his earliest psychological horror films to his recent work in the 2000s, here is every one of Lynch’s feature-length films, ranked from best to worst.

Mulholland Drive

Having worked in the film industry for the majority of his career, Lynch used his inner knowledge of the business for his 2001 horror film Mulholland Drive. An intense, roving portrayal of the industry at large, Lynch analyzes the subject of dreams in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Through the ethereal atmosphere of Los Angeles, Lynch looks at a wide cast of characters, each trying to make it on their own in La La Land – their dreams of success undercut by the limits of their own talent or the demands of their employers.

Such a breathless examination of the Hollywood system helps Mulholland Drive stand tall not just as the best Lynch film, but also the greatest illustration of Hollywood since Sunset Boulevard.

Blue Velvet

An extraordinarily controversial film upon its release in 1986, Blue Velvet had a difficult time resonating among larger audiences, mostly due to its uncomfortably bizarre nature, violence, and other adult subject matter. As with most of Lynch’s work, though, critical reevaluations have only been more positive with time.

Pointing his lens at small-town suburbia, Lynch shows us all how inherently odd even the most mundane places can be if we look hard enough. Inhabited by gangsters, corrupt cops, and a gas-huffing Dennis Hopper, it’s one of the greatest neo-noir films ever made – a movie Hitchcock himself would’ve piloted if he had been born 40 years later.

Eraserhead

The movie that practically launched the midnight movie phenomenon, Eraserhead was one of the first surrealist movies in mainstream film.

Praised by noted auteurs Mel Brooks and Stanley Kubrick (who named the film one of his favorites, later using it as an influence on The Shining), Lynch managed to combine a threadbare budget with his unique artistic outlook, creating a movie that’s alienating, uncomfortable, and frequently disturbing (in the best way imaginable, of course).

The Elephant Man

Impressed by his breakthrough work on Eraserhead, Mel Brooks promptly hired the young Lynch to spearhead the 1980 film The Elephant Man, a biographical study of Joseph Merrick.

Filmed in startling black-and-white to evoke the feeling of a ‘30s Universal horror movie, Lynch’s tender treatment of Merrick makes The Elephant Man what it is: a personal, hauntingly beautiful portrait of a man wrongfully villainized by society entirely because of his physical appearance.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Universally panned upon its release in 1992, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me’s reputation has only grown more revered with time, transforming in the public consciousness from Lynch’s worst film to his most underrated.

A prequel continuation of the canceled-too-soon Twin Peaks, Fire Walk with Me delves more deeply into surreal territory than Twin Peaks ever did, introducing elements and characters that would play a vital role in 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return.

The Straight Story

It’s interesting to note that one of the most interesting films in Lynch’s body of work is also his most conventional. A radical departure for the surreal-obsessed director, The Straight Story is more closely akin to a feel-good Spielberg or Zemeckis movie, detailing an elderly farmer’s 240-mile journey while riding a John Deere tractor.

It may not be the first movie people think of when they call to mind David Lynch, but it’s easily among his original and affecting movies.

Wild at Heart

David Lynch has always expressed a deep love, artistic interest, and personal infatuation with The Wizard of Oz (for a more in-depth take on this, just check out the new documentary, Lynch/Oz).

Taking plenty of inspiration from the 1939 children’s classic, Lynch sets to work combining Oz with his similarly heartfelt appreciation for Elvis movies in 1990’s Wild at Heart. A road movie that seems like a twisted version of Badlands, the movie has since overcome its initially mixed critical reception, earning significantly warmer reviews in recent years.

Inland Empire

The most recent feature-length film Lynch has made, 2006’s Inland Empire, is impossible to simplify into a brief synopsis. A disparate surrealist film in the same mold as Eraserhead, it’s like the final ten minutes of Mulholland Drive stretched into three hours.

As with most of Lynch’s work, it can be tricky trying to pin down its elusive narrative, but Lynch consistently succeeds at evoking an emotional response – the funny scenes are all funny, the scary scenes all terrifying. When compared to his previous films, though, this one might prove difficult for even the most avid of Lynch’s fans to sit through or decrypt.

Lost Highway

As with most of Lynch’s lesser works, Lost Highway tends to receive a ton of (perhaps warranted) criticism aimed at its plot, with many viewers contending that the film is difficult to fully understand.

However, it can be argued that the movie was an ambitious warm-up for Lynch’s later work on Mulholland Drive or Inland Empire, two films that similarly utilized a disconnected narrative presentation. As with many of Lynch’s movies, Lost Highway has since developed a loyal cult following of fans in more recent years.

Dune (1984)

The fact that Lynch has personally disowned Dune should tell you all you need to know about this 1984 sci-fi film. A significantly watered-down adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic, Dune’s troubled production virtually marred the film from the get-go, resulting in a movie that’s tedious, unevenly-paced, humorless, and as dry as its desert setting.

With his own ambitious plans for the film squashed by the studio, Lynch’s nightmarish experience working on this movie almost certainly informed his take-down of the Hollywood industry in 2001’s Mulholland Drive. (So at least something good came out of this movie.)