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The late film director David Lynch has left behind an extraordinary body of work that contained some of the most compelling villains ever seen across films and television. While Lynch was always a good-natured, upbeat, and likable figure in real life, the truth was his work contained a litany of depraved figures that got to the very heart of mankind’s capacity for darkness. Lynch’s best films contain glimpses into alternate realities and capture something essential about the surreal nature of dreams and existence, yet also feature villains who make viewers’ skin crawl.
Some of the best villains of all time appeared in Lynch’s work, as his ability to capture both the light and dark of the human psyche meant he was one of the few avant-garde filmmakers who managed to leave an undeniable imprint on mainstream popular culture. Whether it was through depraved gangsters, otherworldly entities, or cryptic creations, Lynch’s villains were some of his most compelling and memorable characters. As one of the best directors who ever lived, now is the perfect time to look back on Lynch’s incredible talent for creating unforgettable antagonists.
10
Leland Palmer
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
While audiences were first introduced to Leland Palmer as an eccentric mourning father in the pilot episode of Twin Peaks, he was revealed to be far more sinister as the mythology of this series slowly revealed itself. With a career-defining performance from Ray Wise, Leland was central to the mystery of Laura’s death as his horrific actions paired unspeakable sexual abuse with the supernatural evil of the malevolent interdimensional entity Bob. While the line between where Leland ended and where Bob began was blurred, the prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me showcased Leland as a despicable villain.
Although Leland may have been possessed by a force of pure evil, this did not eliminate the fact that he subjected his daughter to sexual and verbal abuse for years and was the source of much of her trauma. Leland’s strange and eccentric behavior throughout Twin Peaks made more sense with the extra information provided in Fire Walk with Me, as he was plagued by guilt at the passive way he allowed a monstrous evil to take control of him.
9
Mr. Bytes
The Elephant Man (1980)
As one of the few David Lynch films that was based on a true story, the hardships faced by John Merrick in The Elephant Man were inspired by the real experiences of a severely deformed Victorian man. While the film was famous for the empathetic way it told Merrick’s story, the villainous ringmaster, Mr. Bytes, still remains one of Lynch’s most hateful villains. As the leader of an evil East End freak show, Mr. Bytes was the man who put Merrick on display for all the world to gawk and point at.
As a brutish man who refused to see the extraordinary humanity buried within Merrick’s soul, Mr. Bytes forced him to wear a bag over his head and viewed him as having an intelligence far below his actual ability. While the surgeon Frederick Treves thankfully paid to have Merrick freed from his prison-like captivity, this did not undo the years of trauma he had caused. As a sadistic and exploitative man, Mr. Bytes represented some of the worst aspects of mankind’s capacity for cruelty.
8
Mystery Man
Lost Highway (1997)
Lost Highway is one of David Lynch’s most cryptic and underrated films and features one of his most mystifying villains, The Mystery Man. This ominous, specter-like figure haunts the narrative of Lost Highway and seems to be the only person who is aware that the two protagonists, Fred Madison and Pete Dayton, are actually one another’s doppelgängers. The idea of doubling and people acting as mirror images of one another is seen throughout Lynch’s work, and the Mystery Man appears to have some extra connection to the subliminal and surreal realm of symbols within Lost Highway.
As his name suggests, very little is known about the Mystery Man, although his body language and interactions indicate he’s not quite human. As a sadistic entity who enjoys playing mind games with Fred and Pete, his calm and calculated cruelty adds a menacing air to the dreamlike occurrence that saw this musician inexplicably replaced with a young mechanic. Like the best Lynch villains, the Mystery Man can not be fully explained, although that makes him no less compelling.
7
Mr. C
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
While David Lynch fans were ecstatic to learn about Twin Peaks long-awaited third season with the release of The Return in 2017, many were surprised to see Kyle MacLachlan portraying a version of Dale Cooper who was totally different than the upbeat, coffee-loving FBI agent they knew years before. Instead, Twin Peaks continued on from its season two finale to show Cooper possessed by a cold and ruthless being who came from the Black Lodge. As a spirit who had inhabited Cooper’s body for 25 years, this malicious doppelgänger ran rampant on Earth and committed hateful crimes.
With shoulder-length hair, a leather jacket, and a bad attitude, this doppelgänger was known as Mr. C and aimed to find the mythological entity and powerful negative force known as Judy. However, Mr. C also needed to evade the real Cooper, who had returned in the form of a manufactured man named Dougie Jones. These overlapping roles gave MacLachlan a lot to do in The Return, and Mr. C was a rare opportunity for the likable actor to show off his nastier side.
6
The Phantom
Inland Empire (2006)
Much like the Mystery Man in Lost Highway, the Phantom in Inland Empire is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Played by Krzysztof Majchrzak, the Phantom’s supernatural powers include mind control, as they exert a huge amount of influence over all the strange happenings in this surreal, experimental, psychological thriller. With a dark backstory, the Phantom is bitter over an affair that occurred long ago and uses its powers to force others to recreate this traumatic scenario.
As a hypnotist who worked in the circus before mysteriously disappearing, the Phantom continues to hold their former wife prisoner and seems intent on ensuring others are hurt by the pain they still carry. As a powerful symbol of the destructive nature of unaddressed emotional issues, the Phantom was just one of many examples in Lynch’s work of deeply psychological archetypes that represent humanity’s need for compassion for one another.
5
Bum
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Despite only making brief appearances in David Lynch’s 21st-century masterpiece Mulholland Drive, the character simply credited as Bum remains one of his strangest and most memorable. A figure that exists in both dreams and reality, the Bum was played by Bonnie Aarons and had an unkempt and haphazard presentation that was truly jarring. With an ability to scare not only audience members but also unsuspecting characters in the film, the Bum was a darkly villainous and unpredictable aspect of Mulholland Drive.
Like in so many other Lynch films, the true purpose behind the Bum never gets a definitive answer but only makes his frightful nature all the more haunting, although his presentation tapped into the film’s themes of fear of the unconscious. As a presence that can appear at any moment, Lynch might have had more plans for the Bum in the original TV series vision of Mulholland Drive, yet the limited screentime he maintained was just another intriguing aspect of this all-time great film.
4
Bobby Peru
Wild at Heart (1990)
David Lynch delivered his own take on the couple on the run genre with Wild at Heart, a genre-bending crime thriller starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. With plenty of cunning criminal characters, the most intriguing was Bobby Peru, a sleazy, degenerate played by Willem Dafoe. While Bobby was initially aligned with Cage’s Sailor Ripley and the two planned a bank robbery together, the darkness of his character was revealed as he tried to rape Sailor’s girlfriend Lula Fortune.
As a literal foul-mouthed figure whose off-putting yellow teeth echoed his stained soul, Bobby Peru’s aggressive sexual innuendos were an immediate mark of his bad character. The horrific aura that Bobby emitted was immediately recognizable to Lulu as she reminded him of a man who sexually assaulted her when she was a child, only for this trauma to be repeated once again when he attempted to have his way with her. Dafoe has always excelled at playing villains, and Bobby Peru was one of his most sinister roles.
3
Mr. Eddy
Lost Highway (1997)
The gangster, BDSM pornographer, and ruthless criminal Mr. Eddy was a menacing figure in the second half of David Lynch’s Lost Highway. As a film that deals heavily with themes of duality, it made sense that Eddy, who was also known as Dick Laurent, worked together with the Mystery Man to exert control over the lives of Pete Dayton and Renee Madison. With a mix of humor and horror, Mr. Eddy was powerfully portrayed by Robert Loggia, who excelled in other iconic gangster roles such as in Scarface and The Sopranos.
As an enigmatic mobster with a violent temper, Mr. Eddy added yet another air of evil to the transformative story of Fred Madison, who inexplicably found himself living as Pete Dayton. As Eddy is seen violently assaulting a man for tailgating him, it’s hard not to think of the unpredictable villainy of Lynch’s Frank Booth from Blue Velvet, a man of dark impulses who echoed Eddie’s erratic behavior.
2
Frank Booth
Blue Velvet (1986)
While many of David Lynch’s most memorable villains were unknowable supernatural figures from another realm, the most chilling aspect of Frank Booth was how totally human he was. With a career-best performance from Dennis Hopper, Frank represented the pinnacle of his wildman roles as he was allowed to go more chaotic and unhinged than ever before. As a violent drug dealer who kidnapped the family of lounge singer Dorothy Vallens, Frank had no issue forcing this young woman to become his sex slave.
As a depraved figure with a split personality, the darkness of Frank Booth is steeped in extreme childhood trauma and an implied incestuous relationship with his own mother. A strange and unsettling man, Frank was the personification of pure depravity and the benchmark by which all other Lynch villains were viewed throughout his career. Taking the terms crazy and disturbed to entirely new heights, Frank was a major reason Blue Velvet put Lynch on the map as a major director of the 20th century.
1
BOB
Twin Peaks (1990 – 1991)
There was never going to be any other answer when it came to David Lynch’s best villains except for BOB from Twin Peaks. As the personification of evil incarnate, this otherworldly spirit resides in the Black Lodge and provides viewers with a sinister glimpse into the hateful and dark realities that underpin Lynchian movies and TV shows. Through the harvesting of pain and sorrow, BOB is a character for whom redemption is impossible and whose only drive is to put more suffering into the world.
Whether it was through the possession of people like Leland Palmer and Dale Cooper or through his mission to locate the powerful negative force, Judy, BOB cast a dark shadow across every part of Twin Peaks’ legacy. Represented by the sinister smile and long locks of Frank Silva, BOB’s iconic imagery continued to appear through The Return even after the actor’s passing. With a career full of compelling villains, no David Lynch bad guys were more iconic than BOB from Twin Peaks.
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