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This one is the most mentally-challenging film of David Lynch. I watched this first at the cinema and and a few more times over the years. It is difficult to understand it completely, but I will try to explain the main plot.

Essentially, the film brings criticism towards Hollywood filmmaking industry, that is, how the directors are forced by producers to choose a prespecified cast or how the cast need to flatter the directors to get a role. Now that in mind, Diane (Naomi Watts) was once very close and intimate friend of Camille Rhodes (Laura Harring), a successful film star; however, Diane was just mediocre and never as successful as Camille. After Camille gets a role from the director Adam, she becomes attracted to him and this is where the fall of Diane begins. She becomes very jealous and even mentally sick. Camille visits her and tells they will no longer be together. Diane is so upset and her mental sickness flares up. She hires a murderer to kill Camille.

Afterwards, she has a very long dream. In the dream, Diane names herself Betty and lives in a much better apartment. Betty has just arrived at Hollywood with lots of hope to become a famous actress. Camille survives a car crash and becomes amnesic. Camille is helpless and takes refuge in Betty's apartment.

She doesn't remember her name and calls herself Rita. Betty enjoys her company very much and they together try to find out who Rita actually is. They hang out together all the time and even get intimate. In a midnight, they go to a concert. In the concert hall, there is weird show delivering the subliminal message "everything is fake". At this point, Betty gets a shock and the dream begins to collapse. When they get back home, Betty disappears and the dream comes to an end.

Diane wakes up in her lousy apartment. She discovers that the murderer left a blue key on the coffee table in her apartment signifying that he did the job. Diane goes mad and kills herself.

The film has a nonlinear narrative. It begins with the long dream sequence. This is why it is confusing. I tried to recount in the chronological order. This is an extraordinary film. I believe no scene was haphazardly shot. Every scene and every dialogue seem to be diligently studied. All symbols, images and characters appearing as a puzzle in the dream have a purpose. David Lynch obviously researched the psychoanalysis of dreams and the mechanisms of the subconscious mind. It is almost impossible to resolve everything at first view unless you are a genius. In this genre, Lost Highway (1997) was already a great film, but Mulholland Drive (2001) is one step ahead of it. He raised the bar so high that it won't be surpassed for a very long time.

Lost Highway is one unique David Lynch movie with a very interesting plot. He uses uncommon techniques of storytelling in which characters, names, places and times change in such creepy way that same event may be both a foreshadowing and flashback at the same time. Various interpretations are possible. In my version, young Pete represents the alter ego of the main character Fred who states at one point in the movie something like "I remember the events not as they happened but as I imagine", so he creates in his mind a completely new story of himself and his partner Renée with different names (Pete and Alice). There are also common characters in the both stories like the detectives and the Mystery man. Characters are all associated with strong emotions and sentiments. For example, the Mystery man represents fear and death.

It should be remembered that not everything is so clear and the script may give way to different interpretations. Technically, the movie is a little slow paced keeping a constant suspense and many beautiful songs are included. It is definitely worth watching and thinking on.

Having just finished all the movies in the TCM franchise, I have the following evaluation: The first movie (1974) became unexpectedly popular after its notorious 30-minute-long ear-splitting screaming scene. The torment of the girl was really felt by the viewers. Otherwise, it was not very strong plotwise.

Unfortunately, filmmakers got it all wrong, thought it was a masterpiece and made many remakes, sequels and prequels. Most of them naturally failed to live up to the hype and are not worthy of mention. If there is one exception, that can be the 2003 version which depicts the same event with a completely original script which maintains the suspense from beginning to the end. Therefore, it takes the second place.

This one (2022 version) is a sequel to the original movie which can be ranked third, right after the 2003 version due to improved visual effects and a mediocre plot. I could have rated it higher, had there been more gory scenes and fewer resurrections.