David Lynch, the one-of-a-kind mind behind the acclaimed Twin Peaks, and iconic films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire, was a dreamer in the purest, most exciting sense of the word. He conjured up richly atmospheric visions of the Pacific Northwest that took the mundane and made it mystical—inviting viewers into his ethereal, vibrant, and evocative twilight dream of this region. Lynch died on Thursday at the age of 78, leaving not only an indelible mark on cinema but a legacy in Washington state, too.
In the Pacific Northwest, Lynch built worlds that were eerily familiar and frighteningly strange, bringing whimsy and wonder to the lore that lurks in our dark corners. He was not just one of the greatest American filmmakers to ever live, he was one of our greatest artists. And nowhere were the dreams he shared more mesmerizing and moving than when he graced the region with his camera. In his death, he takes an irreplaceable part of our cinematic history with him. As I write this, with the rain pouring down and the heavens thundering, my mind is dominated by his work.
Forget New York or Los Angeles. Lynch was a lover of Washington, and he truly cared about shooting here. With Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Twin Peaks: The Return, all of which he shot in Washington, Lynch created three distinct yet interconnected portraits of the PNW. The original show, the film, and then the limited series that is now his swan song all represented bold takes on our region, serving as almost alternate realities for what life could be. He began with a sly, surreal subversion of what we’d come to expect when it comes to television, followed it up with one of the most hauntingly devastating yet compassionate films about all-consuming violence, and closed with yet another entirely original work that defied all of our expectations once again as he danced with darkness.
As he and Mark Frost told the story of Laura Palmer and Agent Dale Cooper—played by local actors Sheryl Lee and Kyle MacLachlan—they tapped into a part of the country that most others have and would overlook. He turned a gas station into a liminal space or a portal to another universe we couldn’t even begin to comprehend. He made a typical diner—and its coffee and cherry pie—cinematic icons by recognizing how the texture of the woodsy, soggy setting balances the otherwise cheery space with dread. There could be a sense of play in his craft, but Lynch knew there was also a crushing, overwhelming pain hidden in the remote landscapes.
Lynch carved out a precise, often quietly petrifying, refreshing identity for Washington as we know it. Through his work, he turned the state into a destination that felt like it was teetering on the edge of another plane of existence. Whenever someone uses the phrase “Lynchian” as a descriptor, they are recalling his visions born here.
His powerful impact on the local filmmaking community, and the outpouring of tributes, was a bright spot after his death. Megan Leonard, the local producer/filmmaker who I spoke to last summer about their stellar local horror shorts The Influencer and Dream Creep (the latter of which is currently showing at the Northwest Film Forum) told me how, when she had first seen Mulholland Drive back in film school, she had “watched it twice, back-to-back.” Dream Creep director Carlos A.F. Lopez felt that pull, too, saying he “fully immersed” himself in Lynch’s work “as a young punk growing up in Tukwila.”
“When I was 13, I checked out every Lynch film I could from the library (this was years before I knew about or could get a ride to Scarecrow Video!) and had my whole world flipped over”, says Lopez. “When I was finally able to track down a copy of Eraserhead at a pizza joint that also rented VHS tapes, I was done for. There was proof that another world could be opened up that seemed so intimate and profound and used every element of cinema to take you there. Damnit if he wasn’t the most effortlessly cool and stylish man to yell “Action!”; and, of course, an absolute hair idol. The world is still wild at heart but a little less weird on top without him here.”
To local filmmaker Clyde Petersen, director of the outstanding music documentary Even Hell Has Its Heroes, Lynch’s body of work was something that “extends beyond borders of state, country or even mortal plane,” as his artistry was of “another world, universe or consciousness.” At the same time, there was nobody who has managed to capture our region quite like he did.
“As a person who was born and spent time growing up in those mountains, my experiences always held a level of fear that I've only seen reflected in Twin Peaks. It’s beautiful but also terrifying to be alone in the Cascades. Lynch captured that for the world to see,” Petersen said. “As a filmmaker, the note I took the most from David Lynch’s work is that patience and quiet observation can result in a far more explosive tension than over-the-top fanfare. Even in my favorite Lynch film, Wild at Heart, the patience the couple has to endure to withstand the distance in their relationship exponentially amplifies the release of tension when they are together. I love that.”
If you ever find yourself up in the beautiful North Bend and Snoqualmie area, as many have specifically to experience the world that they saw on screen, you can feel the impact that Lynch has had. He thrived in the setting, but he also redefined its legacy in our collective imagination. There is an unshakeable feeling that if you walk off into the forest too far, you might suddenly find yourself wandering alone in the Red Room.
Yet, much like Washington itself, amidst all the darkness he explored, there was an undying warmth to Lynch. He and the state were an artistic match: capable of creating a feeling that there is a cold, often eerily terrifying, force out there just as we can hold together with those we love to make life tolerable. In all of Twin Peaks, you could always tell how much he cared about people, the connections and this love we share. He famously never explained his art, but there was consistently profound compassion in his work (the emphatic “Fix their hearts or die!” from Twin Peaks: The Return remaining the best example).
Lynch excavated the darker parts of our pocket of the world with both deep care and inescapable power. He not only inspired generations of artists but challenged the form in ways that continue to resonate. He was a filmmaker working through all the agonies and triumphs of life’s tumultuousness, both emotional and spiritual, that remain consistently urgent in an often cruel world. When we try to consider the great American artists, Lynch and his work in Washington will forever be at the forefront of the conversation. He may have left us too soon, but his legacy, and a damn fine cup of coffee, will always remain here.
The Beacon will be holding a special event, David Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange, on January 21, the Grand Cinema in Tacoma will be showing three of David Lynch’s films, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive, from January 24-25, and the Grand Illusion are holding a Red Curtains for the Red Cross: A Benefit for L.A. Wildfire Relief in Memory of Our Favorite Boyscout on January 29 with funds going to American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles.
