On January 16, 2025, acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch tragically died from emphysema caused by numerous years of smoking. Lynch was nationally known for his surrealist films, such as Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Blue Velvet. He also portrayed John Ford in Steven Spielberg’s successful 2022 film, The Fabelmans. 

Lynch was reportedly working on a Netflix original series before his untimely death following the recent California fires. This untitled Netflix project was already pushed back by unforeseen circumstances, such as COVID and Lynch’s declining health after his emphysema diagnosis in 2020.

Projecting his career forward with the 1977 body horror film Eraserhead, Lynch incorporated many genres into his works. From the devastating biopic The Elephant Man to the troubled sci-fi epic Dune, he returned to his surrealist roots with his 1986 picture Blue Velvet.

Blue Velvet is a surrealist neo-noir picture that details the seedy underbelly in Lumberton, NC, but was actually filmed in Wilmington, NC. Following Lynch’s tragic death, Blue Velvet has reached the top ten films on Max in the U.S. Charts and is currently occupying spot number seven on the streaming app. Considering Blue Velvet‘s release almost forty years ago, the film’s streaming success over the last week highlights Lynch’s career on cinematic culture and how it broke boundaries detailing a surrealist small-town America.

David Lynch also held a career in music in addition to art and filmmaking. Lynch’s final album, Cellophane Memories, was released on August 2, 2024. It incorporated American singer Chrystabell, who was also an actress on Lynch’s third season of Twin Peaks.