Behind the Couch

“I learned that just beneath the surface there’s another world, and still different worlds as you dig deeper. I knew it as a kid, but I couldn’t find the proof. It was just a kind of feeling. There is goodness in blue skies and flowers, but another force – a wild pain and decay – also accompanies everything.” David Lynch, the artist and filmmaker whose works include Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks  and Mulholland Drive , has died aged 78. His family announced his death on Facebook, saying 'There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, “Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.” It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.'  Lynch was an artist, his abstract canvas extending into film, music and television. His visions are imbued with a deeply haunting, dreamy quality, both wonderful and strange. From his feature debut Eraserhead - his “dream of dark and troubling things” - to the small town horrors of Twin Peak...

It’s that time of the month again to head over to Paracinema.net and check out the latest instalment of Audiodrome . This month I take a look at Angelo Badalamenti’s evocative and moody score for Fire Walk With Me , David Lynch’s dark and disturbing prequel to his cult TV show, Twin Peaks . The film follows the harrowing last seven days in the life of high school home coming queen Laura Palmer, as she descends into a nightmarish abyss of drugs, prostitution and abuse. Fire Walk With Me marked a drastic shift in tone from the beloved series: gone are the cherry pies and damn fine coffees, and all that remains is an unsettling tale of domestic abuse, incest and filicide. Badalamenti’s jazz-based score perfectly immerses us in this strange world, which while dangerous and dark, is not without its moments of abstract beauty. While you’re over at Paracinema’s online lair, why not pick up the latest issue ? It’s really rather good and all the articles address the theme of revenge in...

Head over to Paracinema's online lair to check out my article on the soundtrack of David Lynch's “dream of dark and troubling things”, Eraserhead ; a surreal and nightmarish meditation on the horror of parenthood. "You're in very bad trouble if you won't cooperate..." Why not pick up the latest issue of Paracinema while you’re there? Amongst its lurid delights are articles such as 'Blood Is Thicker Than Fear: Maternal Madness in Horror Cinema'; 'Dreams That You Could Never Guess: Bela Lugosi on Poverty Row, 1940-42' and 'Censoring the Centipede: How the BBFC are Sewing Our Eyes Shut.' All great stuff, written by fans of genre films for  fans of genre films. The following article was published on Paracinema.net on 16th November 2011 Eraserhead – David Lynch And Alan Splet Eraserhead’s ominous soundtrack feels like it could only have been recorded in the urban squalor of a city choked with industrial gloom and consumed by decay...

Fire Walk With Me marked David Lynch’s return to his beloved Twin Peaks ; albeit a return lovers of the series didn’t quite expect. Not only was it a prequel, charting the bleak and disturbing last seven days of Laura Palmer’s life, but it also marked a drastic shift in tone that left many fans out in the cold. Gone were the cherry pies and damn fine coffees, and in their place was a dark tale of domestic abuse, incest and what lurks in the sick, twisted underbelly of small town America. As it serves as an exploration of Laura’s tragic demise, it isn’t surprising that Fire Walk With Me exhibits some of the most poignant, creepy and nightmarishly bizarre moments and imagery from Lynch’s work to date. All set to the strains of one of Angelo Badalamenti’s most evocative and haunting scores yet. We follow Laura (Sheryl Lee) as she descends into an ever hopeless spiral of drugs, prostitution and ritualistic abuse at the hands of those she’s closest to. Throughout the course of the...

Opening with the words ‘David Lynch presents a film by Werner Herzog’; words that automatically instilled fluttering in this particular writer’s heart, My Son My Son What Have Ye Done? is a film that instantly suggests boundless possibilities, high expectations and the promise of something memorable, provocative and left of centre. The question is, does it live up to the promise? Of course it does. However, in true Lynch/Herzog fashion, it does so in unexpected ways that manage to surprise and delight. Head over to Eye for Film to check out my full review...

James, Donna and Maddy gather in Donna’s living room to sing a song . The three are united in their grief over their friend Laura Palmer’s death. Donna realises that James is falling for Maddy, Laura’s cousin, who also bears an uncanny resemblance to Laura. After the song, Donna leaves abruptly and James chases after her. Left alone in the living room, Maddy – who seems to share the same perceptive nature that Laura, and indeed several of the other townsfolk exhibited, and just seems able to sense when something is 'wrong' – feels a dark, creepy presence in the house. Suddenly she sees ‘Bob’ a filthy, lecherous man Laura wrote about in her diary, claiming he abused her and would eventually kill her, slowly appear in the room. He quietly skulks towards her from the other side of the room and we see it all from her point of view as she sits rooted to the spot with fear.   The sight of this dirty, carnal beast-man slowly advancing towards us and crawling over the couch with war...

David Lynch’s beautiful, nightmarish and deeply unsettling Lost Highway contains more than its fair share of intense and disturbing moments. The opening scenes alone are, in my opinion, amongst some of the most uneasy, upsetting and creepy moments of genre cinema. Lynch effortlessly creates such a feeling of anxiety in these opening scenes, and all without anything much really happening. Unhappily married couple Fred and Renee Madison (Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette) blankly wander around their dark and foreboding home. Fred appears to suspect Renee of being unfaithful and she does nothing to alleviate his suspicions. Videotapes containing footage of the outside of their house begin arriving. Eventually one of the tapes contains footage shot inside the house and reveals Fred murdering Renee. A bizarre encounter with a mysterious man at a party flings events further into overtly abstract territory. The mystery man tells Fred they've met before. Where? "At your house, reme...