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Best David Lynch Films and TV Series, Ranked
From industrial noise to surreal soap operas, we rank all of David Lynch’s films and shows.
Jul 07, 2025
Trying to rank David Lynch’s work is like trying to make sense of a dream after waking up. Some parts stick, most of it slips through your fingers, and none of it follows a straight line.
But that’s part of the appeal. Lynch doesn’t do conventional storytelling. He deals in moods and distortions. Lynch’s style blends surrealism with Americana, horror with humor, and sincerity with irony.
Ranking his work isn’t really about plot or polish. It’s about how deeply each piece plunges into that unique Lynchian atmosphere, and how much it lingers in your brain afterward.
Ranking David Lynch’s Films
10. Dune (1984)
Set in a distant future ruled by interstellar noble houses, Dune follows Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan), a young heir prophesied to bring balance to the desert planet Arrakis. There's a galactic power struggle, giant sandworms, mind control, and a whole lot of whispered destiny. Based on Frank Herbert’s novel, it had the scope of Star Wars but lacked the narrative clarity.
Studio meddling took Lynch’s vision and chopped it into something barely coherent. He later disowned the film, and you can see why—what’s on screen feels like someone else poorly interpreting his dreams.
Even as a misfire, Dune demonstrates the importance of creative control. It’s a cautionary tale for filmmakers: if your name’s on it, your vision better be too.
9. Inland Empire (2006)
Laura Dern plays Nikki Grace, an actor whose life starts blending into the cursed film she’s working on. But calling it a “plot” feels generous. Shot entirely on digital video, the film is three hours of fractured timelines, eerie corridors, Polish subplots, and deranged rabbits on a sitcom set.
This one divides even die-hard Lynch fans. It’s dense, chaotic, and hard to love—but impossible to forget. It’s experimental to the core and filmed without a finished script. Maybe that’s why he chose to remaster it.
What this teaches is not how to make a tidy movie, but how to commit. If you’re going to go weird, go all in.
8. The Straight Story (1999)
Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is a 73-year-old man who rides a lawnmower across state lines to visit his ailing brother. That’s it. Just a quiet journey through the rural Midwest.
It’s a total curveball. Released under Disney, rated G, and entirely sincere, this is Lynch proving he can play nice and still knock it out of the park. Farnsworth’s performance is tender without being sentimental, and Lynch lets the landscapes do the heavy lifting. Every cornfield and cloudy sky feels lived in, like it’s been waiting for this story.
This film’s restraint is its lesson. You don’t need surrealism to create emotional weight. Sometimes, a single, well-told story can leave a deeper mark than a hundred dream sequences.
7. Wild at Heart (1990)
Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage) and Lula Fortune (Laura Dern) are two outlaw lovers on the run through a flaming-hot landscape of Elvis songs, Lynchian grotesques, and random Wizard of Oz nods. It’s a road movie lit on fire.
This one won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, though many critics were baffled. It’s violent, erratic, and drenched in a kind of chaotic, horny energy that few directors can wrangle. Lynch mixes rockabilly cool with Freudian nightmare, making the whole thing feel like a comic book drawn during a nervous breakdown.
For creators, Wild at Heart is a case study in tone. It’s messy, but deliberately so. It dares you to push style past the edge and trust the audience to hold on.
6. Lost Highway (1997)
Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is a jazz musician who may or may not have killed his wife. Then he morphs—literally—into another man (Balthazar Getty), living another life. And then things really get weird. The film loops and folds in on itself.
This is where Lynch first dives into his “psychogenic fugue” storytelling—a narrative style where identity splits, timelines bend, and logic gives way to feeling. Cinematographer Peter Deming’s lighting is hypnotic, and the soundtrack (with Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie) turns the whole thing into a haunted mixtape.
The film proves you can build suspense not just through story, but through atmosphere and implication. It’s a reminder that horror doesn’t need jump scares when dread can creep in through lighting, editing, and what isn’t said.
5. Eraserhead (1977)
Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) lives in an industrial wasteland, raising an inhuman baby with his estranged girlfriend. That’s about as much plot as Eraserhead is willing to give.
This is the origin point of Lynch’s style. Funded over several years while Lynch worked odd jobs and lived in a garage, Eraserhead became an underground classic. The oppressive sound design, stark black-and-white visuals, and uncanny performances create a cinematic mood that’s more emotional than logical. Lynch once called it his “most spiritual film.”
This is a must-watch for anyone starting out in film: it’s proof that vision matters more than budget. Lynch, without seeking validation from anyone, created his nightmare using the tools at his disposal.
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
After finding a severed ear in a field, college student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) gets pulled into the dark underworld of his idyllic hometown. He becomes obsessed with lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), whose life is ruled by the terrifying Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).
This is the film that defined the adjective “Lynchian.” It’s a noir wrapped in a horror film wrapped in a soap opera. Hopper’s performance as Frank is genuinely unhinged, and Rossellini delivers a portrait of pain and resilience that’s still hard to watch.
Here’s what you can take from Blue Velvet: duality is powerful. The more perfect something appears on the outside, the more interesting it becomes when you peel back the layers.
3. The Elephant Man (1980)
Based on the real-life story of Joseph Merrick (renamed John in the film), The Elephant Man follows Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) as he discovers Merrick (John Hurt), a man with a facial difference. What unfolds is a tender, tragic, and deeply moving portrait of dignity in the face of cruelty.
This was Lynch’s second film and his leap into mainstream filmmaking. Shot in gorgeous black and white by Freddie Francis, it earned eight Oscar nominations and proved Lynch could handle a traditional narrative without losing his voice.
It’s a reminder that being stylized doesn’t mean being cold. Emotional storytelling, especially when handled with honesty, can cut deeper than surrealism.
2. Mulholland Drive (2001)
An aspiring actress named Betty (Naomi Watts) arrives in L.A. and meets an amnesiac woman (Laura Harring) hiding in her aunt’s apartment. From there, things fracture, and the shiny Hollywood fantasy curdles into a waking nightmare.
Originally shot as a TV pilot and then reworked into a feature film, Mulholland Drive is Lynch’s most elegant fusion of style and substance. Naomi Watts gives a career-defining performance. Cinematographer Peter Deming turns LA into a glowing labyrinth of illusions, and Angelo Badalamenti’s score haunts every scene.
What makes this film essential for creators is its manipulation of perspective. Lynch bends narrative structure until you forget what’s real. Storytelling isn’t just about what happens; it’s about how it feels.
1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Set in the days leading up to her murder, Fire Walk with Me tells the tragic story of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), a small-town homecoming queen hiding unspeakable trauma behind a forced smile. While the Twin Peaks series treated her as a mystery, the film gives her voice, and it’s raw and heartbreaking.
When it premiered at Cannes, people allegedly booed, and critics dismissed it. However, over the years, the film’s reputation has transformed. Today, it’s seen as one of Lynch’s most personal and emotionally intense works. Sheryl Lee’s performance is devastating, and Lynch’s portrayal of abuse, spiritual decay, and identity loss is unflinching.
It’s a tough watch, but a necessary one. For anyone telling stories about trauma or darkness, this is a masterclass in empathy through discomfort.
Ranking David Lynch’s TV Series
4. On the Air (1992)
Created by: Mark Frost with David Lynch
Set in the 1950s television era, On the Air follows a clueless production team as they attempt to broadcast a live variety show. It’s broad, slapstick, and absurd, with characters navigating technical disasters and nonsensical dialogue.
Even die-hard fans struggled with this one. Only three episodes aired in the U.S. before it was yanked. It’s not without charm. There’s a surreal, cartoonish energy, but it lacks the emotional depth or eerie tension of Lynch’s other work.
This series serves as a reminder that not every experiment yields a positive outcome. But the willingness to risk failure is a creative muscle worth exercising.
3. Hotel Room (1993)
Created by: Monty Montgomery with David Lynch
Three episodes. One hotel room. Different decades, different characters. That’s the premise of Hotel Room, an anthology series exploring quiet moments of existential dread. Lynch directed two of the three episodes.
The performances are uneven, and not every episode sticks the landing, but there’s something compelling about the setup. The room never changes, only the people inside it. That claustrophobic format forces the writing and acting to do all the heavy lifting.
For filmmakers, Hotel Room is a study in limitation. You don’t need multiple locations or big budgets to tell a story.
2. Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
Created by: Mark Frost with David Lynch
Twenty-five years after Twin Peaks ended, Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) escapes the Black Lodge and re-enters a world that’s even stranger than before. But this isn’t a nostalgia trip.
The Return plays more like an 18-hour film than a series. Episodes unfold at their own pace, with entire stretches devoted to side characters, dreams, or pure abstraction. Episode 8 is a standalone art piece unlike anything else on TV. It’s polarizing, yes, but also deeply committed to its vision.
What The Return offers is a reminder that long-form storytelling doesn’t have to follow formulas. Structure is malleable. Time is elastic. And if you trust the audience to follow you into the dark, some of them will never want to come back.
1. Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
Created by: Mark Frost with David Lynch
When Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is found dead in the sleepy town of Twin Peaks, FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) arrives to investigate. What he finds is a web of secrets and spiritual horror. It’s part murder mystery, part soap opera, part cosmic riddle.
Twin Peaks changed the television landscape. Before it, serialized weirdness didn’t have a place on network TV. After it, shows like The X-Files, LOST, and The Leftovers followed its blueprint. The show’s aesthetic—red rooms, log ladies, dancing characters with dwarfism—became instantly iconic.
Embrace your weirdness, but ground it in something real. Twin Peaks only works because it cares deeply about its characters.
What Makes Lynch’s Work So Special?
David Lynch never gives you what you expect. He’s also one of the few major directors to completely reject the idea of explaining his work. In Lynch’s world, ambiguity isn’t a bug; it’s the point. That refusal to over-explain has helped his work age better than most.
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