Oh, rats.
David Lynch fans around the world are reacting to news of his passing by sharing favorite moments from a wide selection of the inimitable auteur’s award-winning films and television shows.
But there’s one entry in the deft director’s dizzying resume that most will have forgotten — an NYC Sanitation anti-littering public service announcement created by the earth-loving expert on the heels of his “Twin Peaks” smash success, back in the early 1990’s.
Fortunately, someone at the city agency with a good memory was able to find the predictably creepy clip — posting the black and white ad in its entirety to social media on the heels of the unwelcome announcement of Lynch’s death at age 78 on Thursday.
Eerie music plays — sounding not unlike a screeching subway train as it rounds a sharp corner — as viewers see what appears to be a trash barge making its way up the East River.
We then are shown a man in a suit look around before throwing a wadded up bit of trash on the ground — followed by a journey underground to see rats emerging from their hiding place.
The scenario repeats a few times — a mother in Central Park tosses the wrapper of an iced pop before handing the treat to her daughter, with the Plaza Hotel in the background, cutting away to the grotesque sight of a wriggling rat’s tail.
A taxi driver, a pedestrian, a biker gang, an angry rodent baring its teeth — the action speeds up as we hurtle toward the finish, where a small army of four-legged terrorists scuttles across an image of the darkened city skyline.
“Clean up. We care about New York. 212-686-1001,” reads the text popping up in the final frames of the mysterious PSA, as the music goes from mystifying to straight up scary — sounding not unlike the Angelo Badalamenti-composed score to some of Twin Peaks’ most terrifying moments.
The listed number was a complaint hotline of sorts — something like a predecessor to the modern-day 311. Currently, it is listed as belonging to a hair and beauty supply shop in the Flatiron District.
“In 1991, David Lynch showed the world the alienation and innate horror of a dirty street, directing this unforgettable anti-littering ad for the City of New York,” a rep writing on the NYC Sanitation X account wrote.
“RIP to a visionary filmmaker and a pioneer of the Trash Revolution,” they continued.
“Leave it to Lynch to make an ad feel like reading Camus,” one viewer commented.
According to a 2017 post at Gothamist, the trashy tape was filmed as part of a series known as “We Care About New York,” during one of the Big Apple’s most rotten eras.
It was a collaboration between Lynch and his long-time director of photography, Frederick Elmes.
The “Mullholland Drive” director also notably filmed commercial spots for Calvin Klein, Armani and others throughout his career.
