Every time I watch Inland Empire, it makes a little bit more sense. Unfortunately for me however, all that sense added together still doesn't really amount to much. I've watched some pretty weird stuff in my time studying film, but this is definitely one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. Even by David Lynch standards it's pretty out there. I won't even try to summarize the plot because about an hour into the movie the main character basically has a psychotic break and the rest of it as a whole is nonsensical and incredibly messed up. There are some things that make sense, some motifs that are seen throughout the movie and a few somewhat cohesive subplots but for the majority of the movie the audience is completely confused. Riveted by the masterful and imaginative filmmaking and blown away by Laura Dern's unrelentingly brilliant performance, but still, confused.
I don't even know if this is a horror movie. I have no clue because it's impossible to tell what Lynch is trying to say here, and to be honest it doesn't really matter. Inland Empire is scary so that makes it worthy of Horror Month. The main element of this film that makes is scary is the fact that it's completely and utterly unpredictable. It's literally impossible to figure out what's going to happen next, because when you're watching this movie you are inside David Lynch's messed up (but oh so brilliant) brain. Tension is built up for nothing to happen, or not built up and then something happens. People say totally unexpected or nonsensical things. A lot of sequences have this low droning sound in the background, kind of like being in a sealed place like an airplane or car. It's deeply unsettling, and it works well with the cinematography to keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Lynch uses a ton of extreme closeups on faces, it's so warped because you never know if they're going to abruptly start screaming or whatever. There's a lot of camera filters and tricks he uses as well, one of the most impressive of which is his use of focus, bringing things into clear focus at just the right time or blurring certain screen elements out. There's all kinds of insane lighting too, strobes are used quite a bit and bright spotlights as well. It's just incredibly creative technically, Lynch's experimental and straight up crazy plot works well with his unconventional lighting and camerawork. I mean, just LOOK at this (or don't, I wouldn't if I were you) or even more messed up, THIS (for the love of God don't watch that clip). Crazy. No wonder Lynch hasn't made any movies since this came out, I don't know if it even gets more insane than Inland Empire.
It's a masterpiece though, and one of the most original movies I've ever seen.
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