The Alphabet
A woman's dark and absurdist nightmare vision comprising a continuous recitation of the alphabet and bizarre living representations of each letter.
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Reviews
Such a frustrating disappointment
Best movie of this year hands down!
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
A gave this a ten out of ten because it's very good at what it is, a surrealist representation of a nightmare. Also this early animation stuff is very cool! There are so few of these early animations to go back and enjoy. I enjoy that it's a movie inspired by his wife's own nightmare. I talk in a sleep and I know I've said some creepy things! It's only four minutes so give it a watch!
I'm a Lynch fan. Perhaps more an admirer of his art than his films. And I love most of his films. What I like most about his short films, particularly his early ones, is that the themes or ideas presented - although abstract - are singular. I adore MD for what it is to me... A collection of brilliant short stories which parallels never really added up. I've read some clever thesis on the subject and some even struck a chord. But for me, Lynch hits hardest when he's not tied to a specific plot or timescale. Alphabet and rabbits are a prime example. I never bothered reading theories on their meanings because they made sense to me right away.The one thing I'll say about Lynch is that he does not give any credit to his influences.
Now, I can see where a big majority of humans who see this movie will think this movie was pointless, random. I hope this majority shares these thoughts with me, for the better of course. This is everything an actual nightmare (or at least every one in my sick mind) is: creepy and distorted noises, quick flashes of haunting faces, and of course the voices of children skipping on Satan's front yard as they recite the innocent Alphabet song, a song that was one a sweet and timeless song that we all learned in kindergarten, now turned into what sounds like a damning, ritualistic chant that will summon the beasts of the blackness out of of your screen and onto your lap. Yeah, this movie did that amount of damage in the less than 5 minute run-time.Props to David Lynch, who really created a disturbing experience. So simple at how it's done and what it is, but strong in how it's presented. This is the first short film I've seen, and I'm looking forward to more, especially knowing Mr. Lynch has more short films out there.I highly recommend for a quick scare.
The best thing about a David Lynch films are the elements of abstractly. The Alphabet was the epitome of a great artful film, but it still manages to leave you thinking about it. Sadly to say, David didn't make many outlandish films like this, rather he used elements like this as an additive. If you enjoyed this short, you would love Eraserhead.If you want to see an extraordinarily disturbing film, this would be one of my first suggestions. In the day of absurdly moronic slashers, and movies with the generic schizophrenic protagonist, I will always keep close to magnificent films like these.If you liked this, Eraserhead would be my suggestion for your next watch.