'The Greatest Film of the 21st Century' Also Has One of Cinema's Scariest Moments
I've never really found myself becoming too emotional with celebrity deaths. I obviously will miss those whose work I loved, and I feel for their families, but I obviously don't know these people personally, so I'm not in a position to grieve. Usually the shock of it hits, and then I grow to accept the situation. The opposite happened with legendary director David Lynch.
I was sitting in my film school Media Criticism class when my friend leaned over and told me "David Lynch just died." At that point, I regrettably hadn't seen any of his body of work, and even in that moment, I knew of the enormity of that event. Campus was quiet that day, and in honor of his passing, I decided to watch Blue Velvetfor the first time. I was blown away by the mastery of light and dark Lynch wielded, and the control over the medium he possessed.
Since then, I have watched a good chunk of his films, and watched all of Twin Peaks, which is unequivocally the best TV show ever made. My friends and I binge watched all the way through The Return, when we realized something that stuck with us in a way I still feel today.
We had watched the last episode of Twin Peaks on January 16th -- the one-year anniversary of his death. It was in that moment I felt the totality of his loss. The sheer magnitude of his heart and his artistic vision were gone forever, and that's something that deeply saddens me to this day. No filmmaker has impacted me in the way that David Lynch has. The world is a worse place without his art.
Mulholland Drive
Perhaps the single most celebrated work of his incredible filmography is 2001's Mulholland Drive. The film opened to rapturous critical acclaim, with David Lynch winning Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.
This legacy of critical success lives on today, as the BBC recently ranked Mulholland Drive as the best film of the 21st century. In conjunction, it was also ranked as having one of the scariest scenes in any movie ever.
This is certainly a lot of weight resting on one film's shoulders, so what is Mulholland Drive actually about? What is the story behind this monumental film?
The film follows the story of two women, one, an amnesiac who was the victim of a gruesome car accident, and the other an aspiring actress who attempts to help her recover her memory. I can't really elaborate any further, as the film is both very abstract, as well as one that is best appreciated with as little knowledge as possible.
Mulholland Drive began as a spin off show following one of Twin Peaks' core characters, Audrey Horne. Eventually, the idea morphed into its own story that was also pitched as a TV series. A pilot was shot that is out there for anyone who wants to see it, but it never materialized into a show. Still pursuing the idea, Lynch adapted it into a feature film, and the rest was history.
The scene in question referenced in the BBC list is truly one of the most terrifying things I personally have ever seen in a film. It's best experienced without any knowledge of it, and I can honestly say that Mulholland Drive is nothing short of a masterpiece.
If there's one takeaway here, it's that you should watch the works of David Lynch. I recommend starting with Blue Velvet. I think it's a great entry-level film that introduces you to a lot of the core themes Lynch likes to explore while also being relatively straightforward in its presentation. After that, things will most likely get very weird wherever you go next. Mulholland Drive and Lost Highwayare two of my favorites, and I think everyone should given Twin Peaks a try as well. Lynch was one of the greatest of all time, and he has had a near limitless impact on the art form. The cinema world misses him dearly.
Related: The 1988 Dutch Movie Stanley Kubrick Called 'The Most Terrifying Film He Had Ever Seen'
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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 5:25 PM.