Hotel Room

Parts 1 and 3

Rating mainly for the breathtaking 3rd episode, DNW 2nd

Of the three stories, the two written by Barry Gifford and directed by Lynch are superior, but the series seems hampered by an aura of cheapness. The hotel room set is never really convincing as a real place, and although these try to attain the atmosphere of mystery and horror that Gifford and Lynch achieve in their other collaborations, they never completely succeed. The middle episode is ... fine ... but clearly doesn't belong with the other two.

The third episode might be one of the best things Lynch has ever done, and it and the first one are both good demonstrations of his strengths that too often get overlooked when he's not just being "weird". The second episode, if nothing else, i guess answers the question of what a script by Jay McInerney looks like filmed by the director of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (just in case anyone was wondering).

Apart from the intro, the music, and the presence of Harry Dean Stanton, there's nothing memorable about the two first episodes. The third one, however, is pure gold. Beautiful and intense and very sad.