10 Scariest Short Horror Films You've Probably Never Seen
5. The Alphabet (1969)
Auteur filmmaker David Lynch is best known for his mind-bending and dreamlike style that's equally enthralled and perplexed audiences for decades.
Before he made Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, or Eraserhead, Lynch honed his skills making short films that were just as insane as his other works. Out of his early projects, it's 1969's The Alphabet which stands out as being one of his most obscure and unsettling creations.
Based on a child's nightmare in which they feverishly recited the alphabet continuously in their sleep, this short delves into the mind of a sleeping woman (played by Peggy Reavy, Lynch's wife at the time) as she experiences this surreal dream.
Combining live-action, animation, and repeated recitations of the alphabet, Lynch populates the screen with monstrous representations of the letters playing on repeat in the woman's head. The collage of bizarre sights and sounds is the epitome of Lynch's distinctive filmmaking style, and it's just as frightening to watch here.
Like with Lynch's other work, any deeper meaning behind the disturbing imagery is ambiguous and up to viewers to decipher for themselves. Whatever their interpretation may be, this is the most terrifying rendition of the alphabet viewers will see.