Even if you haven’t seen a David Lynch movie, you’ve seen his influence somewhere. The director’s disturbing portrayal of small-town America, dreamlike storytelling, red curtains in liminal spaces, and themes of the subconscious and its relation to the strange world outside it have influenced the work of auteurs worldwide. His movies can be surreal, horrifying, and even enlightening, but they still maintain that unique edge that makes something Lynchian. His style can be hard to explain but is immediately recognizable from a single frame. His experiments with purposeful lighting, harsh sound design, and offbeat dialogue create a specific mood that only he could evoke.
It was announced that David Lynch passed away following a battle with emphysema on January 16th, 2025, just four days shy of his 79th birthday.
Lynch was known for being uncompromising with his work, but he still garnered praise from those who worked with him. His movies had never found box office success, but they did meet critical acclaim. He was the recipient of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and even a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars— all while producing the unique art that pushed the boundaries of conventional filmmaking.
He released ten films from 1977 to 2006, but if there’s one thing he’s most well known for, it’s his hit mystery series Twin Peaks with co-creator Mark Frost. Combining his surrealist motifs with a more conventional soap opera style, Twin Peaks quickly became the hottest show of 1990, scoring massive ratings with its feature-length pilot and popular first season. The quirky cast, its somber yet eerie aesthetic, the dark murder mystery at the heart of it all, and the hints of profound evil just below the surface proved to be a success and led to a season 2. After studio meddling, however, the series began to tank in viewership numbers before being canceled altogether. Nevertheless, the series developed a cult following among its fans, including in foreign nations such as Japan.
Twenty-five years following its failed prequel Fire Walk With Me, Twin Peaks made its return. The aptly named Twin Peaks: The Return functioned as the third season of the show and explored themes of time, identity, dreams, and small-town America once more, this time under the lens of the prestige TV where the cozy soap opera once was. The prestige TV era pushed the boundaries of what was considered conventional TV, embedding mature themes, higher quality production, and a level of seriousness with which traditional TV was unfamiliar. It was developed through the lasting influence of Twin Peaks’s initial run and proved that experimental cinema can elevate the average show into something greater than itself, a testament to Lynch’s vision. The revival dove headfirst into the darkness only suggested in the show’s original run, being some of Lynch’s most daring and experimental work to date. It would be marked as the last full-length project completed by the director during his lifetime.
The influence created by the show and his other movies would prove to be long-lasting. The existential body horror of 1977’s Eraserhead cemented itself as a cult classic and it, along with the small-town noir journey into depravity found in Blue Velvet (1986), would come to define his aesthetic for the rest of his career. That aesthetic became regarded by many film scholars as “Lynchian,” and artists from different walks of life, musicians, painters, video game designers, and more would seek to adapt parts of his style into their own work. The confrontational industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails (with whom Lynch collaborated over the years) owes a great deal to Lynch’s atmospheric brand of audio terror. Even major artists such as Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd have praised his work before, citing its enigmatic nature. Games like Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid share connections with him, blending atmosphere with dread straight out of one of his films. Furthermore, he almost single-handedly brought surrealism to the masses and encouraged a new wave of directors to innovate in the fields of movies and TV.
“As a sophomore, a good friend introduced me to the brilliant work of David Lynch,” said senior Joanna Ascher, the former president of Fort’s Filmmaking Club. “It was like nothing I had experienced before, opening my eyes to another realm of filmmaking full of experimentalism, oddities, and style. Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive quickly became my favorites.”
Ascher founded the Filmmaking Club in 2022, holding festivals and encouraging students to embrace their passion for movies. She’s been involved in developing a Fort Hamilton production team, something that might not have been possible without Lynch’s influence.
“I have become a more well-rounded filmmaker and thinker as a result of Lynch’s work, embracing my artistic quirks and seemingly outlandish ideas to capture what feels true,” she said. “With the loss of this legend, the next generation of filmmakers and artists like myself must honor Lynch’s legacy by continuing to think outside of the box, and creating based on what feels right over what society deems right.”
Despite all the darkness in his work, there was always a proverbial light that illuminated it: the Radiator Lady in Eraserhead, the robins in Blue Velvet, and even Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks. For every moment of unfathomable evil, there remained an ounce of love or hope in contrast. The juxtaposition between light and darkness epitomized Lynch’s work. Despite the challenging nature of his upbringing, he continued making art as unique as him and creating movies that have remained unforgettable to this day.
