• the217
• Movies + TV
• Mulholland Drive

I'm not a big fan of David Lynch. Sure, there have been movies of his that I've enjoyed (Blue Velvet), but he's also made some confounding work (Eraserhead). But, despite his pretentiousness and lack of storytelling abilities, the man can truly put together some fantastic scenes. This scene, from Mulholland Drive, is no different, and is sure to terrify you.

The scene begins with two men in a diner, with one of the men telling the other a dream he had the night before. In the dream, they are at the exact diner they're eating at in reality, only there is an evil looking man out in the parking lot behind the diner, who the dreaming man can see through the walls. Then in reality, the two go out to the parking lot to investigate, and what happens is sure to scare you.

Confused? My description can't do the scene justice, as it is truly something you need to see to understand.

What is so wonderful about this scene is the pacing. When the duo walk out of the diner, the camera movement slows considerably. The editing intercuts reaction shots of the two men as they walk, along with what they're seeing as they walk closer and closer to the back of the diner. It's almost Hitchcockian in execution. Add in the menacing music, and you'll be biting your nails off.

A friend of mine and I were discussing Mulholland Drive one time, and he told me that he believes this scene to be the scariest in all of film history. That's hyperbole in my opinion, but he's not too far off.