“The Amputee” is a short, one-shot film directed by David Lynch, featuring his longtime associate Catherine Coulson (aka “The Log Lady” from Twin Peaks).

The film was made for AFI in 1974 to test two different stocks of black and white videotape, so there are actually two versions, a four-minute take and a five-minute take (both can be seen on Hulu Plus). Lynch was in “downtime” at this point on making Eraserhead, which was having funding difficulties.

Coulson—who co-wrote the script with Lynch—plays about a woman writing a letter (we hear her thoughts as she composes it) while a female nurse (Lynch) gives medical attention to her stumps. After a point, the viewer tends to tune out the Coulson character’s thoughts in favor of concentrating on the nurse’s activities.

According to anecdotal Lynchian legend, when an AFI exec saw this rather peculiar short film instead of more conventional camera tests, “that Lynch” was immediately thought to be responsible.