David Lynch at work on the NIN video, by Rob Sheridan
Since directing the digitally-shot mindbender of a film Inland Empire, David Lynch has turned away from filmmaking and concentrated on his music and art. In 2011, he released Crazy Clown Time, an album of dark, Lynch-brand electronic music. He directed a music video for the title track, but also created videos for Moby's "Shot in the Back of the Head" and Interpol's "I Touched a Red Button." Today, Lynch returned with another music video for NIN's new track "Came Back Haunted."The video begins with a warning: "This video has been identified by Epilepsy Action to potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised." No word yet if the UK-based Epilepsy Action group previewed and issued a warning on the video, or if Lynch is just having a little fun. Probably the latter.After the warning, Lynch introduces one of his classic themes: a "woman in trouble." This woman in trouble is fixed to some gas mask-like apparatus in a very welcoming industrial interior. The shimmering black and white visual is interrupted by flickering red squares. A fog is then interrupted by digital lightning bolts. This is followed by a demented-looking Trent Reznor, who resembles, perhaps not coincidentally, Robert Blake's character in Lost Highway. (Remember: Trent Reznor produced the Lost Highway soundtrack back in 1996.)But, the most interesting visual, for my money, is a digital cloud in the middle of a heavily pixelated room. The cloud is static, but it seems to infinitely bloom. Oh, and there is a lot of oscillation in this video.Hopefully this is a sign that Lynch will return to movies. If not, well, we'll just have to enjoy the occasional music video, which really doubles as an experimental film.