The first time I watched this movie I enjoyed it but was left confused as to what was really going on. As a huge fan of Lynch I was expecting as much. So a few days later I watched it again and everything clicked and made perfect sense and seemed so obvious this time.

If you hated it the first time and found nothing interesting then you probably shouldn't watch it again and put yourself though the torture a second time. But if you feel how I did, watch it again and you'll enjoy it much more.

This movie does require a second viewing for a complete understanding of what's happening. In Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire you get what's going on the first time. Multiple viewings make the details much clearer but you don't leave confused like with Lost Highway.

Great story, the first part is truly one of the scariest things I've ever seen. I think one thing about this movie that is interesting is that almost all of the actors are playing roles that you've never seen them do before. And they do it very well. I was a little apprehensive about Pullman being the lead, as I know him from Spaceballs and Independence Day, but he is very good in this. You rarely get a bad performance in a Lynch movie.

My only criticism is that the movie is a little slow and long. Not in a bad way but I do find myself waiting for the end as opposed to some movies where I don't want them to end.

This is the first film directed by David Lynch I've seen, not counting The Elephant Man, which is another great film, but is an outsider in his career, since it is not surreal. This film is, however, making it the first typical Lynch film I've seen. And I'm honestly not sure what to make of it. I had heard a lot about Lynch's films before watching, but I guess I hadn't heard enough. I went into this film hoping for a good mystery, an interesting puzzle to solve. As the end credits rolled I didn't know what to make of what I had just seen. I didn't get an answer to the question I kept asking while I was watching; "What exactly is this film about?". As soon as the credits were over, I read a comment or two by Lynch fans... and the truth dawned on me. It's not supposed to be solved. It's not a movie where you, when you see the very end, exclaim "Ah! Now I get it!". This film won't provide you with some twist ending or have a character come up to the lead and explain it all. It's not supposed to make perfect sense or be easily explainable. It's not real. It's fantasy. Fiction. The whole film is like a dream, or, more appropriately, a nightmare. The film is great; it's just not for me. I won't let that affect my rating, however. This was an excellent example of masterful film-making. Lynch's direction is eminent, evidenced by the fact that I kept watching, despite not understanding half of what was going on or being able to sympathize with any character(something we are much too used to from mainstream movies). The lighting is great. Lynch really plays around with it, and it's always interesting to look at. It also really adds to the mood, nicely set by careful editing and music usage. The acting is flawless, and that is not a term I use lightly. All in all, a wonderfully well-done film, but definitely not for everyone. Wasn't in my tastes, but I enjoyed how well-made it was regardless. I recommend this to fans of art films, rather than conventional ones. Fans of Lynch should enjoy this. Very surreal and loose. 10/10

Lost Highway is not Lynch at his most accessible, that would be Blue Velvet followed by The Elephant Man and The Straight Story, and I would put those films as well as Mulholland Drive (one of his most polarising along with Eraserhead) as better films of his, but while it has divided and will divide viewers I did love the film. Lost Highway does occasionally get confusing (particularly from a psychological stand-point) as a result of trying to have too many ideas, which does seem to be what the main complaint is against it, but for me there was very little wrong (as a bit of advice it is a good idea to be acquainted with Lynch's style first with The Elephant Man or Blue Velvet being the best place to start). Lost Highway looks amazingly stylish, the cinematography some of the best of any film personally seen in a while, the colours are expressive and bursting with colour and hypnotism and the images are surreal but impeccably hypnotising. Lynch's directing is highly accomplished if not quite some of his best directing like Mulholland Drive or Blue Velvet. He also does a great job in not making Lost Highway too formulaic (there is a sense that formally and structurally that there was a fair bit of re-invention involved), in fact it was one of the freshest and most unique psychological mystery thrillers personally viewed. Like Eraserhead, Lost Highway is basically an atmosphere/mood piece and it works amazingly as one. It may be Lynch at his strangest but that made the film even more fascinating to watch, no matter what you think of some of the story the impact the atmosphere has in the film cannot be denied. The thriller elements are enough to set the pulse racing and the mystery elements while made obvious about half-way through have a lot of suspense. Bill Pullman's exemplary here, some of the best work he's ever done even, and standouts too are Patricia Arquette at her most sensual and Robert Blake at his creepiest. The music score is incredibly haunting with fitting use of pre-existing songs and while spare the dialogue doesn't stick out like a sore thumb too much. All in all, a bizarre film but with the mood it has and how well-made and directed it is it is a very compelling one too. Not Lynch at his best but around the top end of his filmography. 9/10 Bethany Cox