“i figured one day i’d just wake up and find out what the hell yesterday was about. i’m not too keen on thinking about tomorrow. and today’s slipping by”
my fifth david lynch film, and by far the one that was the most surreal, and bizarre. i felt like every film before this was almost building up to this completely cinematic mindfuck. i feel like any film from the filmography of david lynch i could give 5 stars (except eraserhead, which is currently at 4.5, but you know). but inland empire just felt like pure lynch, an un compromised artistic vision that rejects any kind of standard narrative, and instead basically replicating a dream, or more a nightmare. it goes from one terrifying thing to another, using atmospheric horror to create the real essence of night terrors, constantly shifting, highly bizarre, and truly frightening. it is one of the most effective horror films ever made, relying on persistent dread, close-ups and just general horrifying scenarios. laura dern is incredible here - she portrays the protagonist, an actress who gets cast on a ‘cursed’ movie, her role and her life blur into one, and she truly just feels in constant unease, and never know if she’s truly there or not. she shifts from a housewife, prostitute and the viewer never really knows if scenes are real, or part of the movie they were creating. with that being said, it is a meta-horror experience, that’s one of the best of its kind, as like i said before, you truly don’t know what’s real, and what isn’t. one massive theme throughout this is ‘a woman in trouble’ - and this can be seen through laura derns devastatingly emotional performance, and also the showcase of how hollywood dehumanises and consumes the talent of women. the low-quality, grainy camera put me off at first: but as the movie gradually passes, it just fits the movie more and more, and is honestly quite enchanting. it captures the obscured, confusing elements of dreams, and also allows your mind to go to the darkest areas of your subconscious. this is david lynch without studio involvement, definitely not to the taste of everyone, but just so nightmarish, and endlessly surreal. definitely his most innovative work, and perhaps one of his most memorable, and will probably stick with me forever.
“i figured one day i’d just wake up and find out what the hell yesterday was about. i’m not too keen on thinking about tomorrow. and today’s slipping by”
my fifth david lynch film, and by far the one that was the most surreal, and bizarre. i felt like every film before this was almost building up to this completely cinematic mindfuck. i feel like any film from the filmography of david lynch i could give 5 stars (except eraserhead, which is currently at 4.5, but you know). but inland empire just felt like pure lynch, an un compromised artistic vision that rejects any kind of standard narrative, and instead basically replicating a dream, or more a nightmare. it goes from one terrifying thing to another, using atmospheric horror to create the real essence of night terrors, constantly shifting, highly bizarre, and truly frightening. it is one of the most effective horror films ever made, relying on persistent dread, close-ups and just general horrifying scenarios. laura dern is incredible here - she portrays the protagonist, an actress who gets cast on a ‘cursed’ movie, her role and her life blur into one, and she truly just feels in constant unease, and never know if she’s truly there or not. she shifts from a housewife, prostitute and the viewer never really knows if scenes are real, or part of the movie they were creating. with that being said, it is a meta-horror experience, that’s one of the best of its kind, as like i said before, you truly don’t know what’s real, and what isn’t. one massive theme throughout this is ‘a woman in trouble’ - and this can be seen through laura derns devastatingly emotional performance, and also the showcase of how hollywood dehumanises and consumes the talent of women. the low-quality, grainy camera put me off at first: but as the movie gradually passes, it just fits the movie more and more, and is honestly quite enchanting. it captures the obscured, confusing elements of dreams, and also allows your mind to go to the darkest areas of your subconscious. this is david lynch without studio involvement, definitely not to the taste of everyone, but just so nightmarish, and endlessly surreal. definitely his most innovative work, and perhaps one of his most memorable, and will probably stick with me forever.
