Let's pick up on the film's intro and go from there. A melodious, slightly too charming rendition of Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton, accompanied with images of the smiling townsfolk, before you venture down, underneath the grass, to see ants and bugs of monstrous proportion, festering right underneath a "perfect little town". Sets the tone for the rest of the film, doesn't it?
The image of the ear itself is disturbing, as it's rotting and green, with ants going in and out of it, which is something that gets frighteningly clearer when you journey into the ear, and through it into the dark underbelly the film's going to introduce you to.
Frank is a walking bundle of nightmares- a violent man who uses a mentally unhinged woman as a sex slave when he chooses because he's holding her child hostage, you never have ANY idea what will make him explode, and he punches, slaps, and screams at everyone will little provocation. His entire intro scene, where he brutally rapes and beats Dorothy while screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" as Jeffrey watches, horrified and transfixed, through the closet door, is sure to absolutely disturb someone. "Do it for Van Gogh".
Jeffrey and Dorothy accidentally running into Frank and his men in the apartment. The ride Jeffrey has to take with them is intense, even if nothing happens. It doesn't get much better when they meet Ben, either, with his singing of "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison being almost as unsettling as an encounter with Frank.
Whenever a dream sequence occurs, it's sure to unsettle you. Of particular note is when Jeffrey slaps Dorothy while having sex with her, with a cut to Jeffrey sitting on his bed, alone, remembering the event. However, as memories are distorted recollections, he remembers it in slight, haggard slow motion, with animalistic roars accompanying it, repeated cuts to a small flame turning into a raging blaze, resounding with the noise of his slap and of Dorothy's excited face when he does it. It really makes you see how scared Jeffrey is that he's becoming like Frank.
by Bobby Vinton, accompanied with images of the smiling townsfolk, before you venture down, underneath the grass, to see ants and bugs of monstrous proportion, festering right underneath a "perfect little town". Sets the tone for the rest of the film, doesn't it?