Review of Lost Highway (1997) by Spangle — 19 Jan 2017

Lost Highway is as divisive as any other David Lynch film amongst critics and audience members alike. A confusing and convoluted film, Lost Highway's true interpretation is as hard to pin down as any other Lynch film, though it is perhaps a bit more accessible than, say, Mulholland Dr. In essence, Lost Highway is a film about the underbelly of society. Porn, sex, murder, and temptations abound in David Lynch's mesmerizing tale of a man who has opened his home to Satan and cannot get him out of his place. Told in the only way Lynch knows how - confusingly - Lost Highway can be off-putting, but for those willing to get swept up in its whirlwind, it is more than satisfying.

Satan has entered the home of the Madisons. This much is clear. If the suggestions in the beginning of the film that Renee Madison (Patricia Arquette) was different and not like herself, the conversation between Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) and the mystery man (Robert Blake) cement it. Telling Fred that this mystery man is in his home and also showing that he is the source of the videotapes they have received hinting at Fred murdering Renee, it becomes clear that Satan has a hold on this family. How did he get into the home of Madisons? Via Renee. Just as Eve is the reason sin entered the world after she bit the apple from the tree of knowledge, Renee is a sex worker and porn star. By engaging in these sins and keeping the company of Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent (Robert Loggia), who has clearly sold his soul for money and fame, Renee allowed Satan into the home of her and her husband. Once this happens, Satan lets himself into the home and toys with the Madison's and messes with the mind of Fred. Sending him to jail and then dumping him briefly into the body of Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty), Satan has his way with the Madison's, but ultimately gets his reward: their souls. Helping Fred kill Dick Laurent and welcoming Renee's nude body into his previously burning cabin, the Madison's souls are no longer their own. The transaction is, of course, orchestrated by Renee who says that the man who lives in the cabin will help her and her lover disappear.

Sin engulfs the entirety of this film with the porn tape between Renee and various people playing throughout much of the final half hour of the film. People are murdered or driven off the road by men like Mr. Eddy or they engage in a variety of other sins throughout the film. This indulgence and embrace of the underbelly of society wreaks havoc on the family unit and destroys it thoroughly. In many ways, Lost Highway crafts an ode to films such as Rosemary's Baby or a companion piece to fellow 1997 release The Devil's Advocate. All show the temptation of sin and the potential rewards of selling your soul, but they always come in this world. Once it is over, the fire rages all around (as it does in the Madison's fireplace and in the cabin) and nothing but the gnashing of teeth remains. This film and the others show the aftermath of this and the pain, strife, and threat posed to our lives if we allow Satan in via our own sinful tendencies.

A thoroughly hypnotic and freak experience, Lost Highway features a lot of similar traits to Lynch's works, namely wooden acting and weird people. Pullman and Arquette are terrific, however, and portray these sort of alien and confused people unaware of what hell their actions have awakened. The film is often stolen by Robert Blake, however, as the mystery man whose always looming presence is terrifying and thoroughly unsettling from beginning to end. Robert Loggia is also great in a truly intense and angry performance, instilling great fear and presence whenever he appears on the screen.

Lost Highway is a divisive film, but is an equally horrifying one that really feels Lynchian from beginning to end. A parable on the dangers of giving into temptation and making deals with the devil for success on Earth, the film is hypnotic, mesmerizing, and perverse. Yet, it is also brilliant and a truly surreal experience as with all of his works. Nobody makes unique films like David Lynch and every single one of his films continues to defy expectations and pre-conceived notions about the film.