Review of Inland Empire (2006) by Alex K — 17 Jun 2009

Damn you David Lynch. Stop fucking with my head! This film is without a doubt the weirdest thing I have ever seen. I used to think movies like Donnie Darko and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas were weird.

Not anymore. I figured out Darko, and Vegas is still weird, but it's no Inland Empire. This film is nonsense. It's cinematic gibberish. It's... brilliant. I prefer Mulholland Drive over this, but they are both incredible films.

The thing that elevates Mulholland over this is that it makes sense, in a way. While I have no idea what goes on in Mulholland Drive, the answer is tangilbe, and just out of reach, but I know it's there.

Inland Empire, however, makes no sense at all, and any attempt to figure it out would only give me a stroke. Regardless, the visuals are phenomonal, and the absurdly cryptic story only makes me want to come back for more.

Also, this film is by far the most frightening thing I have ever seen. Most horror I have seen sucks, but this creeped me out. It's the surrealism, the mystery of what's happening, and the shocking imagery that really scares me.

It may not be a horror film, but I was more afraid during many parts of this film than I ever have been during a movie. That's quite an achievement. This is one of David Lynch's most raw and chilling works, and a masterpiece of the bizzare and the surreal.