We lost one of the world’s most singular talents last week when we lost filmmaker David Lynch. Although Lynch had made only ten feature films, and a handful of television series, he changed both mediums forever. But which David Lynch scenes are the most iconic? Which ones still haunt and disturb us most? With so many scenes burrowed deep into our psyches, it’s hard to pick just ten. But here are the David Lynch scenes that have stuck with us the most over the decades, giving us beautiful dreams and terrible nightmares all at once. Fair warning—we spoil major moments from each film here. If you haven’t seen a particular movie or series mentioned, we suggest skipping that entry.
Peeping From the Closet – Blue Velvet (1986)
“I don’t know if you’re a detective or a pervert.” — Sandy Williams, Blue Velvet
In Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet, amateur college detective Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) thinks he can unravel a local mystery by spying on a woman (Isabella Rossellini), who is a lounge singer with ties to local criminals. Believing she is an accomplice to murder, he hides in her apartment closet to spy on her. He thinks he remains hidden, until she discovers him first. Chaos erupts. What follows is a sustained 12-minute scene of unhinged psychosexual depravity. This scene is even more disturbing when the twisted drug dealer Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) arrives. There’s nothing otherworldly present here, it’s just the perfect encapsulation of Lynch’s vision of America. In Lynch’s mind, it’s a place where the most disturbing acts happen behind closed doors in regular spaces, all in our own neighborhoods.
Agent Cooper’s Red Room Dream – Twin Peaks (1990)
“Let’s Rock!” — The Little Man from Another Place
It’s arguably the signature moment of Twin Peaks, and it came to David Lynch in a vision. Lynch designed the original pilot for Twin Peaks to leave dozens of questions, each leading into a serialized drama. However, the financial backers required a closed ending to sell the film theatrically in Europe. So while touching the warm hood of car one day, images of a room with bright red curtains flashed into Lynch’s brain. His “closed ending” would take place in this otherworldly space, with an older Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), murder victim Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and a mysterious backward-talking person sitting in said room.
This entire sequence was as surreal as it gets, with cryptic words spoken and a truly bizarre dance scene. In the show’s third episode, Lynch recontextualized it as a dream sequence. This dream contained all the clues needed for Cooper to unravel the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. American TV audiences had likely never seen anything so weird in their lives, and it became the water cooler scene of the day. From that moment forward, Twin Peaks was either too weird for you or it fully hooked you in. It’s since been parodied on The Simpsons, Scooby-Doo, and more. But nothing beats how that original scene gets under your skin.
Club Silencio Performance – Mulholland Drive (2001)
“No hay banda! There is no band. It is all an illusion.” — The Magician, Mulholland Drive
Like Twin Peaks’ otherworldly Red Room/Black Lodge, Mulholland Drive’s mysterious Club Silencio is where the narrative of the story shifts from the conscious world into the unconscious world. When aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts) and her amnesiac lover Rita (Laura Harring) wake up in the middle of the night, they suddenly go to a strange theater deep in the heart of Los Angeles. This sparsely populated location, known as Club Silencio, is one where all performances are recorded on tape and lip-synced on stage.
After listening to a heart-wrenching Spanish language cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” by Rebekah del Rio, the women are shaken out of this dream state they’ve been living in. From there, the narrative of the entire film shifts. Was everything we witnessed before Club Silencio merely a dream? Is Club Silencio a dream within a dream? Only Lynch knows for sure. But regardless, it’s a truly haunting moment. Especially with its sinister MC, credited as “The Magician,” guiding us. Add in those eerie blue lights and red curtains (again), and it’s a cinematic moment that stays with you always.
The Lady in the Radiator – Eraserhead (1977)
“In Heaven, everything is fine.” — The Lady in the Radiator
Eraserhead was David Lynch’s first film, after years of making experimental shorts. The movie’s plot, for lack of a better word, centers on Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), a man who must care for his severely deformed newborn child. Much of the movie’s scenes are left open to interpretation, but one of those scenes will never leave you. Slowly driven mad by having to care for his monstrous offspring, Henry imagines a woman with giant cheeks living inside his radiator. Things get truly unsettling when she sings a song that says “In Heaven, everything is fine. You’ve got your good things, and I’ve got mine.” Some fans think the Lady in the Radiator is pushing Henry toward suicide. Whatever it is, it’s hard to get her strange puffy cheeks and that tune out of your head once you’ve heard it.
Buffalo Hunting – Wild at Heart (1990)
“We hunt buffalo now. Can’t wait no more.” – Juana Durango
In Lynch’s Wild at Heart, iconic character actor Harry Dean Stanton plays low-level criminal Johnnie Farragut. A rival for the affections of his girlfriend, the wicked Marietta Fortune (Diane Ladd), hitman Marcello Santos (J.E. Freeman) makes getting rid of him a condition of doing a job for her. Santos ambushes Johnnie and sends him to his sinister associates, Juana Durango (Grace Zabriskie), a voodoo queen from New Orleans, and her bizarre friends Reggie (Calvin Lockhart) and Dark Shadow (David Patrick Kelly).
The trio take him to a secluded location, where they tie him up and torment him, calling it “buffalo hunting.” This scenario ends with Juana getting sexual satisfaction only when Johnnie is shot in the head. It’s pretty twisted stuff, even for Lynch. It’s a true reminder he can do horror better than just about anyone else, even in a non-horror film. Kelly and Zabriskie were both series regulars on Twin Peaks at the same time this film was released in 1990, playing polar opposite characters. This showed Lynch’s ability to find actors with incredible versatility.
Mystery Man Phone Call – Lost Highway (1997)
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?” — The Mystery Man
Lost Highway is perhaps one of Lynch’s most puzzling films. The first half focuses on jazz musician Fred Madison (Bill Pullman), who is perplexed at the series of videotapes of his own house he keeps getting in his mail slot. These tapes show him and his wife (Patricia Arquette) sleeping inside. While at a fancy party, a strange, pale man approaches him, with a simple statement: “We’ve met before, haven’t we?” He then insists that he’s currently in Fred’s house, thus in two places at once. When Fred calls his home, this same “Mystery Man” answers the phone. His demonic laugh afterward is not one you’re likely to forget, nor are his intense and piercing eyes. This scene has a certain meta-creepiness to it all. Mainly thanks to the Mystery Man being played by the future accused murderer, actor Robert Blake. But it was still unforgettably disturbing even before that.
The Darkness Behind Winkie’s – Mulholland Drive (2001)
“I hope that I never see that face, ever, outside of a dream.” — Dan
“I had a dream about this place” says Dan, played by Patrick Fischler. The place in question is Winkie’s, a thinly veiled stand-in for Denny’s, or any average American diner. He met his friend at this Hollywood Winkie’s location to tell him about the awful feeling that there was something (or someone) hiding behind this eatery, and he had to come there and know for sure. As he approaches a dumpster outside the restaurant, Angelo Badalamenti’s score drives the tension up higher with each passing second. Then, a vagrant covered in dirt and tar appears, scaring him so badly he faints (or possibly dies of fright). We’re not sure what this being represents. A burned witch? (the credits list actress, Bonnie Burton as “Burn.”) Our own illogical fear of the unhoused? Whatever it is, it’s undeniably scary as hell. This scene alone almost qualifies Mulholland Drive as a horror film.
The Woodsmen Arrive – Twin Peaks The Return (2017)
“Gotta light?” – The Woodsman
The last major work of David Lynch’s career yielded one of his most memorable scenes of all time. While Twin Peaks: The Return was divisive for some fans, pretty much everyone can agree that Chapter 8 was one for the history books. Literally. A great deal of the episode takes place in the ‘40’s and ‘50s, in a de facto origin story for evil in the Twin Peaks universe. The scene in question goes back to the Trinity nuclear tests in 1945, making this episode something of an Oppenheimer sequel, believe it or not.
In Lynch’s mind, the evil of the first atomic bomb detonation unleashed several dark beings into our world, among them, the sinister BOB, and the unnerving Woodsmen. When the Woodsmen materialize in ‘50s America, it’s literally a scene from a horror film. Emerging from thin air, these filthy, grubby men from another realm murder random citizens with the sound of The Platters playing in the background. But not before asking them if they’ve “Gotta light.” When the lead Woodsmen recites a cryptic poem over radio airwaves, you find yourself hypnotized. There are other amazing parts of this episode in particular (Nine Inch Nails performs!) but the murderous rampage of the Woodsmen is the clear standout moment.
Lipstick Freakout – Wild at Heart (1990)
“I’ve done something real bad.” – Marietta Fortune
David Lynch’s road picture romance Wild at Heart doesn’t get as much attention as it probably should, despite winning Lynch the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage as on-the-run lovers Lula and Sailor Ripley, it’s Dern’s mother, Diane Ladd, who steals the show. She plays Lula’s mother Marietta Fortune, an over-the-top Southern matriarch. And Marietta wants her daughter away from bad boy Sailor more than anything. After realizing that her schemes to ruin her daughter’s love are leading to the death of her boyfriend (Harry Dean Stanton), she has a massive psychotic break. Alone in her bathroom, she applies red lipstick to her entire face. Coupled with Angelo Badalamenti’s music, it’s both weirdly funny and terrifying all at once. This scene of wildly out-there behavior likely earned Diane Ladd her Oscar nomination for the film.
“In Dreams” – Blue Velvet (1986)
“Here’s to your f**k, Frank.” — Ben
Actor Dean Stockwell only has one brief scene in Blue Velvet but he makes the most of every second of screen time. Here he plays Ben, an overly frilly drug dealer who dresses almost like an 18th-century dandy. Holding court in his home of oddballs, drug dealer and domestic abuser Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) comes by, with a kidnapped Jeffrey Beaumont in tow. Ben is the literal opposite of the loud and brash Booth, soft-spoken and precise. But clearly, no less sinister. In this iconic scene, he calms Frank’s rage by grabbing a handheld light, lip-syncing to Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams,” all because Frank demanded “the candy-colored clown,” as if only this performance could soothe his savage beast. It’s bizarre, it’s haunting, it’s inexplicable, and it’s perhaps the signature scene in all of Blue Velvet. We never listened to Roy Orbison the same way again.
The Killer Revealed – Twin Peaks (1990)
“It is happening again.” — The Giant
David Lynch famously didn’t ever want to reveal who the killer of Laura Palmer was in Twin Peaks. In his mind, that mystery was sacred. But thanks to ABC executives, the killer was revealed halfway through season two. In a harrowing episode, we finally discover the truth, when Laura’s father Leland (Ray Wise) possessed by the demonic BOB (Frank Silva) murders her cousin Maddy. This scene was so brutal, it tested the limits of what broadcast TV allowed in 1990. But what makes this scene more than just a horror show? It’s when we immediately cut to the Roadhouse right after. As haunting music plays, Laura’s friends start to uncontrollably cry. It’s as if they’re intuiting the truth of what happened to Laura herself. Lynch might not have wanted the killer revealed but we’re ultimately glad he capitulated because it gave us one of his greatest scenes of all time.
The Pink Room – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
“Don’t expect a turkey dog here” — Laura Palmer
If Twin Peaks the series was all about “Who Killed Laura Palmer,” then the prequel film Fire Walk With Me was all about “Who WAS Laura Palmer?” Finally brought to life by Sheryl Lee (who played her corpse in the series), the film explores 17-year-old Laura’s descent into drug abuse and prostitution in the wake of sexual abuse suffered at the hands of her father, Leland. In this scene, Laura takes her innocent best friend Donna (Moira Kelly) to a mysterious Canadian nightclub called the Pink Room. There, Laura, while on an arranged sex work date with two truckers, meets her seedy drug-dealing friends.
What makes this scene brilliant is the sound design; the droning beats of Angelo Badalamenti’s track “The Pink Room” are so loud, they drown out the dialogue. So Lynch uses subtitles. A perfect cinematic representation of not being able to hear yourself talk at a loud bar. Here, it represents Laura not hearing her own better angels, and she descends further into debauched behavior, taking her best friend down with her. This scene is a perfect example of how Lynch masters sound design as much as visuals, and it’s maybe the stand-out moment in Fire Walk With Me.
