David Lynch’s 22 Strangest ‘Otherworld’ Characters
12. The Whores: Inland Empire
You gotta swing your hips now Midway through Inland Empire, when all audience comprehension has dissipated, Nikki/Sue is joined in her new home by a group of prostitutes (The Whores) listed in the credits as Lanni, Terri, Lori, Chelsi, Sandi, Dori, Kari, Salli, Tammi, Roxi and Mandi. These women appear and disappear frequently, seemingly dependent upon the lighting in the house, and deliver surreal and often humorous sketches that entertain Nikki/Sue. Although their role is never made clear (there is a trend developing here), they certainly seem more aware of what is going on than the hapless Nikki/Sue. They are also critical to two of the most memorable scenes in the film. In the first, slouched on the sofa, one prostitute murmurs You gotta swing your hips now before clicking. Lynch then cuts to an overexposed shot of The Whores swinging their hips in time to Little Evas Locomotion. They jump up when the lyrics tell them to and vanish. It is an utterly bizarre and unexpected moment and stands out even in a film that is full of such occurrences. In the second, Nikki/Sue is on Hollywood Boulevard, seeking clients with The Whores, when she is stabbed in the abdomen with a screwdriver. The Whores horrified screaming, as well as their panicked retreat down the Walk Of Fame, makes the sequence even more terrifying than it should be especially given that, up until that point, they had been portrayed as decidedly unemotional and distanced.
